Thousands of Missouri Kids Pay the Price After State Declines Tweak to Summer Meals Program

Summer Food Service Program Summer Meals Program

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Aug 24, 11:06 am

Photo: (Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

There was plenty of food in the coolers full of free summer meals when a dad from Missouri pulled up, asking for a couple of suppers to bring home to his kids. The staff at the meal site in this rural community, where over 60 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, could not give the father anything, though.

The reason why that is the case is that Missouri opted not to avail of a federal waiver that allows parents and their children to pick up meals and take them home, a COVID pandemic-era benefit that vastly expanded their access to meals.

According to an analysis from NBC News, Missouri was the only state in the country that did not allow a grab-and-go option for the operators of its Summer Food Service Program. Community operators across the state said the result of that decision was a dramatic drop in the number of meals that Missouri children received. Figures showed that it was up to 97 percent fewer compared to last summer at some sites.

Staff's hands were tied in serving summer meals to Missouri kids

According to staff who served meals in the state, they felt like their hands were tied with the whole situation. They said that if meal site operators do not follow the rules of the federally funded program, their organizations will not get reimbursements for the meals they give out. That being said, they were sure that the meals were not reaching everyone who needed them the most.

Lathen Elschlager works at the Adair County Family YMCA, which distributed meals this summer to more than 15 sites throughout Kirksville. The staff member was at the site where the dad had driven without his kids to get some food.

The place is a mobile home park where children eat their meals on neatly cut grass. Elschlager said the dad was familiar to him as he had seen him come about once a week with his children before for the meals.

Summer Food Service Program has limitations

The Summer Food Service Program has been praised for providing nutrition to children facing food insecurity across the United States when school is out. The program, which was incepted in 1968, has its limitations, though.

Before the COVID pandemic, meal sites were only allowed in areas where 50 percent or more of kids qualified for free or reduced lunch, which according to anti-hunger advocates excluded too many kids who were not getting enough food at their respective homes.

Program rules also limited the times at which meals could be served. They also required that kids eat at the meal sites, two major impediments that often did not work with the schedules of the families or their transportation needs.

Congress gave the Agriculture Department back in March 2020 authority to issue child nutrition waivers. States got a reprieve with a last-minute legislation in June 2022, giving them the option of extending summer meal waivers. Missouri was the only state to not provide all of its meal programs with the option to apply for the grab-and-go extended waiver, a major loss for children living in the state.