Biden Admin Aims To Feed 34M Kids This Summer In Large Food Program

NPR: USDA Moves To Feed Millions Of Children Over The Summer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new effort Monday to feed millions of children this summer, when free school meals traditionally reach just a small minority of the kids who rely on them the rest of the year. The move expands what's known as the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, or P-EBT, program into the summer months, and USDA estimates it will reach more than 30 million children. "If children and children's learning and children's health is a priority for us in this country, then we need to fund our priorities," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a Monday interview with NPR's All Things Considered. "I think it's an important day." (Turner, 4/26)

ABC News: Biden Administration Expands USDA Summer Food Program To Feed Over 30M School Kids 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new effort on Monday that will feed more than 30 million children over the summer by expanding the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits funded by President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan. Low-income families struggle to put nutritious food on the table during the summer months when school is out of session, so these programs have acted as a lifeline for some families. (McCarthy, 4/26)

NBC News: Biden Administration To Launch Largest Summer Food Program In U.S. History
It is the latest push by the White House to address widespread hunger and food insecurity in the U.S., one the agency said it believes is the largest summer food program in the country's history. "Congress, through the American Rescue Plan, expanded this program to operate during the summer, which I think was just highly responsive to what we need right now," said Stacy Dean, the deputy under secretary of agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services. "We know that summer hunger is a problem in normal years, but obviously this year, with heightened food hardship as a result of the pandemic, we're happy to deploy the program this summer." (McCausland, 4/26)

In related news —

KTSM 9 News: 11-Year-Old El Paso Boy Receives Grant To Help End Child Hunger 
Zion Hernandez is in fifth grade and is working to end hunger for kids in El Paso. He spends his free time packing food boxes for families in need but recently received a grant to further his efforts. “A lot of kids are hungry right now, and we feed them, and so we kind of take it as our job to do it,” said Zion Hernandez. Hernandez was awarded the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Youth Grant through Youth Service America. (Kapp, 4/25)

FOX13 News Memphis: Mid-South Food Bank Offering Vaccinations At Two Mobile Food Pantries 
The Mid-South Food Bank will partner with the Memphis Housing Authority, Girl Scouts of America, and First Pharmacy to provide COVID-19 vaccinations during two Mobile Pantry distributions, a release said. (4/26)

WDAM: College Food Pantries Keep Students Focused On Class, Not Food
Some college students have more to think about these days than just taking exams and making good grades. Some have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. To ease that concern, some colleges and universities in the Pine Belt have established food pantries that offer quality food for free. (Herrington, 4/22)

In other news from the Biden administration —

KHN: Evaluating President Joe Biden’s First 100 Days In Office 
In the first 100 days, new presidents try to turn campaign promises into quick legislative victories, defuse lingering crises, set themselves apart from their predecessor and set a leadership tone for the next four years — all while avoiding blunders that could destroy their momentum. So how is President Joe Biden doing as he approaches this mark? Not bad, experts say, given the scale of the crisis he’s tackling and the political opposition he faces in Congress. (Jacobson, 4/27)