New Jersey ACR 115: Urges United States Congress to pass "Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023."

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 9/12/2024)
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION No. 115
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Schnall, Rodriguez and Assemblywoman Collazos-Gill

SYNOPSIS
Urges United States Congress to pass “Universal School Meals Program Act
of 2023.”

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.

ACR115 MURPHY, MCCOY
2

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the United States Congress to 1
pass the “Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023.” 2
3
WHEREAS, Millions of people face food insecurity every day and, 4
before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, five million children in 5
the United States lived in food insecure homes; and 6
WHEREAS, The pandemic has exacerbated this problem, with the 7
United States Department of Agriculture estimating that 12 million 8
children in the United States lived in food insecure homes at the 9
height of the pandemic, many of whom experienced the stress of 10
food insecurity for the first time; and 11
WHEREAS, Families across the United States continue to struggle 12
financially in the aftermath of the pandemic; putting food and other 13
basic necessities out of reach for many working families; and 14
WHEREAS, Hungry children are more likely to have less energy, be 15
more easily distracted, come to school late or miss school entirely; 16
and 17
WHEREAS, Free and accessible school meals have been shown to 18
reduce financial stress for students and their families, and to 19
improve the health, educational, and behavioral outcomes of 20
students; and 21
WHEREAS, Prior to the start of the pandemic, close to 30 million 22
children in the country relied on free or reduced-priced breakfast 23
and lunch offered through the United States Department of 24
Agriculture; and 25
WHEREAS, Schools offering universal school meals during the 26
COVID-19 pandemic have played an important role in fighting the 27
rise in child hunger; and 28
WHEREAS, Due to significant economic disruption caused by the 29
pandemic, the United States Department of Agriculture provided 30
waivers of certain school meal rules, allowing school meals to be 31
served free for all students; and 32
WHEREAS, The “Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023,” 33
currently pending in the United States Congress, would deliver 34
permanent relief to millions of food insecure families by providing 35
free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to all school children 36
regardless of their socioeconomic status; and 37
WHEREAS, The “Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023,” if 38
enacted by the United States Congress, would eliminate school food 39
debt and reimburse schools for all delinquent school meal debt; and 40
WHEREAS, The “Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023,” 41
would expand the existing free school breakfast and lunch program 42
so that every child receives a free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 43
snack, irrespective of income, ensuring no child is left hungry; now, 44
therefore, 45
46
BE IT RESOLVED by the General Assembly of the State of New 47
Jersey (the Senate concurring): 48

ACR115 MURPHY, MCCOY
3

1. The Legislature of the State of New Jersey respectfully urges 1
the United States Congress to pass the “Universal School Meals 2
Program Act of 2023.” 3
4
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, 5
shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the 6
Secretary of the Senate to the Speaker of the United States House of 7
Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United 8
States House of Representatives, and the Majority and Minority 9
Leaders of the United States Senate, and to each member of 10
Congress elected from New Jersey. 11
12
13
STATEMENT 14
15
This concurrent resolution urges the United States Congress to 16
pass the “Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023.” This federal 17
legislation would provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to 18
all school children regardless of their socioeconomic background. 19
This legislation also eliminates school food debt and reimburses 20
schools for all delinquent school meal debt. 21