The PA Farm to School Network is working to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth is nourished by and has access to local, sustainable and nutritious food. School meals are critical to student health and well-being, and ensure that students have the nutrition they need to learn. Research shows that receiving free or reduced-price school lunches reduces food insecurity, obesity rates, and poor health.

Right now, legislators at the state and federal level are making decisions that will impact the accessibility and quality of school meals – they need to hear from you about why funding and enhancing school meal programs is important.

Read on to find out how you can take action on two important issues…

1) Speak up for federal school meal funding!

The School Nutrition Association of PA (SNAPA) is calling on Pennsylvanians to protect federal funding for school meals. The House Ways and Means Committee has proposed cutting $3 billion from school meal programs in an upcoming Reconciliation Bill. This would raise the eligibility threshold for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) from 25% to 60%, removing 766 Pennsylvania schools from the program, eliminating access to free school meals for an estimated 377,585 students in our state alone. CEP has been a vital tool in ensuring students receive the nutrition they need without barriers like application paperwork, meal debt, or stigma. Sign and share the petition to oppose these cuts.

Want to learn more about CEP? Check out this blog post by FoodCorps that explains how it works, who benefits from it, and why it’s crucial that lawmakers hear from you at this moment.

2) Support PA food for PA school meals! 

Schools across Pennsylvania serve more than 157 million lunches per year, providing critical nutrients to children across the Commonwealth, and making them one of the largest potential markets for agricultural producers from across the state.

The Keystone Fresh Act – PA’s Local Food Purchasing Incentive (LFPI) – will provide Pennsylvania family farmers with access to school food markets and increase the volume and variety of PA grown food products in K-12 school meals. Very soon, the PA legislature will reintroduce the Keystone Fresh Act which, when passed and funded, will make a meaningful difference for Pennsylvania’s children, PA farmers and growers and local communities. This bill is supported by over 70 entities and passed through the PA House of Representatives last July with bipartisan support. Legislators will have the opportunity to vote on this bill again this session!

Use this how-to guide and sample message to ask your state Representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Keystone Fresh Act. If you are a farmer, grower, or producer who has sold your products to schools, your story may be particularly impactful! The PA Farm to School Network is collecting stories about selling, buying, serving and/or eating Pennsylvania grown/raised/produced food in school meals. Submit your story in a few sentences here and help build momentum to pass the Keystone Fresh Act.

Stay informed about additional ways to take action by signing these supporter forms for individuals and entities.