David and Adair Keller started their married life together in 1977 at Camp Lejeune, a military training base on the Atlantic Coast in Jacksonville, North Carolina. David was a Marine Corps field artillery officer then, and they lived together on the base for about six months.

But that sojourn had an outsize impact on their lives.

Forty years later, in January 2018, Adair was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. She died six months later at age 68. There’s a chance her illness was caused by toxic chemicals that seeped into the water military families at the base drank, cooked with, and washed with for decades.

When the PACT Act passed last August, David asked a neighbor who worked at a personal injury law firm in Greenville, South Carolina, if he thought he might have a case. Now Keller is filing a
wrongful death claim against the federal government under a section of that measure that allows veterans, their family members, and others who spent at least 30 days at Camp Lejeune between Aug. 1, 1953, and the end of 1987 to seek damages against the government for harm caused by exposure to the toxic water.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act didn’t attract the spotlight like the aspects of PACT that deal with the harms soldiers experienced from burn pit fumes overseas. But for veterans who served at this North Carolina post, it is the realization of a decades-long effort to hold the government accountable.

As cases begin to proceed through the legal system, some veterans’ advocates worry that families who have already suffered from toxic exposure may get shortchanged by a process that’s supposed to provide them with a measure of closure and financial relief. They support limiting lawyers’ fees, some of which may exceed half of a veteran’s award.

The government estimates as many as a million people were exposed to Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water during the 34-year period covered by the law. Personal injury lawyers have taken notice. In recent months, TV ads trying to drum up business have been impossible to ignore: “If you or a loved one were stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 and developed cancer, call now. You may be entitled to significant compensation.”

During the year that ended in March, TV ads soliciting Camp Lejeune claims reached an estimated $123 million, according to X Ante, a company that tracks mass tort litigation advertising. Camp Lejeune TV ads currently rank third among the top targets for mass tort claims since 2012, behind only asbestos and mesothelioma ($619 million) and Roundup weed killer ($132 million).

“The attorneys have calculated out that they stand to make a pot of money,” said Autrey James, chairman of the American Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Commission. “We need Congress to put caps on how much these attorneys can charge.”

For Keller, a 73-year-old former workers’ compensation lawyer, it’s a matter of accountability. Because of his experience, he came out of retirement last year to represent Camp Lejeune victims. He is now working part-time at the Greenville law firm he spoke with initially, and that now represents his late wife. It currently has roughly 65 Camp Lejeune cases.

Under the law, veterans must first file an administrative claim with the Judge Advocate General of the Navy’s Tort Claims Unit. If, after six months, the Navy hasn’t settled the claim, or if it denies the claim, veterans can file suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

So far, approximately 23,000 claims have been filed with the Navy, none of which have been fully adjudicated, said Patricia Babb, a spokesperson for the Judge Advocate General’s office.

This legal remedy has been a long time coming. In the early 1980s, the Marine Corps learned that three of Camp Lejeune’s water distribution systems were contaminated with industrial chemicals that had seeped into the water from leaking underground storage tanks, industrial spills, and waste disposal sites. The Corps shut them down in the mid-1980s, and the area was declared a hazardous waste site in 1989 under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund law.

Federal studies later showed that toxic chemicals in the water — benzene, vinyl chloride, and TCE, among others — were present at levels that could have caused a range of cancers and other serious illnesses. In 2012, after an intense lobbying campaign by veterans, Congress passed a law that gave veterans and their families free medical care if they got sick with any of more than a dozen diseases associated with the toxic water.

But thousands of veterans who felt the Navy had stonewalled and delayed addressing the contamination filed civil suits seeking damages. In 2019, the federal government denied all the claims, citing state and federal statutes that shielded the government.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act opened a two-year window for veterans and their families to pursue cases against the federal government.

And Liz Hartman, the commander of American Legion Post 539 in nearby New Bern, now sees new reason for alarm. Some veterans are signing contingency fee contracts in which they agree to pay lawyers representing them 40% to 60% of any money they receive, Hartman said.

“Many of these people are elderly and very vulnerable, and they’re being preyed upon,” she said.

Personal injury lawyers generally work on a contingency basis. If they win the case, they receive a portion of the award, often one-third. If they lose, they get nothing. The firm Keller is working
with charges 40% for Camp Lejeune cases.

If anything, fees for the Camp Lejeune cases should be lower than usual, not higher, said Matt Webb, senior vice president for legal reform policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform.

“The PACT Act changed the burden of proof and made it so much easier for claimants to win their cases,” he said. Under the law, the evidence must show that the exposure was as likely as not to have caused the harm, rather than having to prove that there’s a greater than 50% chance that the claim is true, called a “preponderance” standard.

In addition, the law requires that any award a veteran receives be offset by any amount they received in a disability payment or health benefit related to their condition. This could substantially reduce the amount of their award.

Veterans “could end up owing money,” Webb said. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but particularly if a lawyer is taking a huge chunk in fees, it could happen.”

Trial lawyers say a marginally lower burden of proof doesn’t mean the cases will be easy to win.

It’s a new law with no case law or judicial opinions to refer to, said Mike Cox, a Livonia, Michigan, lawyer and former Marine infantryman who was stationed at Camp Lejeune in the early 1980s. He’s now representing more than 200 veterans in such cases.

Many of the diseases and conditions people developed are not among those the government acknowledges may be linked to the contaminated water, Cox said. Even for veterans whose illnesses are recognized by the government, lawyers will have to show where they were based, what kind of cancer they have, and their level of toxic exposure, he said. His fee for representing these veterans is 33% of any award they receive.

In addition to proving they were stationed at Camp Lejeune during the years covered by the law, “the claimant also must demonstrate to the Navy he/she is suffering from an injury that is related to the exposure to (or ingestion of) contaminated water,” said Babb, the Judge Advocate General spokesperson.

With stories circulating of attorney contingency fees that could potentially eat up more than half of veterans’ awards, some lawmakers have stepped in.

Under a bill proposed by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Camp Lejeune attorney fees would be capped at 20% in cases settled as administrative claims and 33.3% in those filed as civil lawsuits in court.

Another House proposal, introduced by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Mike Bost (R-Ill.) is identical to one introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), which would cap fees at 12% and 17% under similar circumstances.

According to David Keller, based on his conversations with other lawyers, “nobody is objecting to something that is reasonable,” such as caps at 20% and 33%.

Many of Keller’s clients are older men who are really sick and probably won’t live long, he said. Some tell him they’re reluctant to sue the government.

“What I say to them is, ‘When we signed the contract with Uncle Sam, we gave Uncle Sam a blank check for our arms, our legs, and maybe even our lives. But we didn’t sign a blank check to get a serious disease from contaminated water, either them or their spouses or children.”

By Michelle Andrews | KFF Health News

KFF Health News , formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

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The number of first-in vessel services calling The Port of Virginia® is growing and last week the port welcomed the latest addition to that list, the ONE Munchen, which left Southeast Asia and headed straight to Virginia. Reworked service will compliment Port’s newest rail link to Memphis.

The arrival of the ONE Munchen last Tuesday at Norfolk International Terminals signals the beginning of a reworked EC4 vessel service that now has The Port of Virginia as the first US East Coast stop. The weekly service links the port with several important Southeast Asian markets.

“The cargo owners will benefit from this reworked service because a first-in port call allows them to get their cargo quicker and it gives cargo owners more markets, more options, for moving their exports and imports,” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “This service is taking advantage of our ability to efficiently handle big ships, their cargo and our rail reach into critical Midwest population and manufacturing centers.”

Edwards said the reworked EC4 will pair nicely with the port’s service to its newest rail market, Memphis. In early April, the port began offering daily rail service to Norfolk Southern’s regional intermodal terminal in Rossville, which is just outside of Memphis.

“Both exporters and importers were asking us [Norfolk Southern and the port] to develop a high-quality Memphis rail service,” Edwards said. “Now we have service into Memphis, which is an important step south and west for us. Couple that with another first-in vessel call that uses the Suez Canal and this works to the advantage of cargo owners for several reasons. The first is an alternative to the US West Coast, second is speed to market and third is access to our growing rail network.”

Edwards also pointed out that The Port of Virginia was ranked the nation’s second highest performing in The Container Port Performance Index 2022 (CPPI), which was published in earlier this month. The CPPI ranks the world’s leading container ports based on data collected by World Bank, with contributions from S&P Market Intelligence IHS Markit.

“Our performance is a clear reason why we are attracting first-in vessel calls and new rail services,” Edwards said. “Our ability to service vessels and get them back to sea quickly and safely is being recognized by independent sources. We have a $1.4 billion expansion effort underway and the improvements we are making are going create even greater efficiency and continue to drive cargo to and through this port.”

In the report, Virginia’s port was 52nd out of the world’s top 370 ports. The rankings are based on total number of hours a ship spends at a port, which is measure as the elapsed time between when a ship reaches a port to its departure from the berth having completed its cargo exchange.

There are four ocean carriers in the EC4 service, ONE (Ocean Network Express), Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming and HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine), that all contribute vessels to the service; the 14,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) ONE Munchen is owned by ONE. The port call rotation includes Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Hong Kong Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, (Suez Canal transit), Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston, New York.

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Each year, Memorial Day weekend is a busy travel time for motorists making their first warm-weather weekend getaways to the beach, the Blue Ridge, or beyond. To help travelers spend more time at their destination than in traffic, the Virginia Department of Transportation will be suspending most highway work zones and lifting most lane closures on interstates and other major roads in Virginia from noon on Friday, May 26, until noon on Tuesday, May 30.

While lane closures will be lifted in most locations, motorists may encounter semi-permanent work zones that remain in place during this time. Check VDOT’s Weekly Lane Closures and Travel Advisories for the latest travel alerts in your area and around the state.

Additionally, VDOT offers several resources to help plan travel ahead of time.

TRAVEL TRENDS MAP HELPS PREDICT PEAK CONGESTION

Based on historical data, VDOT’s online interactive travel trends map shows peak congestion periods anticipated on Virginia interstates during the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend holiday period. While it cannot precisely predict when congestion will occur this year, it can help motorists avoid travel when roads have historically been busiest.

Based on the historical data:

• On Interstate 95 northbound, heavy congestion is expected on Friday and Saturday between Fredericksburg and the D.C. line and on Monday between Richmond and Northern Virginia.

• On Interstate 95, southbound, congestion is expected between the D.C. line and Richmond on Friday and Saturday and on Sunday and Monday in Northern Virginia.

• In the Hampton Roads area, congestion is also likely, especially on Interstate 64, approaching the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel eastbound on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and going westbound on Friday and Monday.

• On Interstate 81 northbound, pockets of congestion may appear on Monday between Roanoke and Winchester.

PLAN AHEAD WITH VDOT 511: REAL-TIME TRAFFIC INFO AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

VDOT’s free mobile 511 app offers information about construction, traffic, incidents, and congestion, as well as access to traffic cameras, weather, EV charging stations, and more. Use 511’s “speak ahead” option to alert you to incidents on your route.

Traffic information is also available at 511Virginia.org or by calling 511 on any phone.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE (HOV) SCHEDULE AND OTHER INFORMATION

• All rush-hour tolls on the 66 Express Lanes Inside the Beltway will be lifted on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29.

• Find directional schedules for the reversible Interstate 95 and 395 express lanes and information for the 495 Express Lanes at www.expresslanes.com.

HAMPTON ROADS HOV SCHEDULE, TUNNELS, AND OTHER INFORMATION

• I-64/I-264/I-564 HOV Diamond Lanes and 64 Express Lanes – HOV restrictions and Express Lanes tolls will be lifted on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29.

• Travel to Virginia Beach – Peninsula traffic to Virginia Beach is encouraged to use the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (MMMBT) as an alternative to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). If traveling to Virginia Beach, take I-664 south to the MMMBT. Then take the Portsmouth/Norfolk exit (exit 15A) to I-264 east to Virginia Beach.

• Travel to Outer Banks – Traffic to the North Carolina Outer Banks should use I-664 and the MMMBT as an alternative to the HRBT to save time. From I-664 South, take the Portsmouth/Norfolk exit to I-264 East (exit 15A). Continue on I-264 East through the Downtown Tunnel and take the first exit to I-464 South (exit 8). From I-464, continue south onto the Chesapeake Expressway (Route 168). Continue south on Route 168 to the Outer Banks.

• Note: Motorists should be advised of potential lane closures and truck traffic restrictions on the Chesapeake Expressway (Route 168) due to recent damage sustained to the bridge. Travel updates for the Chesapeake Expressway bridge can be found on the City of Chesapeake’s website at www.cityofchesapeake.net/3171/Rt-168-Bypass-Bridge-Updates

STAY SAFE

• Do your part to make travel safer for all:
• If you plan to drink, have a designated driver
• Don’t drive distracted, and speak up if someone else is doing so
• Buckle up and ensure children and car seats are secured
• Maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you
• Use your signals for lane changes and turns
• Cars can heat dangerously fast on hot days: don’t leave children, elderly persons, or pets in parked cars for any amount of time

For questions or to report hazardous road conditions, contact VDOT’s 24-hour Customer Service Center by visiting my.vdot.virginia.gov or calling 800-FOR-ROAD (367-7623).

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In celebration of National Parks week, Travel Lemming released a data-backed ranking of all 63 US national parks. Shenandoah, Virginia’s only national park, surprised by clinching the top spot as the best national park in the US.

Travel Lemming’s national parks ranking is based on an analysis of data scoring each park across six factors: affordability, accessibility, biodiversity, crowds, reviews, and weather.

The report revealed the following insights: 

• Shenandoah National Park tops the list at 1st overall, with exceptional scores in affordability, accessibility, and biodiversity.
• Shenandoah ranks as the 2nd most affordable National Park in the USA. The only more affordable park in America is Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
• With 2,563 species, Shenandoah ranks 6th for biodiversity.
• Shenandoah ranks #7 in accessibility, because it is relatively close to major airports like Dulles International Airport, which is just 55.5 miles driving distance away.
• Shenandoah is the 19th best reviewed national park in the USA, with an average visitor rating of 4.77 out of 5.
• Several lesser-known parks rank in the top 20, challenging conventional ideas of the top US national parks.
• Iconic national parks fared worse in the data, largely due to crowds and affordability. Grand Canyon National Park was ranked #15, Yellowstone National Park at position #23, and Yosemite National Park at slot #34.

The top 10 US national parks in the USA according the report are: 

The full ranking can be found at: travellemming.com/best-national-parks-in-usa.

Travel Lemming Senior Travel Writer McKenna Mobley commented: “I have traveled the world, and can confidently say that the USA national parks are unparalleled, making them one of my all-time favorite travel destinations. Every US national park offers its own special flair, so in some sense ranking them is like ranking music genres — they’re all good!”

“However, I hope this report highlights the fact that some of America’s less famous parks offer far more than what meets the eye. Sometimes the best experiences can be found at hidden park gems that are off the lemming path.”

Methodology

National Parks were ranked on six factors, based on the following data:

• Crowds – Number of visits per acre of park land in 2022. (Sources: NPS 2022 Recreation Visit Data, Wikipedia Acreage Data)
• Reviews – Average visitor review score out of 5. (Sources: Google Maps, Yelp, TripAdvisor)
• Weather – Number of months with a comfortable average temperature, defined as between 50 and 90 degrees fahrenheit. (Source: NOAA NECI US Climate Normals)
• Affordability – Average nightly cost of a nearby quality hotel room during the first weekend of the park’s most popular month. (Sources: Booking, Google Travel, Hotel Websites)
• Accessibility – Average of driving distance to the park from the closest FAA Primary Airport and from the closest hub airport. (Sources: FAA, Google Maps Driving Distance, Wikipedia Major US Airports)
• Biodiversity – Number of species deemed “present or probably present.” (Source: NPS Species List)

Overall rankings were determined by each park’s average ranking across all factors. Further details are available in the report’s methodology section.

About Travel Lemming

Travel Lemming is an online travel guide with more than 10 million annual readers. It is known for highlighting emerging and lesser-known destinations, and for the authentic guides produced by its team of dozens of local and expert travel creators.

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The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has executed and recorded a perpetual historic preservation easement over the Edwards Tract, a property situated on the site where the Battle of Port Republic in the American Civil War (1861-1865) took place. The easement protects approximately 107 acres of historically significant open-space land. The Edwards Tract is located southeast of the City of Harrisonburg, in a rural agricultural area in Rockingham County known as Port Republic.

On June 9, 1862, Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson engaged with Federal forces east of the village of Port Republic. The battle largely occurred on a 70-foot-high ridge, known locally as “The Coaling,” which featured a clearing at the top from a charcoaling operation. The Coaling encompassed much of what today comprises the Edwards Tract. While Union artillery units at the top of the ridge initially dominated the battlefield, Jackson, who was concerned about the possibility of more Federal troops arriving on site, launched a haphazard attack against the Union forces. The majority of Jackson’s brigade, including the Louisiana Tigers, moved through the woods west of the Edwards Tract to fight the Union position at The Coaling. After a series of attacks from both sides, troops under Gen. Richard S. Ewell arrived to help the Confederates capture The Coaling and win the battle. The Confederate victory at Port Republic resulted in the withdrawal of Federal troops back down the Shenandoah Valley and allowed Jackson to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains to join troops led by Gen. Robert E. Lee near Richmond.

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation (SVBF) acquired the Edwards Tract in 2022 using grants from the American Battlefield Protection Program, the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund, and the Virginia Land Conservation Fund. The SVBF conveyed an easement on the property to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) to fulfill grant requirements.

The densely forested terrain of the Edwards Tract is bisected by Ore Bank Road (State Route 708). The property fronts an unnamed intermittent stream along its western boundary for more than 3,700 feet. This stream drains to the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Virginia Department of Forestry considers approximately 49 percent of the Edwards Tract a high priority for forestland conservation in the state. More than 50 acres of the property have an “outstanding” rating in ecological integrity value in the Virginia Natural Landscapes Assessment. A portion of the property also lies within the Deep Run-Madison Run Pond Complex Conservation Site as designated by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

SVBF intends to install pedestrian trails and interpretative signs on the property to educate the public about the Battle of Port Republic. The Edwards Tract adjoins other properties owned by SVBF that are associated with the battle, and together they create a contiguous corridor of 327 acres of conserved historic landscape.

As of 2023, DHR has placed under easement more than 75,000 acres of land. DHR easements are held by the VBHR, and DHR staff monitor the eased lands. The VBHR currently holds easements on approximately 49,000 acres of battlefields in Virginia.

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Every public school kid in the United States was eligible for free school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of family income, thanks to the federal government.

Yet the program was sunsetted in 2022, given objections to its roughly $29 billion estimated annual price tag and a desire among conservative members of Congress to “go back to normal.” 

“There are pieces to this program that are badly damaged,” said Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “You’re not solving anything by making it a universal program.”

Under current federal law, only students with families who have incomes 185% or more below the poverty line are eligible for entirely free school meals. That would be a family of four that makes roughly $36,000 or less.

Families with income between 130% and 185% below the poverty line pay a reduced price for meals. Students whose families have income above 130% of the poverty line must pay full price.

Party divisions

Policy experts say that despite growing interest in some states, federal universal school meals legislation would be a non-starter in the current Congress, where Republicans in the House majority aim to reduce federal spending.

States led by Republicans might be less eager to move ahead as well, with bills in those states stalled in committee or failing to pass by slim margins. Costs for the program range from $30 million to $40 million annually in states like Maine to $400 million over two years in Minnesota.

Of the nine states that have passed universal school meals, all have Democratic majorities in both chambers of state legislatures and control the governor’s office.

The last legislation introduced at the federal level was the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021, sponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The bill failed to make it out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

“I certainly don’t have a whole lot of hope with Republican control of the House that they’ll do much, in those terms,” said Marcus Weaver-Hightower, professor of educational foundations at Virginia Tech.

Still, there is optimism about universal school meals over the long term at the federal level after the trial run during the pandemic.

“The resistance isn’t as loud as it might seem,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and advocate for universal school meals. “I know it’s going to be able to move with urgency because the community outside of the Capitol bubble is moving with urgency, talking about this more and more.”

An experiment in the lockdown

As communities locked down in March 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy weathered mass layoffs, the Department of Agriculture authorized the provision of free school meal waivers for all students and raised the per-meal reimbursement rate.

The program grew to support roughly 50 million students during the health crisis. Food-insecure households with children decreased by 2.3 percentage points between 2020 and 2021, according to the USDA. 

“It was kind of a natural experiment,” Weaver-Hightower said. “Everybody was suddenly getting them for free.”

Jeanne Reilly, the director of school nutrition at Windham Raymond Schools in Maine, recalled that when schools were closed, school nutrition teams got creative. Lunch staff was meeting parents in parking lots to distribute meals.

Yet, as vaccines proliferated at the end of 2021 and students returned to school, the federal universal meals program hit turbulence.

Conservative members of Congress, including Kentucky Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, refused to extend the universal school meal policy as part of the omnibus spending bill passed in March 2022.

The bipartisan Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022, passed by Congress in June 2022, allowed some states to extend their free meal programs and provided additional money for reimbursements. Yet school nutritionists say the effects of sunsetting the waivers are lingering.

Cohen said that experts are now starting to hear about the return of school meal debt, which can force schools to forgo educational expenses in order to pay the USDA for delinquent meal costs. A recent School Nutrition Association survey found that 847 school districts have racked up more than $19 million in debt from unpaid lunches.

School participation in meal programs also dropped to 88% in fall 2022, compared to 94% in March 2022, according to a study from the Department of Education.

States take action

Five states have passed laws that will provide free universal school meals in the 2023-24 school year and beyond, including Minnesota, New Mexico, Maine, California, and Colorado.

Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts are providing universal school meals for the 2022-23 school year through a combination of federal and state funds. Nevada is providing universal school meals through the 2023-24 school year.

Twenty-three other states have seen universal school meals legislation introduced in the past three years, including Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, a professor of nutrition and leader of the Arizona State Food Policy and Environmental Research Group, said offering free school meals reduces the social stigma for low-income students, increasing participation and nutritional benefits for those who need it most.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and the Jean Mayer Professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, cited a Journal of the American Medical Association study that found school meals are among the most nutritious meals students eat anywhere.

Other studies have shown that universal school meals produce positive overall effects on school attendance and academic performance across grades.

Tlaib says she benefited firsthand from participating in the National School Lunch Program when she was a child growing up with 13 siblings, an immigrant father who worked the night shift at Ford Motor Company, and a mother who was still learning English.

“As our family grew larger, I’ll tell you that I don’t think my family would have ever been able to provide us food for lunch,” Tlaib said. “When you have a parent tell me that’s the only place their child eats twice a day, this is so incredibly important.”

Others say that the policy would be a waste of taxpayer dollars and push the school lunch program further from its original purpose.

“Free and reduced-price school meals are for those who need the assistance,” said Republican Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, who declined to extend universal school meal waivers in a stopgap spending bill in September, in a statement to States Newsroom. “Universal school meals isn’t about increasing access for hungry children — it’s about taxpayers subsidizing meals for those who do not need it.”

Butcher of the Heritage Foundation said the National School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs are on the high-priority list for the government watchdog Government Accountability Office, accounting for over $1 billion in untracked spending as food waste grows in school lunchrooms. 

Baylen Linnekin, a food policy analyst for the libertarian think tank Reason Foundation, said that the nutritional quality of the meals has improved “slightly” since the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.

But he said two-thirds of the costs of the program go to overhead expenses, and with the variety of diets and allergies emerging, he said there is “no way” one school meal program can account for the needs of all children.

Origins of free school meals

In the build-up to World War I and World War II, a significant number of men who signed up for military service were disqualified due to nutritional deficiencies. This, combined with the economic pressures of the Great Depression, fueled the development of federally subsidized meal programs.

President Harry Truman signed the National School Lunch Act in 1946, formally enshrining the National School Lunch Program.

“The preamble is that it has a military function: the nation’s defense of the welfare of children and the protection of our agricultural system,” Weaver-Hightower said.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Republicans in Washington began denouncing inefficiencies in the meals program and pushing policies that dropped participation by millions of children.

It wasn’t until 2010 that the idea of nutritious school meals for all children gained steam, and Congress ultimately passed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010. 

The legislation enacted more rigorous nutrition standards to combat the rise of childhood obesity while boosting federal meal reimbursement rates. It also created the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, which allowed schools with more than 40% of students in means-tested federal nutrition programs to offer free meals to all students.

While the CEP has improved outcomes for students in low-income areas, nutrition experts say the provision has not eliminated child food insecurity.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that there are a lot of families that are not eligible for free school meals that are struggling,” said Juliana Cohen, director of the Center for Health Inclusion, Research and Practice at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.

Some things state, and localities can do

While Congress may not act on universal school meals, policy minds said there are numerous alternatives for state and local governments to improve student food access.

Cohen said Arizona just got rid of its reduced-price tier for school meals in 2022, folding it into the free lunch tier.

Mozaffarian said he believes the best return on investment at the federal level is by expanding the Community Eligibility Provision so public schools can provide free meals to all students if they have 25% or more of their students on means-tested nutrition assistance.

He added that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack proposed this change earlier this year.

Mozaffarian also suggested increasing the reimbursement rate for low-income schools, as well as improving federal school lunch nutrition standards and investing in scratch kitchens, where chefs make food from fresh ingredients, at low-income schools.

Butcher suggested using the money for universal school meals to create education savings accounts, which allow parents to “design” their child’s educational experience.

Reilly noted that she hopes to see federal universal school meal legislation because “everyone needs it.”

“I do think it’s feasible in the next five or 10 years federally,” Mozaffarian said.

Tlaib said that we as a society have a “moral obligation” to ensure students do not worry about where their next meal comes from.

“Something like this — something that our country can afford — we should do it,” Tlaib said. “There should be no hesitation.”

 

by Adam Goldstein, Virginia Mercury

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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

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