WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.) introduced the Summer Meals Reaching Every Area’s Child Hunger (REACH) Act to combat summer hunger that leaves millions of children nationwide without access to nutritious food during the summer months.  

“Across New Jersey and our country, local and state organizations go above and beyond to fill in gaps and connect kids with nutritious meals over the summer months, but they can’t reach everyone who needs them without our help,” said Senator Kim. “Child hunger doesn’t take a break for summer vacation. I’m bringing this bill over from the House and into the Senate because it is critical we empower on the ground programs, help them reach even more communities, and set up summer meal programs for long-term success that will change children’s lives.” 

The Summer Meals REACH Act would make certain flexibilities to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) permanent to make meals more accessible to children in different communities, including: 

• Eliminating the area eligibility requirement, allowing all sites to serve free meals to all children; 
  • This flexibility has allowed programs to operate more sites in different localities and communities. 

• Eliminating the congregate feeding requirement, allowing grab-and-go meal service to continue; 
  • “Grab-and-go” meal services have successfully extended meal access to more children in rural areas. This bill would make the flexibility permanent to further expand access in additional transportation-limited areas and help reach families who can’t easily travel to other participating meal sites. 
  • The overwhelming use of this flexibility in rural areas demonstrates the value of eliminating the congregate feeding requirement. After the noncongregate flexibility was made available in rural areas, there was a 72% increase in noncongregate sponsorship from 2023 to 2024 alone, and in 2024 all states and DC chose to participate.  
  • The states who took advantage of the flexibilities at the highest rates in 2024 were majority-Republican states. In 2024, in at least eight states, at least 1 in 3 food service sites were non-congregate pick-up sites, with Alaska having the highest percentage, followed by Kansas and Montana. 2025 is the second summer that sites located in rural communities are able to take advantage of this flexibility. 

• Modifying the monitoring requirements to allow sponsors to continue to monitor sites remotely; 
  • Monitoring sites remotely has helped reduce staffing and logistical challenges and allow more community partners to operate summer meal sites for the first time. 

Senator Kim first introduced the Summer Meals REACH Act as a member of the House of Representatives as a part of his long-term commitment to end hunger across the country and help make sure students who rely on school meals don’t go hungry over the summer break. The flexibilities defined in the bill previously made meals more accessible to children during the COVID-19 pandemic and were extended during the 2022-2023 school year through the bipartisan, bicameral Keep Kids Fed Act, which continued the pandemic flexibilities based on the then-Congressman Kim’s original Summer Meals REACH Act.  

Food insecurity continues to be a prevalent problem in the United States, including New Jersey. More than 270,000 children, or around 1 in 7, in New Jersey live in a food insecure household and in recent years, as many as 1 in 5 kids across the country were unsure where they’d find their next meal. Additionally, just 15% of kids who receive free or reduced-price lunch are getting a summer lunch, which exposes a major gap in food access between the school year and summer vacation. 

The legislation is endorsed by the NJ School Nutrition Association, Hunger Free New Jersey, Hunger Free America, National Association of Social Workers, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, and First Focus on Children. Full text of the bill is available here. 

“NJSNA applauds Senator Kim’s support of the children in our state by reintroducing the REACH Act,” Keith Leder, President of the New Jersey School Nutrition Association said. “By making summer meals universally accessible and allowing flexible distribution methods, this legislation addresses child hunger in ways our schools and communities know work. It’s a smart investment in the health, learning, and future of every New Jersey child and NJSNA stands ready to help implement these flexibilities statewide.” 

“Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation. In fact, childhood food insecurity can increase during summer months when children don’t have access to school meals. The Summer Food Service Program provides crucial nutrition assistance when school is not in session, warding off summertime hunger and promoting well-being. Hunger Free New Jersey commends Senator Kim for reintroducing the REACH Act which would help more children access summer meals, ensuring that they get the nutrition they need during summer break,” said Lisa Pitz, Director of Hunger Free New Jersey. 

“U.S. child hunger soars over the summer when school meals programs are generally closed. One critical way to combat that program is the new Summer EBT program, which give parents extra food dollars over the summer to feed their kids. Another critical way is to increase access to the long-standing Summer Food Service Program, which would be accomplished by this vital bill. We applaud Senator Kim’s leadership in fighting to make summer meals more available to hungry kids in rural, suburban, and urban communities alike,” said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America. 

“The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) thanks Senator Andy Kim for introducing the Summer Meals REACH Act, which will provide opportunities for all children to access healthy meals over the summer months. Social workers understand the need for addressing food insecurity. For many children, access to healthy meals through programs like this are critical to their growth and development. With recent cuts to SNAP, innovative programs like this are needed even more. Social workers stand with Senator Kim in his effort to expand access to summer meals,” said Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Social Workers. 

“Nutrition and food security year-round is crucial, especially for children,” said Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics President Deanne Brandstetter, MBA, RDN, CDN, FAND. “Every child deserves continued access to the same standard of nutrition during the summer as they do throughout the school year. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics commends U.S. Sen. Andy Kim for championing the Summer Meals REACH Act to ensure children have access to healthy foods during the summer months. Nutritious meals are essential for children’s growth, overall well-being and the development of healthy eating habits, contributing to healthier adults and reducing future healthcare costs.”  

“At a time when the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress are demolishing federal programs that help American families meet their basic needs, we need to make supplemental and emergency food as accessible as possible. The Summer Meals REACH Act embraces the strategies that we know work, because we successfully employed them during COVID-19 and kept children and families fed. Unfortunately, the pandemic-era hunger crisis never ended for many low-income Americans, and these flexibilities are needed now more than ever. We applaud this effort to cut the red tape and reach hungry kids where they are,” said MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger’s Vice President of Public Affairs, Liza Lieberman. 

Senator Kim is building on his commitment as a leader on hunger issues in Congress, previously passing legislation in the House of Representatives to increase SNAP benefits and other programs that help families put food on the table. In the Senate, he continues to stand up against the Trump administration’s attacks on SNAP and crucial public services that help combat food insecurity in our country. Learn more about Senator Kim’s work serving New Jersey on his website here. 

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