GOTHENBURG, Neb. -- During the COVID health emergency, the federal government made school meals available for free to all students, regardless of their financial situation at home.

Children's advocates now are urging Congress to make that change permanent.

Eric Savaiano, program manager for food and nutrition access at Nebraska Appleseed, said the move would reduce child hunger and food insecurity, and put an end to lunch-line shaming when families fall behind on bills.

"Before all meals were free for all kids, kids could get looked at differently if they were the ones going into the cafeteria before school, or if they were grabbing a lunch during school," Savaiano observed. "But when it's free to everybody, more kids have access, and nobody is getting judged."

Some school cashiers have taken lunch trays away from children with so-called lunch debt, and some schools stamp the student's hand with a message to parents: "I need lunch money." Critics of continuing the free-meals-for-all program cite high costs, and others worry it could lead to dependency on government assistance.

Proponents point to research showing that investing in children pays off down the road. They get better grades and are more likely to graduate and land jobs that pay enough to not need public assistance.

Joni Jacobsen, nutrition services director for Gothenburg Public Schools, serves between 1,100 and 1,200 meals a day.

"It's just the right thing to do," Jacobsen contended. "We need to feed kids. If we're going to have productive, responsible adults, they need to have access to food and access to good food."

Making free student meals permanent also would cut administrative costs, including untold hours spent by principals and teachers not spent on education. Schools would no longer have to field applications, determine eligibility and meet federal requirements including reporting each meal served to the correct reimbursement category.

Maine is seeking proposals for a grant opportunity to support local food producers and production and assist low-income residents in accessing local food.

A bill passed and signed into law last year allocated $25,000 to provide incentives for residents receiving food and nutrition benefits to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables, and increased outreach about them.

Genna Cherichello, Maine Senior FarmShare program manager for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, said nutrition incentives are critical because local producers often have higher costs than large agriculture corporations.

"It creates a little bit more freedom for folks on these food and nutrition assistance programs to select local food if they want to," Cherichello explained. "It also is an additional funding stream for our local producers."

Cherichello added the state dollars may also be used to leverage additional federal, local or private funding, for opportunities that require a match.

Maine's Climate Action Plan includes a goal of increasing local food production from 10% to 30% by 2030, to support farmers, fishing and aquaculture harvesters, as well as make communities more resilient.

Cherichello added it is an exciting opportunity to bring state support to organizations and programs that have been around for years and know their communities' needs.

"If your organization works with local food producers, or low-income folks who receive food and nutrition assistance, and you're interested in expanding your existing efforts to connect those low-income people with food grown in Maine, we would all love to see your application," Cherichello stated.

Groups doing such work in Maine include Farm Fresh Rewards, which is run through the Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Maine Harvest Bucks, with the Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets. Applications for the grant opportunity are due in less than a month, on June 21st.

Virginia's food banks are facing a perfect storm of issues. High inflation for everyday goods is driving up food costs for lower-income families, all while food banks are working to overcome supply-chain issues to keep their shelves stocked.

Eddie Oliver, executive director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, which oversees seven regional food banks across the state, said since many pandemic stimulus benefits have expired, the financial reserves lower-income families built have started to drop off.

"While families are getting squeezed, they're turning more and more to food banks for assistance," Oliver pointed out. "Meanwhile, our operational expenses are going up. So it's challenging on many fronts."

Oliver noted the best way to support a local food bank is through financial support, which will help them keep up with the surge in grocery prices. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), grocery prices are anticipated to increase between 5% and 6% in 2022.

According to Feeding America, nearly a quarter-million Virginia children are food insecure, and nearly half of households receiving SNAP benefits have children.

On top of the supply-chain issues and inflation, Oliver emphasized the end of the school semester also will be an exacerbating factor in the coming weeks.

"School meal access is coming to an end here as schools are about to let out for the summer," Oliver observed. "Meanwhile, we're seeing the highest inflation we've seen in decades, which of course disproportionately impacts low-income families."

The USDA extended free school lunches to kids throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but the program will end at the conclusion of this school year. The Virginia Poverty Law Center reported pre-COVID, more than 460,000 Virginia students received free and reduced-cost school meals daily.

Oregonians are casting their ballots for Tuesday's primary election. One issue affecting many voters is access to child care.

Courtney Helstein, senior political director with the organization Family Forward Oregon, said child-care affordability was a problem before COVID-19 and the pandemic has only exacerbated it.

She said women, particularly women of color, have felt the disproportionate impacts of care costs and accessibility. Helstein said the costs mean some have to make tough decisions.

"The result of all these high costs is that too many families are actually forced to choose between child care, between meals, between other basic necessities," said Helstein. "And they're also having to weigh the financial costs of, 'Is it actually more cost effective for me and my family for me to not work?'"

Helstein said demand has never been higher for child care, but workers in the field are among the lowest paid in the country.

She said there have been some successes in the Oregon Legislature, including investments in early childhood learning and community-led pilot projects.

Matt Newell-Ching, senior policy manager with the nonpartisan nonprofit Oregon Food Bank, said access to child care is a hunger issue.

The food bank surveyed candidates for governor about food insecurity, and their responses are posted on its website.

Newell-Ching said there's a question about child care because Oregon Food Bank believes it will continue to be an issue for Oregon families.

"Whoever the next governor is," said Newell-Ching, "we believe it's critical that we as a state come together to ensure kids have a safe place to be while parents are working because it impacts every communities' ability to rebuild and thrive."

Helstein said we need to look at child care differently.

"We're seeing the beginning of this culture shift," said Helstein, "across the country, but definitely in the state of Oregon, of really starting to reframe access to child care from kind of like a personal problem to a societal problem, to a community benefit."

The deadline to vote in Oregon's primary is Tuesday. Drop sites for ballots will be open until 8 p.m.

Reporting by Oregon News Service funded in part by Oregon Food Bank.