‘Hunger doesn't take a break': Summer food programs for families in need now available
According to , 94% of the state's public schools currently offer free meals to all students. The nonprofit helped secure new state funding to expand the free school meal program. Despite this, the nonprofit said there are still tens of thousands of children who don't have access to these programs.
As the school year comes to a close, families who already get free school lunches may be wondering how they'll keep their children fed.
'Every student deserves to know where their next meal comes from,' said Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon Policy Advocate David Wieland. 'Hunger doesn't take a break during the summer.'
Fortunately, there are options for families.
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The Oregon Department of Education has about its Summer Food Service Program, where families can locate hundreds of free meal sites across the state.
In addition, for the second summer in a row, the Oregon Department of Human Services is offering its . The grocery benefit program helps families buy food for their school-aged children when school is out. The single yearly payment provides $120 for each eligible child to buy groceries.
According to the , over 340,000 eligible children already automatically received the Summer EBT back in May, though some families still need to apply. The state said they expect up to 370,000 school-aged children will be provided with the Summer EBT benefits this year.
The program costs the state about $2.5 million in administrative costs. In return, Oregon receives $40 million in federal funding that goes directly to students. Despite this, Wieland said the work to combat hunger is not over.
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Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon are hoping state legislators pass a bill to extend free breakfast and lunch to all students in Oregon.
The Oregon House of Representatives unanimously passed HB 3435 back in March. It is now in the Joint Ways and Means Committee.
'If you want to call your legislator and urge them to make this a priority, we'd love that,' Wieland said.
People who are already signed up to receive SNAP, TANFF or OHP benefits should already see those summer grocery benefits on their account. If not, the State of Oregon has on how to apply.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Newsweek
6 hours ago
- Newsweek
Two More States Look To Ban Junk Food From SNAP Benefits
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The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Red states lead push for MAHA soda bans
Republican-led states are leading the charge to ban soda and candy from their food stamp programs, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA) movement flips traditional partisanship on its head. Colorado is the only blue state to seek and have a soda ban waiver approved, and the only waiver state to propose expanding SNAP benefits in conjunction with limiting its scope. Both parties at times have expressed interest in eliminating soda from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but the Trump administration is the first to encourage states to do so. Recent attempts at soda regulation have mostly been concentrated in blue cities. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) infamously tried to ban the sale of supersized sugary drinks in 2013, prompting Republicans to decry his 'nanny state' tactics. With the healthy-eating push now under the MAHA branding, GOP states are jumping aboard. 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The idea of policing the shopping carts of low-income Americans has never sat well with anti-hunger advocates, who've argued it's paternalistic and stigmatizing for low-income Americans. Additionally, while federal data show sugary drinks are the leading source of added sugars in the American diet, nutrition experts said there is limited evidence that shows SNAP soda bans lead to better health outcomes. There's even less evidence that banning candy and dessert foods from SNAP can positively impact a person's diet. 'Claiming that implementing these restrictions will absolutely lead to a curb in diet-related diseases, you cannot confidently say that. There is no evidence to support that statement,' said Joelle Johnson, the deputy director for Healthy Food Access at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a group that advocates for stronger nutrition regulation. The SNAP waivers are for pilot programs only, so they won't immediately lead to long-term policy changes. They are a chance for states to conduct the research that's been missing — if they want to find out. Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina School of Global Public Health, said he thinks waivers are toothless ways for states to show their MAHA bonafides. 'None of these states are doing more than pleasing MAHA, doing what's easy. They can do this internally. They don't have to go to the politicians [and pass laws],' Popkin said, 'Waivers do nothing except allow a state to say you can't buy junk food.' Experts said historically, Republicans who have wanted to ban soda from SNAP also viewed it as a way to trim spending on the program. Some advocates continue to view the latest push with skepticism. 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Jared Polis (D) in a statement on Colorado's waiver, called it 'a big step towards improving the health of Coloradans, and reducing obesity rates, diabetes, and tooth decay' that 'will help to ensure that more Coloradans participating in SNAP have access to healthy foods.' The Trump administration has not yet given them the green light on a separate waiver to cover hot foods from grocery stores like rotisserie chicken or soup. Democratic Govs. Laura Kelly (Kan.) and Katie Hobbs (Ariz.) each vetoed bills that called for their states to submit waivers to ban candy and soda. 'I support the idea that Kansans should eat healthier. However, changes to the SNAP food assistance program should be made at the federal level, not on a patchwork, state-by-state basis,' Kelly wrote in her veto message. She also noted the language in the bill would have mandated businesses to stop accepting food assistance benefits for 'healthy' items like protein bars and trail mix while continuing to allow Twix, Kit Kat, and Twizzlers. Kennedy this week said he expects more blue states to be filing waivers. 'I was at the governors' conference in Colorado last week, and I met with a whole string of Democratic governors and they all committed to filing SNAP waivers,' Kennedy said. Kennedy also said those governors also committed to put forward other 'MAHA legislation' but he acknowledged they may not want to be associated with the term because it's become 'kind of a partisan brand.' As she signed Colorado's waiver, Rollins said healthy eating should be bipartisan. 'This is not red or blue, Republican or Democrat,' Rollins said. 'We are discussing and working with every state, so really excited to continue to work with Gov. Polis.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds celebrates SNAP waivers approval in Washington, D.C.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks at an event Aug. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C., where U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed six Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) state waivers, approving restrictions on certain food purchases. (Screenshot via C-SPAN) Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday joined a news conference in Washington, D.C., to praise the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Trump administration for allowing Iowa to restrict certain foods under a federal aid program and implement an alternative summer nutrition program for children. Reynolds spoke at a news conference focused on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that was hosted by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Trump administration officials discussed approving new waivers for restrictions on what food can be purchased through the public assistance program. Rollins signed six SNAP state waivers — for Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia — at the event, approving restrictions on food purchases under the program. These waivers will allow states to limit the purchase of certain items, like candy or soda, using food benefits. She said these waivers are part of the administration's larger 'Make America Healthy Again' work, championed primarily by Kennedy. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'The SNAP waivers are just one piece of the MAHA effort,' Rollins said. 'We work so closely together to encourage voluntary commitments to remove artificial food dyes, among other things, from our food supply. And together, we are crafting sensical dietary guidelines for Americans that prioritize whole, healthy and nutritious foods.' Though the press conference highlighted approval of new waivers, the USDA had signed off in May on Iowa's SNAP waiver. The new restrictions take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and will last for two years. Reynolds thanked Rollins for 'enabling Iowa to help lead the nation in SNAP reform.' In Iowa, she said, allowing people to purchase items like sweetened drinks, desserts and salty snacks through SNAP 'truly isn't helping low-income families,' but is worsening problems with obesity. 'Thirty-seven percent of our adults and 17 percent of our youth, ages 6 through 17, are suffering from obesity,' Reynolds said. 'And that's something that as the governor of this great state I can't accept. And it's why that we've really begun to strategically reform our efforts to help address food insecurity and nutrition.' Another way Iowa is working to address obesity, she said, is through the Healthy Kids Iowa demonstration project, also approved by the USDA in May. Iowa had declined to participate in 2024 and 2025 in the SUN Bucks program, the federal summer nutrition program also known as Summer EBT, that provides an extra $120 per child to eligible low-income families each month when school is not in session. Critics and hunger advocates said the governor had chosen to leave money on the table that could have gone to families in need, but the governor said she opposed the program over concerns about unhealthy food purchases. Instead, Reynolds sought federal approval to pursue an alternate program, providing a premade box of food worth $40 each month from 500 access points. The waiver for Healthy Kids Iowa was denied in 2024 under the Biden administration, but approved under Trump. Though there were 500 sites approved in the initial waiver, there are currently 264 locations providing the food boxes to program participants. Hunger advocates have said this program is more difficult for families in need to access food, as transportation to these locations can be more difficult than going to a retailer that accepts SNAP through the Summer EBT program. But Reynolds said the state has leveraged Iowa's existing network of food pantries to distribute these boxes in all 99 counties — and that the program provides food at a lower cost than through Summer EBT. 'Some of the food banks that weighed in, and our partners in this effort, said that they can actually buy up to six times more food than a person using that SUN Bucks program at retail prices,' Reynolds said. Luke Elzinga, board chair for the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said some of the promises made about the Health Kids Iowa program, like allowing families to choose food items that meet their preferences and 'cultural and dietary needs,' have not happened as the program was rolled out this summer. He also said fewer children received food through the program than projected. 'When you compare it just what we could have seen with summer EBT, you know, that's only about 15% of the kids who could have been assisted through summer EBT that are being served through this Healthy Kids Iowa program,' Elzinga said. 'So I don't think it's an example for other states.' The news conference was part of a larger 'MAHA Monday' event on the National Mall, which included a 'Great American Farmers Market.' Kennedy said restrictions on SNAP, and other 'MAHA' efforts under Rollins' leadership, were vital to making Americans healthier and solving the country's 'chronic disease crisis.' He claimed 10% of SNAP purchases were made on soda, and that an additional 3% to 7% went to candy — purchases he said should not be made using public funds. 'We all believe in free choice,' Kennedy said. 'We live in a democracy. People can make their own choice about what they're going to buy and what they're not going to buy. If you want to buy a sugary soda, you ought to be able to do that. U.S. taxpayers should not pay for it.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
