Gov. Josh Stein said he has concerns about possible federal cuts affecting programs funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provide food to children, but added his administration is working to help continue to mitigate those concerns on the state level.
He was Tuesday鈥檚 keynote speaker at the 14th annual NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference, which looked at ways to stop child hunger.
鈥淲hat we know is that when kids are hungry, they simply do not learn as well,鈥� Stein said. 鈥淭hey need to have a full belly, so they can pay attention. They can retain the information they have so that they're not distracted. So, we're going to be putting out our (proposed) budget in the coming days and weeks with ways to move the state forward when it comes to feeding children at school.鈥�
At the conference, Stein and others said it's still unclear if federally-funded programs 鈥� like free or reduced school meals 鈥� will be impacted from possible funding cuts by the Trump administration.
According to advocacy nonprofit , one in six children struggle with hunger. That is in part due to many not being eligible for free or reduced priced meals in schools.
Some are hopeful state lawmakers will pass legislation to ensure every public school student has access to free school meals. Advocates have pointed to Arkansas, which approved legislation to provide free breakfast for public school students this month.
Rachel Findley, one of the speakers at Tuesday鈥檚 conference, also wants the state legislature to help with similar efforts. She鈥檚 the Senior Director of the Office of School Nutrition and Auxiliary Services for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Still, as some worry about federal funding cuts to these programs, she said there are some other options on the table, like on the local level.
鈥淭here are some local boards of education that have worked with their local county commissioners to fund meals at no cost,鈥� Findley told 吉彩网网站. 鈥淒are County is one of them, and happened last fall where they recognized there was a need, and their local county commissioners decided to fund meals at no cost for all students in their county schools.鈥�
Other options include fully funding all public school breakfasts at no cost for children or providing a meal as a stipend to school nutrition programs, so they can serve more children.
Findley said she's unsure if school meal programs will sustain any federal cuts, but she's hopeful that state lawmakers will make a way for the programs to continue.
Feeding children during summer break
Meanwhile, federally-funded initiatives like the Summer Nutrition Programs for kids are still working to provide healthy meals during the summer to families with children under 18.
The state has three different categories to help with various needs. SUN Meals are provided at sites like parks, libraries or camps. SUN Meals To-Go are for children in rural or remote communities with limited access to transportation. Those meals can be delivered directly to homes or neighborhoods. SUN Bucks are for families with school-aged children. Those families can receive summer grocery buying benefits on a debit-like card per eligible school-aged child.
During the conference, staff with SUN Bucks said the program has provided more than 1 million children with nutritious food to eat.
鈥淭hrough the distribution of nearly $130 million in grocery-buying benefits for the summer months, this initiative not only met the critical needs of our youth but also energized North Carolina's economy with an estimated $200 million boost,鈥� said Jerquitta Hicks-Smallwood, the Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition Services at NCDHHS鈥� Division of Child and Family Well-Being.
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