Utah uses federal funding to help offset meal debt

As meal debt continues to be a problem at Utah school districts, Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox is stepping in to help combat the problem. And over in California, farm-to-school programs will get a financial boost thanks to a new round of funding from the state’s Farm to School Incubator Grant Program.

Here’s the latest in school nutrition legislation.

Utah tackles meal debt using federal funding

Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox is using funding from the American Rescue Plan to help schools in his state tackle meal debt.

The governor has redirected $1.2 million of American Rescue Plan Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds to create a new grant program in the state that will award schools with funding to go towards erasing meal debt incurred by low-income families.

“Our students are the future of Utah, and investing in their health and education is vital to the success of our state,” said Governor Cox in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring Utah students receive the meals they need. I am grateful for the cooperation of the State Board of Education, our schools and districts.”

Meal debt occurs when students can't pay for their meals at school. It has been pain point for many nutrition programs since the June 2022 expiration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) summer meal waivers, which allowed schools across the country to feed all kids for free. 

In a survey of school nutrition directors conducted by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) last fall, 92.8% of respondents who said that they charge for meals listed meal debt as a challenge for their program.

At the federal level, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has tried to combat meal debt with the introduction of the National Advisory Council on Unpaid School Meal Debt Act.

Introduced earlier this year, the bill would establish a commission of 14 members who would formulate policy recommendations to address school meal debt, prevent the stigmatization of students and ensure the sustainability of school meal programs.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, but no further action has been taken.

Farm-to-school funding grows in California

California is investing $52.8 million into the state’s Farm to School Incubator Grant Program. This year, the program will fund 195 farm-to-school projects and serve more than 1.65 million students located throughout the state.

California has awarded $86 million to 375 projects since the establishment of the grant program in 2021.

“Supporting healthy food access is foundational to giving our kids the best start in life and preventing chronic disease,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom in a statement. “Farm to school and the state’s other groundbreaking efforts in this space are making a real difference for thousands of California families every day, with countless benefits for our communities, local producers, and the future of our state.”

The state is one of a handful who has provided farm-to-school grant opportunities for schools. States like New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota have also established their own farm-to-school grant programs.

 At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced earlier this summer that it had awarded a record-breaking $14.3 million in farm-to-school grant funding as part of its Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program.