Letter to the Hon. Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture - Va. Sens., Reps. Urge USDA to Ensure that Virginia Children Have Access to Meals During COVID-19

Letter

Dear Secretary Perdue:
We write today in support of several waiver requests made by the Commonwealth of Virginia
that would assist in the delivery of food to Virginia children during the ongoing pandemic. We
appreciate the steps taken by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to grant
flexibility to states and school districts to face this unprecedented crisis. However, school
districts in Virginia continue to face significant obstacles to providing meals for children and
require additional flexibility and assistance in order to keep students fed through the duration of
this pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced school districts across the country to adopt online and
distance-learning models in order to continue educational instruction for students. This shift,
while necessary, has disrupted the ability of many students to receive consistent access to healthy
meals. For many children, the breakfasts and lunches they receive at school may be the only
healthy and regular meals they receive during the week. Despite the challenges presented by
COVID-19, Virginia's 132 school divisions continue to provide meals through a variety of meal
service options. However, the unanticipated and immediate shift in meal service due to school
closures has substantively increased costs and decreased revenue for school districts. Despite
efforts to bolster usage, participation in Virginia's meal programs has dropped significantly
compared to the previous year. Participation in the school breakfast program has decreased by 35
percent and the number of school lunches served has dropped by 60 percent. The decrease in
service, and thus revenue, has been compounded by an increase in costs for additional
packaging, shelf-stable foods, distribution, and personal protective equipment.
In light of the unprecedented challenges faced by school districts in Virginia and across the
country, we request that USDA extend the following waivers to ensure school districts have the
certainty they need to continue providing students with healthy and nutritious meals. First, we
request that USDA extend the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer
Option (SSO) waivers through at least June 30, 2021. Allowing school districts to offer free
breakfast and lunch to all students is the best way to ensure meals are provided safely and
efficiently during the current crisis. Further, we request an extension of the Area Eligibility
waiver, which would allow school districts to provide nutritious meals to all students regardless
of their ability to pay, increase critically needed reimbursements to school divisions, and
eliminate burdensome paperwork requirements that affect the ability of schools to provide meals
to students.
As the Department strives to adapt our nation's nutrition programs for this school year, we would
also urge you to approve outstanding waiver requests from the Virginia Office of School
Nutrition Programs. Specifically, Virginia has requested the following waivers:
 A waiver to extend the cycle of administrative reviews for the Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP) and the At Risk Portion of the Child and Adult Care Food Program
(CACFP) for all school districts from once during a three-year period to once every five
years to allow flexibility to plan during the pandemic.
 A waiver to eliminate the requirement that afterschool programs must have an
educational or enrichment activity with the service of meals.
 A waiver to eliminate the requirement that potable water be available or accessible to
children during meal service during breakfast in the cafeteria and lunch.
To ensure the uninterrupted and safe distribution of meals to Virginia's students, we urge USDA
to extend the SFSP and SSO waivers, the Area Eligibility waiver, and work with the Virginia
Department of Education to approve the Commonwealth's outstanding waiver requests as
quickly as possible.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to continuing to work with you to
ensure every child has access to healthy and nutritious foods during this public health
emergency.
Sincerely,

Source