As Coronavirus Closes Schools, USDA Offers Limited Help to Kids Who Rely on School Meals

March 10, 2020 Update: The USDA has now approved waiver requests in three states—Washington, California, and Alaska—to allow use of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to serve free meals to low-income children affected by school closures, and also waiving the SFSP’s requirement that children eat these meals in a group setting.

This morning, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue also made clear that such waivers will be made freely available to any other state that needs one. Speaking before the House Agriculture Committee, Perdue told lawmakers (comments start at 47:25) that, “Our legal counsel tells us that we have to be asked, [so] we’ve sent the message to all the states that they can preemptively assume a positive response . . . once a waiver request comes in.”

https://civileats.com/2020/03/06/coronavirus-is-closing-schools-heres-what-it-means-for-millions-of-kids-who-rely-on-school-meals/