Extend meal access during summer break and sudden school closures so no child’s nutrition falls through the cracks.
I will extend meal access during summer break and sudden school closures so no child's nutrition falls through the cracks.
Occurrences
Restore Funding to Feed Kids and Families: Reinstate more than $1 billion for the Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance programs, which connect local farmers to schools and food banks — delivering fresh, nutritious meals to children while supporting Jersey agriculture through 2031.
Evidence
The release says Gottheimer introduced the Feed Our Kids Act, which would provide free breakfast, lunch, and afterschool snacks to every K-12 student. It explicitly says the bill would “extend meal access during summer break and sudden school closures so no child’s nutrition falls through the cracks.”
GovInfo records that Rep. Gottheimer introduced H.R. 8728, the Feed Our Kids Act of 2026, on May 11, 2026, and referred it to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. The bill’s full title is to make breakfasts and lunches free for all children.
Gottheimer said he pushed amendments to protect school meals and restore local food support. The release says those amendments were excluded, and that the efforts were blocked by partisan politics.
Assessments
The evidence shows Gottheimer took concrete action directly tied to the promise: he introduced the Feed Our Kids Act of 2026 and pushed amendments aimed at protecting or expanding school meal access, including during summer break and sudden school closures. However, the official record cited shows the bill was only introduced and referred to committee, with no evidence of enactment or implemented policy change. The additional amendment effort was also blocked. Under the rubric, a serious legislative attempt that did not achieve the promised outcome should be scored as never, with effort_badge true.