Scanlon highlights harm to school meal programs 

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon joined school officials, child advocates and hunger relief organizations at Penrose Elementary School in Southwest Philadelphia for a roundtable discussion on how Republicans’ proposed budget cuts would impact access to school meal programs.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” according to Scanlon, puts forward the deepest cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, slashing $300 billion in food assistance for low-income families and $715 billion in Medicaid coverage.

“Under the Republican reconciliation plan, millions of families will lose access to SNAP and Medicaid, fewer schools will qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision and schools will lose access to higher federal reimbursement,” Scanlon said. “When we take food away from kids, we don’t just harm their health. We hurt their ability to learn, to thrive and to succeed in the future.”

The proposal cuts SNAP benefits by reducing the federal contribution to states’ SNAP programs, expanding red tape for work requirements and eligibility, ending food assistance for 50,000 children with lawful immigration status and permanently freezing the Thrifty Food Plan outside of inflation adjustments. In PA-05, 89,000 people rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

Students living in SNAP households are directly certified for school meals. A student household’s SNAP participation is also counted toward a school or district’s Community Eligibility Provision threshold, which enables schools to offer free school meals to all students. The more students identified for free or reduced-price meals, the higher the federal reimbursement rate CEP schools receive to cover food costs. If SNAP participation by school-age children decreases because of new bureaucratic hurdles, it could impact individual student eligibility and increase the cost of providing universal school meals for most CEP schools.

“For thousands of students in the School District of Philadelphia, breakfast and lunch at school are the most reliable sources of daily nutrition. These meals aren’t just about food — they’re about dignity and the ability to learn,” said Tony B. Watlington Sr., Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia. “Thanks to the federal Community Eligibility Provision, every student in our district can receive free meals without any paperwork, stigma or questions. We hope to protect school meal funding and continue to invest in programs that support the whole child and promote academic achievement.”