WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and a group of bipartisan Senators are urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide additional support to Arizona schools to help them expand their school meals programs for the 2020-2021 school year.
“Arizona schools are continuing online and distance-learning to protect the safety of teachers and students. During this public health crisis, we must continue to care for Arizona students by providing additional support for school meal programs,” said Sinema.
To help ensure Arizona schools have the certainty that they need to begin preparing for the upcoming school year, Sinema is urging the USDA to extend a variety of waivers that will help ensure Arizona students who rely on school breakfast and lunch can continue to access school-provided meals throughout the upcoming school year, even if they are distance learning.
Additionally, Sinema is calling on the USDA to reimburse schools for the transportation costs for delivering meals to Arizona students. Currently, the USDA does not reimburse for transportation costs. Arizona schools in rural communities face steep costs to ensure their students receive the meals they rely on.
To read Sinema’s letter click HERE.
