Despite Congress passing a bipartisan Farm Bill that protects SNAP, the Trump administration proposed a rule that would take SNAP away from 3.1 million people. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) failed to provide data about the impact on school meals in the initial publication of the proposed rule. USDA later released data estimating that the proposed rule could take free school meals away from nearly 1 million children and reopened the comment period.
NWLC submitted another comment to USDA opposing this proposed rule, citing the benefits of free school meals for millions of children. The comment also cited Urban Institute research estimating that the proposed rule will also jeopardize school meals for over 1 million students whose schools could lose community eligibility, a program that allows schools in high-poverty areas to provide free school meals to all students.