Political Quotes

“I know that many students across the country are waiting on the edge of their seats and looking forward to school letting out shortly for their summer break. But for many of those kids who participate in school meal programs, the summer can be a pretty uncertain time--not knowing when or where they are going to get their next meal. It can be a stressful time for those kids' parents as well, who have to stretch every dollar they have to feed their family today. That is a struggle Nicole, a single mom from my home State of Washington, knows all too well. She has been unemployed now for about a year. She has two kids. She has a daughter who is finishing kindergarten and a son who is just finishing fifth grade. They have relied on SNAP benefits to help pay for their groceries and school meals to get help during the school year. But Nicole says that last summer, without school-provided meals, it was particularly difficult to put enough food on the table to feed her kids. Today I am here introducing a bill that will help families like Nicole's and many across the country. It is a bill to make sure more children can get the nutrition they need during the summer break. When school is in session, millions of kids from low-income families can get free or reduced-price meals through our National School Lunch Program. But during the summer, hunger goes up in this country about 34 percent for families with school-aged kids, according to a study.…”