Happy Hump Day, Shit Givers.
School is out for summer, but for roughly 30 million kids in the US, school isn’t just school: it’s a place to receive reliable breakfast and lunch five days a week.
When school lets out, that safety net disappears for a huge chunk of students, with only a fraction of kids who rely on free or reduced-price school meals during the school year actually getting connected to a summer meal program.
This week we’re looking at how we can solve that problem, both from a logistics point of view (where are the sites, when are they open, who qualifies) and a policy one (how much food is wasted instead of shared, and how meals get funded).
Let’s go.
— Willow
APL Positions:
🧃 Universal free school meals
🛒 Food deserts eliminated
🏫 Full Title 1 Funding
🍎 SNAP benefits adequate for a healthy diet
🎒 Post-pandemic education recovery funding sustained
Free lunch is closer than you think
Free summer meals exist in every state, but many families have no idea where they are, or that they even qualify. No paperwork, no income requirements at the door — just show up.
Summer Meals Site Finder — Plug in a ZIP code, find a free meal site for kids 18 and under, today. Know a family who could use this? Forward it now. Sites fill summer schedules fast, and this only helps if people actually see it (go).
One signature away
Many of our “be heard” actions are about fighting cuts, but this one is the opposite: Illinois lawmakers passed a genuinely good, low-drama fix, and it’s now sitting on the Governor’s desk waiting for a signature.
HB4859 would let Illinois school districts officially set up “share tables,” a designated spot in the cafeteria where kids can put unopened, untouched food for any other kid to grab instead of it going straight to the trash.
This is technically a school-year policy, but it’s the same logic as summer meal sites: a lot of hunger isn’t about food not existing, but about food not reaching the kid who needs it.
Tell Governor Pritzker to sign HB4859 — it’s a quick, easy ask while the bill is still on his desk (go).
If you’re not in Illinois: read this as a model! Share tables are simple, cheap, and another state legislator near you could copy this tomorrow if enough people ask.
Congress is deciding who eats
There are a few more bills worth your two minutes, because school meal funding (and other funding squeezes that show up in classrooms too) is genuinely up for grabs right now at the federal level.
Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn — Raises federal reimbursement rates per meal so schools aren’t serving worse food (or running deficits) just because costs went up and funding didn’t (go).
Expanding Access to School Meals — Expands which schools can offer free meals to every student, no separate application required (go).
Prevent Education Cuts — Tell lawmakers to stand up for education during the appropriations process (go).
Protect Title I Funding — A House subcommittee just advanced a budget that would cut Title I (the program that sends extra funding to schools serving low-income kids) by 9%, alongside steep cuts to teacher training and English-language programs. It’s headed to full committee next, with a Senate version still to come (go).
Tonight’s dinner and beyond
Send resources to the organizations working on fixing the system that creates hunger in the first place through policy, food rescue logistics, and models that pair food with other things people need to get back on their feet. And then, donate or volunteer to feed people tonight.
No Kid Hungry — Connects kids with meals year-round and helps schools/states stand up new meal programs (go).
Food Research and Action Center — Join the fight to end hunger and improve nutrition through legislation (go).
Feeding America — The food bank network that picks up where school and summer programs leave off (go).
Find a food bank or other food security organization near you (go).
That’s it for this week.
Thank you — as always — for giving a shit.
— Willow
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