Rep. Mike Levin Reintroduces Bicameral Legislation to Fight Child Hunger
Washington, D.C. – Today, Reps. Mike Levin (CA-49) and Jahana Hayes (CT-05) reintroduced H.R. 3217, the Stop Child Hunger Act, to provide families who have children eligible for free and reduced-price school meals with an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card to use when school is not in session. The EBT card could be used during summer or winter break, or when schools are operating remotely or are closed for a natural disaster. The bill was reintroduced alongside the Senate companion sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (WA).
Approximately 29.6 million students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals each day during the school year. School nutrition programs provide critical nourishment to students to support healthy living and improve cognitive function throughout the school day. A lapse in these benefits during vacations and school closures can have a drastic impact on low-income families. Rep. Levin led the effort to establish a permanent Summer EBT program that passed in the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus government funding package in December 2022. This bill would expand on the Summer EBT program to cover all school breaks longer than five days and would increase the benefit amount families receive.
“While Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration gut food assistance programs, I’m doing everything I can to make sure kids are able to get the food they need to thrive,” said Rep. Levin. “This bill strengthens and expands existing nutritional programs to ensure that families and children have food year-round, including during school closures and holidays. As a parent, I know how important it is for kids to have access to nutritious food. We need to do everything we can to fight child hunger. I thank Rep. Hayes and Sen. Murray for their partnership on this bill, and I look forward to pushing it forward through the legislative process.”
“No kid in America should go hungry—it’s really that simple,” said Sen. Murray. “I’ve been fighting for more than a decade to ensure that kids who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the school year don’t lose access to nutritious meals when school is out, and we took a huge step forward when we passed the Summer EBT program into law—which helped feed nearly 600,000 kids in Washington state last summer. Our legislation would build on that progress and make sure that kids whose families are on the tightest budgets still have access to nutritious meals when school is closed for a week or more, including for winter and spring breaks. While the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are working overtime to rip away nutrition benefits from moms and kids, and cut programs families rely on to meet their basic needs, Democrats are fighting to make sure every child is fed and has the support they need to succeed.”
“For many students, school is the only place they consistently receive a hot meal. While Summer EBT was expanded in 2023, vital programs like SNAP are still under threat of cuts from Republicans in Congress,” said Rep. Hayes. “The Stop Child Hunger Act provides a crucial solution by making Summer EBT permanent and nationwide, giving eligible children year-round access to nutritious food with EBT benefits matching the value of school meals for school closures over five days. This is a vital step towards addressing child hunger and a necessary investment in public health and equity for our most vulnerable children.”
The Stop Child Hunger Act builds on the permanent Summer EBT program to establish a permanent nutrition program for children from low-income families for all school closures. Specifically, it would:
- Expand the new permanent Summer EBT program to all school closures longer than five consecutive days.
- Increase the value of the benefit to cover the cost of breakfast, lunch, and a snack for every day school is closed. The FY23 omnibus government funding package only authorized funding for $40 a month per child.
- Allow eligible households to use EBT cards for the purchase of food from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- Provide grants to states to support the development of data systems or upgrades to existing data systems to carry out this program more effectively.
“Millions of children lose access to free and reduced-price meals when schools close,” said Crystal FitzSimons, Interim President of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “The Stop Child Hunger Act builds on the Summer EBT program to help families keep food on the table during school breaks, increasing the benefit levels and covering state’ cost. FRAC urges Congress to pass this bill without delay. Hungry children can't wait.”
“With the Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025, Senator Murray is acting on one of the most critical needs in Washington state right now, where families with children are often twice as likely to be food insecure. This bill builds on the success of the SUN Bucks EBT program in 2024, which delivered a one-time $120 benefit per year per eligible child, so nearly 600,000 families were able to buy groceries last summer. Senator Murray’s leadership on child hunger is unmatched with real solutions and real results for Washington families,” said Megan Blado Cooper, Interim CEO of Food Lifeline.
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