On December 13, 2010, the President signed into law S. 3307, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Among other provisions, the Act will expand the Afterschool Meals program to all 50 states (from 13 states currently).

According to the Afterschool Alliance, “The Congressional Budget Office
estimates that such an expansion would increase the number of after school meals served annually to 40 million by 2015, from the current 19 million. By 2020, 50 million after school meals would be served to at-risk children, dramatically lowering the number of students that leave school hungry. This strengthening of the after school meals program would provide an estimated $215 million in federal reimbursements to after school program providers from 2011 to 2015. Other highlights of the bill’s out-of-school time provisions include …

• Requiring school food authorities to coordinate with Summer Food sponsors on developing and distributing Summer Food outreach materials.
• Eliminating the requirement that private nonprofit Summer Food sponsors serve no more than 25 sites with any more 300 children at any of the sites unless the sponsor receives a waiver.
• Extending the California year-round Summer Food pilot until 2015 (the length of the re-authorization).”