According to House Democrats, 500,000 children will lose their automatic eligibility for free meals at school due to the Trump Administration’s newest proposal.
Currently, children are automatically enrolled in a federal program that allows them to receive free breakfast and lunch during school if their parents are on food stamps. This enrollment process made things much easier in regards to paperwork.
Representative and Democrat from Virginia Bobby Scott’s staff had a phone conversation with the USDA in which they mentioned that 93% of children affected by the new proposal would be eligible for reduce-priced meals.
However, parents would need to apply separately in order to receive assistance for their children’s school meals. Although some students may still receive free meals, the new enrollment process raises concerns that some children may slip through the cracks and be forgotten.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue says that the changes hope to “prevent abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it.”
