The one in six Oregonians who rely on federal SNAP food and nutrition assistance to pay for groceries each month will be left with nothing in November due to the ongoing government shutdown, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Human Services.

The federal government funds nearly all the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, with states administering the program. But USDA to states on Oct. 10 that they should not distribute November assistance if Congress鈥� lapse in appropriations continued, because there would be insufficient funding to send to states for their program beneficiaries.

On Monday, the USDA notified states that there would be no November funding, and Oregon鈥檚 human services agency on Monday notified recipients they would not be receiving the assistance after Oct. 31.

Oregon鈥檚 acting human services director, Liesl Wendt, said in a statement that they would keep SNAP recipients informed throughout the shutdown about any further delays or lapses in assistance beyond November.

鈥淚n the meantime, during this time of uncertainty, we encourage everyone who receives SNAP to familiarize themselves with the free food resources in their community and to make a plan for what they will do if they do not receive their food benefits in November on time鈥� Wendt said.

More than 42 million Americans, and more than 750,000 Oregonians, rely on the program. Among Oregon recipients, more than one-quarter are children and nearly 20% are adults 65 and older.

鈥淭his is a cruel and unacceptable situation. President Trump should focus on feeding families by negotiating a deal with Congress, not doing other things like deploying troops in American cities on taxpayers鈥� dime,鈥� Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Trump has said he would ensure back pay to federal immigration and border police, Transportation Security Administration police, Secret Service and FBI agents when the shutdown ends. He and his administration have not been clear about what assistance, if any, will be offered retroactively to SNAP beneficiaries when the shutdown ends.

USDA has already in tariff revenue into its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, through Oct. 31.

The shutdown started Oct. 1 after Congress failed on a short-term government spending bill.

Senate Democrats have pushed for negotiations to extend enhanced tax credits meant to help Americans afford health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, which are set to expire by the end of the year.

Republicans have insisted on passing a short-term government funding bill that does not address rising insurance premiums.

The GOP mega bill passed by Congressional Republicans in July includes $200 billion in cuts to SNAP during the next decade, along with new work and income requirements that are likely to cause about 2 million Americans to lose assistance, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.

In 2020 and 2021, the COVID pandemic exposed weaknesses in the United States鈥� supply chain for key items in American households.

The Biden administration spent millions of dollars through the U.S. Department of Agriculture on new programs that helped farmers sell their produce to local schools, create produce boxes for households and provide more direct food access to their communities.

The Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) programs provided incentives for schools and community organizations to buy food from local farmers. They allowed states to create contracts with farmers so schools could purchase their foods and gave farmers the promise of a guaranteed sale when harvest time arrived.

Now, with rocky trade partnerships and tariffs looming, President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration has for the programs, leaving farmers across the country heading into their growing season unsure who will buy their produce.

鈥淲e really figured out how to get local farm product into community spaces under LFS and LFPA,鈥� said Thomas Smith, the chief business officer at the Kansas City Food Hub, a cooperative of farmers near the Kansas City area. 鈥淲e were making our whole organization around meeting those new needs, because we believe in the government鈥檚 promise that they believe in local food.鈥�

The Trump administration canceled about $660 million in funding for the programs that was to be paid out over the next few years. Through the programs so far, USDA has paid out more than to states and other recipients.

KC Food Hub took on the challenge of helping farmers, school districts and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education work together to streamline the processes under the Biden-era programs. It was almost an instant success.

In 2024, the cooperative brokered more than $500,000 in sales for small farmers in the Kansas City region 鈥� more than the group had seen in its first five years of operation.

KC Food Hub hoped that the new partnerships would continue putting money back into farmers鈥� pockets and was aiming for over $1 million in sales for the farmers they represent. Now, they鈥檙e huddling with school districts across Kansas and Missouri to try and keep some of the contracts alive in the absence of the federal money.

How purchasing agreements relieve stress for small farmers

The local food programs were an extra pillar of support for small farmers across the country.

USDA show that since 1980, the number of farms across the U.S. has decreased from about 2.5 million to 1.88 million in 2024. Part of that struggle, Smith said, is like many small-business owners, farmers are forced to take on many different roles.

鈥淲hat they really want to be doing is farming, knowing their soil, knowing their land,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淏ut because there is no distributor like the Food Hub in most communities, they have to be business people, too. They have to be in the board meetings, meetings with school administrators. And that just puts so much stress onto the food system.鈥�

Over the years, as small farms have dwindled and larger operations have consolidated agricultural production in the United States, the middle market and distributors like the Food Hub have phased out.

When it comes to large-scale distributors, there are plenty of places a farmer could turn to sell their products. But the return for that farmer when selling to a large distributor is much lower.

鈥淵ou get pennies on the dollar,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淣o respect to your work, no respect for your worth.鈥�

There are other USDA programs that dedicate money to states through their nutrition assistance programs and set aside funds for seniors and low-income families to from local farmers.

Studies show ripple effects through local economies when higher quantities of local food are purchased. A 2010 found that for every dollar spent on local food products, there is between 32 cents and 90 cents in additional local economic activity.

For Mike Pearl, a legacy farmer in Parkville, the programs pushed him to expand faster than he鈥檇 planned. Now, without the guarantee of those contracts, he鈥檚 scaling back his production plan for the year.

鈥淚f you think about it, it was an early game changer,鈥� Pearl said. 鈥淲e were able to, for the first

time 鈥� grow on a contracted basis for a fair price for the farmer, in a way that we never would have been able to do before.鈥�

That encouraged Pearl to increase production and begin making upgrades before he felt completely ready to do so, he told The Beacon. New equipment, growing more produce and hiring more staff were all side effects of the local food purchasing agreements.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure that a lot of vegetable farmers were actually ready for it,鈥� Pearl said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 prepared for it. But we made some changes to grow a bit more and do as much as we can on a short runway. We were set up for a perfect storm.鈥�

Anything extra Pearl produces will be donated, as his farm is one of the largest donors of food in the Kansas City area. But other farmers are left with questions about what will happen with their crops 鈥� and their revenue.

It raises a question of trust that Maile Auterson has encountered throughout her life as a fourth-generation farmer in the Ozarks and the founder of Springfield Community Gardens, which facilitates local produce boxes and the LFS programs in the Springfield, Joplin and Rolla areas.

鈥淲e promised the farmers,鈥� Auterson said. 鈥淭he biggest insult to us is that we cannot follow through on the promises we made to the farmers that we had made with that money.鈥�

The area her group serves was set to get $3 million in federal funds over the next three years. While Auterson is trying to fulfill some of those contracts, the trust that small farmers were building with the government through the program has been severed, she said.

鈥淲e talked the farmers into participating and scaling up specifically for this program,鈥� Auterson said. 鈥淭hen when we can鈥檛 follow through, the government has done what they were afraid the government would do, which would be to not look out for the small farmer. It鈥檚 a terrible moral injury to all of us.鈥�

What鈥檚 next for small farmers and local food purchasers?

Smith said the Food Hub is in talks with its participating school districts 鈥� including Lee鈥檚 Summit, Blue Springs and Shawnee Mission 鈥� to continue their purchasing agreements even without the federal funds.

So far, even with the funding cancellation, 95% of 2024鈥檚 produce sales are set to be maintained through this year, Smith said.

鈥淎s small farmers, they can鈥檛 meet the streamlined industrial agriculture price points, but we can come close,鈥� said Katie Nixon, a farmer and the co-director of New Growth Food Systems, which is affiliated with the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency.

鈥淥ur quality is usually a lot higher,鈥� Nixon said. 鈥淟ettuce, for example, will last three weeks in the cooler, whereas lettuce coming from greenhouses in God knows where will last a week before they turn to mush.鈥�

The Blue Springs School District saw a 40% increase in the use of its cafeteria salad bars after switching to local produce, Smith said. And school districts often find less waste and more savings, despite the slightly higher price when purchasing the produce, Nixon said.

Research shows that farm-to-school programs, like sourcing local produce and teaching kids about farming, resulted in students choosing healthier options in the cafeteria and eating more fruits and vegetables. Schools also saw an average 9% increase in students eating their meals from the school cafeteria when they participated in farm-to-school programming.

During Trump鈥檚 most recent Cabinet meeting at the White House, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kenendy Jr. said the administration is planning a massive overhaul of the federal school meals program.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be simple, it鈥檚 going to be user friendly. It is going to stress the simplicity of local foods, of whole foods and of healthy foods,鈥� Kennedy . 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to make it easy for everyone to read and understand.鈥�

Auterson and Nixon feel that the cancellation of the program is retribution for those who benefited from policies and funds initiated during the Biden administration.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e hurting everyone,鈥� Auterson said. 鈥淓veryone is suffering from them being retributional.鈥�

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

Last summer, hundreds of thousands of Hoosier families who qualify for food benefits and reduced-price school meals got a summertime boost: $120 per child monthly for food while schools were closed.

But relief for those 669,000 children may only have been a one-time blip. Indiana won鈥檛 participate in a federal summer food service program, known as SUN Bucks, in 2025.聽

鈥淲e made a great step forward last summer in giving families the ability to purchase the food that they need for their kids when they need it. And it just feels like a giant leap backwards to take this program away that the federal government is still operating and we could opt into it,鈥� said Kate Howe, the executive director of the Indy Hunger Network. 鈥淏ut Indiana has decided that they don鈥檛 want to.鈥�

Awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, SUN Bucks with free summertime meals and meals-to-go programs to ensure schoolchildren don鈥檛 go hungry. School breakfasts and lunches are often the only reliable source of nutrition for many students, and they lose access when the academic year ends.

Thirteen states opted out of the SUN Bucks in 2025, mostly those that didn鈥檛 participate in 2024. Indiana, however, has withdrawn after a year of participation, the state confirmed.

Indiana notified the federal oversight agency that it wouldn鈥檛 be participating on Feb. 20, 2025, but didn鈥檛 rule out future years, according to a聽 signed by the deputy director of the Family and Social Services Administration and housed on the Department of Education鈥檚 website. Plans were due to USDA by Feb. 15.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle messaged three state entities on Monday but didn鈥檛 receive requested details 鈥� including why the state withdrew from the program and the cost to administer it 鈥� before the publication deadline.

鈥淲hile SUN Bucks will be discontinued for 2025, students in low-income areas of the state can still receive free summer meals at approximately 1,000 locations (schools and other organizations) through the USDA鈥檚 Summer Food Service Program,鈥� wrote Courtney Bearsch, a spokeswoman for Indiana鈥檚 Department of Education.

Bearsch pointed families toward the USDA鈥檚聽 and Hunger Hotline to identify participating locations. The hotline is accessible Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479) for English speakers or at 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273) for Spanish speakers.

Securing food in the summer

While in school, children can qualify for free or reduced price breakfasts and lunches. According to state data obtained by the , nearly half of Indiana鈥檚 students qualified for free or reduced meals in 2024, or more than 509,000 children.

However, the state wasn鈥檛 able to tell the Indiana Capital Chronicle why USDA reported 160,000 additional students participated in the SUN Bucks program.

Summer food service programs, in one form or another, have existed for decades. Traditionally, children would need to be on-site to receive meals and wouldn鈥檛 be permitted to take food home.

But the COVID-19 pandemic made large gatherings dangerous, forcing a pivot to grab-and-go meals and, eventually, a direct financial boost to families receiving food benefits.

The initial phase of the direct-to-family program was tied to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It increased funding for participating families using Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, or EBT. Following the end of the public health emergency on May 11, 2023, the federal government in favor of SUN Bucks 鈥� which also go onto EBT cards but are more narrowly tailored depending on family circumstances.

In Indiana, SUN Bucks were distributed to . According to the USDA, 669,000 children between the ages of 7 and 18 years old were served by the program in 2024 鈥� though students were .

鈥淥bviously, that provides a lot of flexibility,鈥� observed Howe. 鈥淚f they have allergies or dietary restrictions, having that money to purchase the food that works for your family is really important. I have a child with a peanut allergy 鈥� so if my son went to a meal site where they were serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, he wouldn鈥檛 be able to eat that.鈥�

Howe鈥檚 organization doesn鈥檛 directly participate in summertime food programming, which routinely relies on local school districts or local community centers, but does advertising and outreach.

While community centers and participating schools will still offer sit-down or grab-and-go meals, those may be harder for some families to access.

鈥淢aybe you have 13-year-olds that you feel comfortable leaving home alone during the summer when you鈥檙e at work, but you don鈥檛 feel comfortable having them walk around the community to access meals at a free meal site,鈥� said Howe, naming pedestrian safety as a concern.

鈥淚n rural areas 鈥� there might be one meal site per county. And for those you might have to walk or bike many miles in order to get the free meal,鈥� Howe continued. 鈥淪o those meals just become inaccessible to a lot of kids.鈥�

from the Indiana Department of Education shows that the sites are clustered around population centers, potentially shutting out students in rural areas. Outside of cities, most options are tied to local school corporations.

The loss of the program was a setback for advocates like Howe working to feed Indiana鈥檚 hungry, especially in the face of economic uncertainty.

鈥淭he cost of groceries keeps rising. It鈥檚 getting harder and harder to buy those foods that your family needs,鈥� concluded Howe. 鈥淛ust having that little bit of help really makes a difference to families that are struggling.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.

WASHINGTON 鈥� The U.S. Department of Agriculture Monday announced $33 million in funding to 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities designated as land-grant institutions to support research and education projects.

The funding through USDA鈥檚 National Institute of Food and Agriculture will support in sustainable farming practices such as reducing use of plastics, enhancing nutritional value in vegetables and addressing shortages in sunflower seed oil.

鈥淭he work these universities will take on as a result of this funding have ripple effects far beyond the walls of their laboratories and classrooms,鈥� Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said in a statement.

Torres Small said the investments will help 鈥渄eliver real-life, applicable solutions to make our food system stronger, while at the same time inspiring a next generation of students and scientists who will help us meet tomorrow鈥檚 agricultural challenges.鈥�

1890 Land-Grant Institutions are a byproduct of a Civil War-era law that gave land to dozens of universities, including the HBCUs, but In total, nearly 11 million acres were taken from more than 250 tribes, published in High Country News.

鈥淯SDA looks forward to the impact these visionary projects will have in improving the supply of affordable, safe, nutritious and accessible food and agricultural products, while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America,鈥� NIFA Director Manjit K. Misra said in a statement.

Many of the projects are geared toward sustainable practices in farming. U.S. agriculture contributes to about , and the Biden administration has focused on 鈥渃limate smart鈥� farming practices.

at North Carolina A&T State University was awarded about $250,000 to conduct farm trials of biodegradable mulches, which would be an alternative to plastic mulch.

Another land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio, the , was awarded about $500,000 to explore the use of a perennial flower 鈥� meaning it comes back year after year 鈥� as a way to improve honey production in order to enhance sustainability practices in agriculture.

And in Nashville, at Tennessee State University was awarded $100,000 to evaluate climate resiliency in legume species, which are crops such as snow peas, chickpeas and lentils, that are crucial to fixing nitrogen into the soil to improve soil health.

A full list of projects can be found , and the 19 land-grant universities sharing in the $33 million include:

Alabama A&M University

Alcorn State University

Central State University

Delaware State University

Florida A&M University

Fort Valley State University

Kentucky State University

Langston University

Lincoln University of Missouri

North Carolina A&T State University

Prairie View A&M University

South Carolina State University

Southern University and A&M College

Tennessee State University

Tuskegee University

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Virginia State University

West Virginia State University

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on and .

From balancing a packed schedule to not always having the means to buy groceries, Brownlee is grateful her Virginia school continued to provide free breakfast and lunch for all students despite the expiration of federally funded pandemic school meals at the start of the 2022-23 academic year.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have one of those stay-at-home mom lives where I鈥檓 able to pack their lunch every day,鈥� Brownlee told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o even if I know the food isn鈥檛 everything they might want, it鈥檚 at least something to get them through the day.鈥�

Although Virginia has not passed free school meals legislation in the absence of the federal program, Virginia and many other states are now participating in the , or CEP 鈥� an Obama-era program that allows schools with high poverty rates to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students.

According to a report from the , CEP participation soared in the 2022-23 academic year with 40,235 schools nationwide taking part 鈥� an increase of 6,935 schools, or 20.8 percent, compared to the previous year.

CEP began through the where any district, group of schools or individual school with 40 percent or more students eligible for free school meals can participate.

Today, 19.9 million children across the country attend a school that has CEP 鈥� an increase of nearly 3.7 million children, or 22.5 percent, compared to the previous year.

Participation rates vary significantly state-by-state, from nearly 100 percent of eligible schools in Wyoming, California and the District of Columbia to under 30 percent of eligible schools in New Hampshire, Colorado and Kansas.

Crystal FitzSimons, the director of school and out-of-school time programs at the Food Research and Action Center, said CEP participation has grown in almost every single state.

鈥淢ost schools did not want to go back to the way school nutrition programs operated prior to the pandemic so they really leaned into community eligibility,鈥� FitzSimons told 社区黑料.

Cheryl Johnson, the director of child nutrition and wellness at the Kansas Department of Education, said the state鈥檚 low 28.8% CEP participation stems from how it negatively affects schools鈥� finance formula.

鈥淢any school districts are hesitant to move away from using meal applications because it can greatly impact their at-risk funding for students,鈥� Johnson told 社区黑料.

Johnson added how schools participating in CEP lose important student data from no longer having to fill out applications for those receiving free or reduced price meals 鈥� thus causing schools to potentially receive less funding from the state.

But FitzSimons said Johnson鈥檚 concerns are not the case.

鈥淎 lot of times school districts would distribute Title I funds using free and reduced price eligibility, but they don’t have to do it that way,鈥� FitzSimons said. 鈥淲hen community eligibility passed, the U.S. Department of Education actually came out with guidance to help districts come up with ways to distribute these funds among their schools.鈥�

A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. 

Allie Pearce, a K-12 analyst at the Center for American Progress, added how schools shouldn鈥檛 shy away from CEP because there is a need to change how schools structure their finance formulas.

鈥淔ree and reduced price eligibility is an imperfect measure of students’ socioeconomic status but it鈥檚 the predominant one that鈥檚 used,鈥� Pearce told 社区黑料. 鈥淲e really need to move away from free and reduced price eligibility as this proxy measure and move towards other measures that are more representative of students and their families.鈥�

Pearce recommends schools look at household income, students鈥� Medicaid participation and neighborhood poverty rates from the U.S. Census Bureau among other data points.

鈥淭here are a lot of things we can use, and it probably makes the most sense to use a mixed measure as much as possible since that will paint a clearer picture,鈥� Pearce said.

Frank Edelblut, the New Hampshire Education Commissioner, noted how the state鈥檚 low 14.3% CEP participation comes from having few schools eligible.

鈥淚t’s just hard to get a whole broad swath of schools that are going to participate because they don鈥檛 qualify,鈥� Edelblut told 社区黑料.

To address this concern, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a rule in March 2023 to lower the CEP eligibility threshold from .

鈥淭his proposed rule will make CEP available for about 20,000 more schools,鈥� a USDA spokesperson told 社区黑料 in an emailed statement. 鈥淯SDA estimates that about 2,000 schools with roughly 1 million children enrolled will opt into CEP because of this rule.鈥�

But Pearce strongly believes 鈥渢he logical and equitable next step is a universal system full stop.鈥�

鈥淓xpanding community eligibility now is needlessly regressive when it comes to the pandemic era waivers we’ve already offered,鈥� Pearce said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 address the ongoing meal debt burdens or some of the longstanding struggles associated with the meal application process in schools.鈥�

Johnson agreed, adding that despite Kansas鈥� low CEP participation, free school meals for all students would be a 鈥渨in-win鈥� situation. 

鈥淚t would reduce paperwork and reduce stigma dramatically within the state if universal free meals were ever considered by Congress,鈥� Johnson said.

Kerri Link, the nutritions program supervisor at the Colorado Department of Education, said the state addressed the low 27% CEP participation by passing free school meal legislation starting in the upcoming 2023-24 academic year.

Colorado now joins California, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont that have acted to independently .

Until statewide measures transition to federal investment, Pearce said CEP participation still serves as an incremental step forward.

鈥淚t may not go far enough to meet the needs of schools across the country, but in general, it鈥檚 a great step towards free meal access for more students,鈥� Pearce said.

On Tuesdays, three Little Caesars stores across Oakland County, Michigan, make 273 pizzas in the morning even before they open for business. On Wednesdays, another 320 pies are out the door before noon.

But their customers aren鈥檛 sports fans ditching work to watch a day game. They鈥檙e students in the Huron Valley Schools in Highland, Michigan, northwest of Detroit.聽

鈥淥ur little kids cheer when the pizzas come. It鈥檚 one thing our kids can count on,鈥� said Sara Simmerman, food and nutrition supervisor for the 8,600-student district.

Like most districts across the country, Huron Valley is facing unprecedented food and labor shortages caused by what say is nearing a 鈥�global transport systems collapse.鈥� Experts say as the economy reopened following lockdowns, multiple industries 鈥� including those involved in delivering food and supplies to schools 鈥� have faced increased demand they can鈥檛 meet.

Many predict the could extend throughout the rest of the school year. Forced to adapt their meal programs to a grab-and-go system last year when schools shut down for remote learning, school nutrition departments are now scrambling to find menu items and enlisting front office staff and school administrators to serve meals.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been told it may even get worse before it gets better,鈥� Simmerman said. The district鈥檚 partnership with MAC Foods Group, which owns the Little Caesars stores, began before the pandemic, and has become a rare source of stability as the district increasingly improvises its in-house menus.聽

The unpredictability of deliveries adds to the frustration. A satellite kitchen that serves the district鈥檚 elementary schools recently received only 35 of聽 400 cases of food ordered. A few days later, 700 cases arrived at once.

鈥淵ou never know what you鈥檙e going to get,鈥� Simmerman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing how many kids want to eat salad when you don鈥檛 have lettuce.鈥�

A nationwide is one piece of the complex puzzle that determines whether Los Angeles students get applesauce or schools across Michigan鈥檚 Oakland County offer chocolate milk.聽

鈥淒eliveries of goods and foods are extremely delayed. It now takes an average of eight weeks to receive an item that previously showed up in two to three weeks,鈥� said Lieling Hwang, assistant director of nutrition services for the Long Beach Unified School District in California. 鈥淭ypically, these deliveries are coming in short, as well.鈥�

That means middle and high school students aren鈥檛 getting their favorite 鈥渟picy cheese crunchers,鈥� and the whole wheat croissants that were used to make breakfast sandwiches have been discontinued, Hwang said.

鈥楧on鈥檛 have the luxury鈥�

Some school nutrition directors are scheduling deliveries after hours or directing distributors to central warehouses and then using district staff to get food to local schools, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association.聽

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced in assistance to help school nutrition departments keep up with rising costs. The funds will provide schools with fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products. This would free up other funds to offer hiring bonuses to address staffing shortages. But Pratt-Heaver noted that agricultural commodities usually account for only 15 to 20 percent of what districts serve, and they still have to rely on vendors and distributors for other food and supplies.聽

The lack of paper products, for example, is almost as bad as the shortage of food, said Sharon Glosson, executive director of the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas.聽

鈥淭here really isn鈥檛 an alternative to a plate,鈥� she said, adding that in the past, staff would use multiple plates or containers because some children like to keep their food separated. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the luxury to do that anymore.鈥� Elementary schools in the district, meanwhile, use plastic trays with compartments, but washing them takes labor, and the district still has almost 150 unfilled positions.

Labor shortages are also a challenge for MAC Foods Group.When stores are short-staffed, Simmerman and administrative assistant Colleen Armstrong pitch in.聽

鈥淲e go and deliver the pizzas ourselves if we have to,鈥� Simmerman said.聽

Costs are 鈥榮oaring鈥�

Nutrition directors say that while students might not get their favorite entrees, they鈥檙e keeping children fed. Parents don鈥檛 have to pay for school meals because Congress made them free for all students this year. But it鈥檚 the shortages students face when they go home that Hwang and others worry most about.聽

鈥淭hese issues do affect students outside of school as the cost of foods [and] supplies is soaring,鈥� Hwang said. 鈥淪carcity and unaffordability 鈥� makes food insecurity even more pronounced now.鈥�

Congress created the Pandemic EBT 鈥� electronic benefit transfer 鈥� program to cover the cost of food for students while schools were closed. The American Rescue Plan, the relief package passed in March, continued the program through the summer and this school year. But the program is only meant to serve students who are learning remotely.

An increase in the benefits low-income families receive through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program took effect , providing about $36 more a month per person. But the supply chain bottlenecks are causing at the grocery store, and are experiencing some of the same shortages as schools.聽

Affected by labor shortages, wildfires and the pandemic, the Oregon Food Bank, for one, has seen a drop in food donations as well as higher prices at a time when demand for services has doubled. The disruption means less fresh produce and affects supplies at school food pantries that low-income families depend on for weekend meals, said spokeswoman Ashley Mumm. The food bank provided funds to the school pantry programs so they could stock up at grocery outlets and big box stores like Costco.

鈥淢ore and more barriers are placed in front of families,鈥� said Lucy Coady, director of No Kid Hungry, a national campaign of the nonprofit Share Our Strength. 鈥�This is affecting every aspect of how hungry kids are fed across the country.鈥�