As you may know, the Federal government provides children from very low-income households free or reduced-price meals during the normal school year.
During the summer, when they are out of school, most children lose that source of meals. As a result, families of such children tend to experience hunger more often during the summer months.
In some states, the federal government has been providing those families extra support to help cover the costs of meals for children during the summer.
In 2020, in response to the job losses that occurred during the pandemic, the federal government expanded this program to the whole country, providing extra support of up to $130 worth of food a month to low-income families with school-age children or children under age 6. This program is set to expire by the end of the year. Some people say these benefits during the summer months should be made permanent
So, there is now a proposal to always provide, during the summer months, up to $130 worth of food a month to very low-income families with school-age children or children under age 6. It is estimated that this proposal would cost around $2.5 billion a year.