WASHINGTON — Amid persistent child hunger and food insecurity in the United States, lawmakers and advocates on Wednesday stressed the importance of school meal programs during a U.S. Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing.
Hunger severely impacts kids’ emotional and physical well-being and can lead to negative outcomes in school, research has shown . Last year, 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture .
Federally funded efforts, such as the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, provide free and reduced-cost meals to students across the country…