A student wearing a dark hoodie sits on a carpeted step in New Mexico’s Roundhouse and writes on a postcard about school food policy. Behind them, the legislature is in session.
A student writes a letter to policymakers during Youth for Food Day while New Mexico’s legislature is in session. Photo by Genevieve Russell.

Welcome to a new year of policy updates from FoodCorps! As the new administration settles in, we’re keeping a close eye on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and other programs affecting child nutrition. Here are the recent policy updates you need to know.

Federal Policy: All Eyes On CEP

Congress is working to finalize budgets for the House and Senate, and some lawmakers have proposed a move that would affect millions of kids: scaling back the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP. (New to CEP? Read our CEP 101 blog post to learn the basics.)

On February 25, the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution calling for cuts of $230 billion to the Agriculture Committee and $330 billion to the Education and the Workforce Committee, applicable for fiscal years 2025 through 2034. These cuts would impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and child nutrition programs like CEP.

Why does this matter? In addition to providing more kids with nourishing school meals, CEP helps to lower costs not just for schools, but at your local grocery store. You read that right: a 2021 study showed that when families with kids spend less on groceries because of CEP, the resulting “demand shock” can lower grocery prices by a median 4.5%. That means cheaper groceries for people with or without children.

CEP has clear benefits for entire communities, and cutting it would hurt millions of families. FoodCorps and our policy partners have been raising our voices about the importance of CEP and the need to continue funding this crucial program. Visit our advocacy center to urge your legislators to protect CEP—it just takes one click.

Other federal stories we’re watching include possible changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); getting to know Brooke Rollins, the new USDA Secretary confirmed earlier this year; and a looming possible government shutdown if lawmakers don’t finalize a budget. We’ll keep you posted. 

Arkansas Expands School Breakfast Access

In Arkansas, home to some of FoodCorps’ most enduring partnerships, free school breakfast has become the law of the land. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill last month making school breakfast free for every public school student in the state. 

Expanding access to school meals, including breakfast, has countless positive effects, from saving families time in the morning to making sure every kid starts the day energized. We’re glad to see this move from Gov. Huckabee Sanders and celebrate this win for kids and families.

Other states are taking note of these impacts, too. In Tennessee, a state legislator has proposed making breakfast and lunch free for every public school student in the state. Two youth advocates in Oregon made the case for school meals in a House Committee meeting. And in Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott’s proposal to roll back school meals access has been met with pushback from both sides of the aisle. 

Another Year Celebrating School Food in New Mexico

It’s been two years since New Mexico unanimously passed its historic school meals for all legislation. And for the third year in a row, FoodCorps proudly joined our local partners, as well as hundreds of students and their families, at Youth for Food Day, a celebration of school meals and local food.

Students spent the morning at New Mexico’s State Capitol, where they visited with their lawmakers to thank them for supporting school meals access and campaigned to get more local foods on their lunch trays. They also heard remarks from legislators, as well as from their peers, on the importance of young people advocating for their own well-being. 

New Mexico State Rep. Angelica Rubio commended the 300+ students and families for showing up to advocate, telling them: “We work for you all. You making demands: that’s what’s going to protect our air, our land, our water. You are in charge here. We work for you.”

Pointing to the historic Roundhouse building where the legislature convenes, State Sen. Michael Padilla simply told students: “That building belongs to you.” 

Check out our Instagram for some highlights from Youth for Food Day. 

Welcoming Our Alumni Advocacy Leads

In January, we kicked off the third year of our Alumni Advocacy Leads program. We welcomed 11 FoodCorps alums— representing 10 different states and a variety of industries—into the program, where they’ll spend the year uplifting community voices for key policy issues in child nutrition. 

Join us in congratulating these child nutrition champions on their new roles! We can’t wait to work with them to make sure kids and families continue to have a seat at the table. 

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