Hunger-Free Schools Ohio: Expand meal access for all now

<p><em>School meals should be no different than textbooks or transportation services provided to all public school students; they are a basic need for children to learn in school. But, since the end of the pandemic-era programs that provided free school meals for all students in all districts, too many Ohio students are going without the meals they need. On February 20, the Ohio Education Association hosted a virtual press event on behalf of the Hunger-Free School Ohio coalition to call on state lawmakers to expand access to school meals for all. This episode contains excerpts from that panel discussion.</em></p><p><br><strong>LEARN MORE ABOUT HUNGER-FREE OHIO SCHOOLS| </strong><a href="https://hungerfreeschoolsoh.org/"><strong>Click here</strong></a> for more information about the Hunger-Free Ohio Schools coalition's work and how you can get involved. </p><p><br><strong>WATCH THE WHOLE DISCUSSION | </strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXzQfFBM8Ss"><strong>Click here</strong></a> to see the full virtual press conference that is featured in this episode, including more from the featured guests, questions from the media, and the message from Ohio House Finance Chair Rep. Jay Edwards on this issue.</p><p><strong>READ THE WHITEPAPER| </strong>Click here to see the <a href="https://cdfohio.org/cdf_oh_blog/school-meals-support-ohio-student-health-and-learning/"><strong>“School Meals Support Ohio Student Health and Learning”</strong></a><strong> white paper</strong> from Children's Defense Fund-Ohio<strong>.</strong> <strong></strong></p><p>Featured Education Matters guests: </p><ul> <li> <strong>Scott DiMauro, </strong>Ohio Education Association President</li> <li> <strong>Katherine Ungar</strong>, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio Senior Policy Associate who authored CDF-Ohio's recent white paper on the urgent need to expand access to school meals in Ohio.  </li> <li> <strong>Lindy Douglas</strong>, Special Programs Coordinator, and <strong>Daryn Guarino, </strong>Director of Food and Nutrition for Al