PreK-12

Ensuring Access to Food Resources for Students Experiencing Homelessness

Families experiencing homelessness often face additional barriers to accessing food due to high mobility or lack of transportation. Homeless liaisons play an important role in ensuring that students have access to free school meals and referrals are made to provide the family access to food resources in the community.

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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 10.2% (or 13.5 million) of households were food insecure at some point during 2021. These households were uncertain of having or were unable to acquire enough food for all members of the household due to financial hardship or lack of food resources. Families experiencing homelessness often face additional barriers to accessing food due to high mobility or lack of transportation. Homeless liaisons play an important role in ensuring that students have access to free school meals and referrals are made to provide the family access to food resources in the community.

Food Insecurity:

  • Households with low food security: food insecurity characterized primarily by reductions in dietary quality and variety.
  • Households with very low food security: food insecure to the extent that eating patterns were disrupted (skipped meals) and food intake reduced because the household could not afford enough food

Accessing School Meals:

  • The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act establishes that certain children, including those who are homeless or runaway youth, are categorically eligible for free meal benefits under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. These students and their families do not have to complete an application for free meals. Rather, USDA policies allow for automatic enrollment of these students, which is known as “direct certification,” to ensure they receive meals quickly.
  • Once a child is certified as eligible to receive free school meals, eligibility remains in effect for the duration of the current school year and for up to 30 days after the first operating day of the subsequent school year or until a new eligibility determination is made in the new school year, whichever comes first.
  • USDA policy permits liaisons and shelter directors to obtain free school meals for students by providing a list of names with effective dates.
  • It is the homeless liaison’s role to ensure that school nutrition staff are notified when a student is identified under McKinney-Vento so free meals can begin immediately.
  • Notifying nutrition staff through email is allowable and many district liaisons or building points of contact communicate via email when students are identified.

Developed by: Christi DeChamps, Former McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison in Appleton Area School District, WI; Current Social Work Consultant in CESA 6, WI

Best Practices and Strategies at the School District Level

Food Access – immediate needs:

  • Offer a “Free Little Pantry” at the school office stocked with non-perishable food items donated by local food pantries. Families can take what they need.
  • Seek community donations from church, volunteer, student service groups. Consider projects like Food Bags (pre-packaged gallon zip lock bags filled with snacks and microwavable food items for grab & go needs and hotel living) or assemble “birthday boxes” (disposable cake pan packaged with a cake mix box, can of soda (for wet ingredient substitution), frosting, candles, etc).

Developed by: Kelsey Boone, Senior Child Nutrition Policy Analyst, Food Research & Action Center, kboone@frac.org

Accessing Food Resources During the Summer Months

A permanent, nationwide Summer EBT program was established in December of 2022 through the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The program begins in the Summer of 2024 and continues in subsequent years. All states and territories who run a nutrition assistance program, as well as Tribal organizations that participate in the Women, Infants, and Children program can participate.

Program structure

  • Families will receive $40 a month per eligible child (this amount will be adjusted based on inflation in 2024 and beyond).
  • All states will run the program under the SNAP program or the nutrition assistance program in territories, tribal organizations will run the program under a WIC model.
  • States must issue benefits using automatic issuance for eligible children and must provide an application for those who were not certified during the school year.
  • Those students who are categorically eligible and directly certified for school meals will automatically receive benefits, this means that all students who are identified as facing homelessness should be automatically issued benefits.

Best Practices to Distribute Benefits

  • Work with McKinney-Vento district homeless liaisons to share information on Summer EBT with the district’s homeless families and youth. Resources should include information on the program, how to update addresses, and how to get replacement cards if their card was sent to the wrong address.
  • Allow McKinney-Vento district homeless liaisons to deliver Summer EBT cards to students and families if an address is not readily available.
  • Issue Summer EBT cards in the student’s name to ensure unaccompanied youth have access to Summer EBT benefits.
  • Create an easy way for families and youth to update address information or allow them to request that the card be delivered to the school district.
  • Share information about the program with homeless youth via email, text, and social media.