feeding america which manages the largest network of food banks in the country expects an additional 17 million people to fall into that category due to the pandemic millions of americans 11 of the population according to usda were considered food insecure in 2018 because they reported struggling to afford or access healthy food on a regular basis more farmers and food banks grapple with broken food supply chain boxes of 20 shelfstable meals are packed by mclane and mailed to families we have 40 million americans who are food insecure a family picks up school lunches in dallas may 5 2020 school meal programs operating with more flexible requirements during the pandemic can continue to do so through the summer the us department of agriculture announced friday eligible students are identified by baylors collaborative on hunger and poverty lm oteroap the national school lunch program served 48 billion lunches in 2018 according to usda and there has been increased concern about childrens access to healthy food as unemployment climbs during the pandemic some food prices especially for meat eggs and dairy have increased during the pandemic according to the bureau of labor statistics editors picks farmers and food banks grapple with broken food supply chain coronavirusrelief bill aims to expand free school lunch program usda relaxes requirements for parents to pick up schools meals as some are still being turned away as our nation reopens and people return to work we want to continue to be flexible since there is not a one size fits all approach to feeding kids one program called meals to you partners with baylor university and the logistics company mclane global to deliver 5 million meals a week to students in rural parts of the country the increases are partly due to disruptions in the food supply chain and changing demand as consumers avoid eating out and spend more at the grocery store to feed families at home the usda waived several requirements for school meal programs that allowed districts to let parents pick up meals without children present and families to eat the meals at home and so hunger and poverty are too big for any one sector or any one organization to address by themselves jeremy everett executive director of the program told abc news live schools districts around the country had to adapt quickly to get meals to students who typically eat at school during stay at home orders and school closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic extending these waivers throughout the summer ensures local operators can make plans that best suit their communities and keep children fed agriculture secretary sonny perdue said in a statement in response to those concerns the usda has also expanded programs typically used to deliver meals to students during the summer