Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022

Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022

This bill provides funding for and makes changes to school meal programs and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). It also rescinds certain funds provided under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Specifically, the bill increases the reimbursement rate for school lunches by 40 cents and for school breakfasts by 15 cents for the school year beginning in July 2022.

The bill extends the authority of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to waive certain requirements for the school meal programs and the CACFP to address COVID-19. In particular, the bill extends authority

• through September 30, 2022, for USDA to grant waivers related to summer food service programs;
• through June 30, 2022, for USDA to grant waivers of requirements to allow non-congregate feeding in the CACFP for purposes of providing meals and snacks with appropriate safety measures with respect to COVID-19; and
• through June 30, 2023, for USDA to grant waivers related to the nutritional content of meals served in child nutrition programs if it determines the waiver is necessary to provide meals and snacks, and there is a food supply chain disruption due to COVID-19.

The bill authorizes USDA to establish a nationwide waiver of statutory and regulatory requirements under child nutrition programs for the 2022-2023 school year.

Additionally, the bill increase the reimbursement rate for meals and snacks under the CACFP by 10 cents for the school year beginning in July 2022. Further, the bill increases the reimbursement of tier II family or group day care homes to tier I amounts for the 2022-2023 school year.

The bill rescinds certain funding provided to USDA, the Department of Education, and the Small Business Administration.

Finally, the bill requires USDA to ensure that technical assistance is made available to states and school food authorities for assisting parents and school leaders with transitioning to the operation of school meal programs without certain waivers.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov