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Nikki Fried Sets the Record Straight on Florida Republicans and Known Hate Group
(I hope it's OK to use the full text of a press release.)
Commissioner Nikki Fried Sets the Record Straight on Florida Republicans and Known Hate Group Using Low-Income Students, Food Access as Pawns
Press release from Nikki Fried, Florida Commisioner of Agriculture
8/8/2022
Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried held a press conference on the politically-motivated lawsuit filed by the extremist right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an officially designated hate group, against the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Commissioner Fried confirmed that FDACS intends to approve the school’s National School Lunch Program application because they are in compliance with federal nondiscrimination guidelines after they submit all of the other administrative materials required for the application.
“Because adherence to nondiscrimination guidance in the lunch line is my department’s only concern when approving applications, we never denied this school’s application and we never threatened to withhold their school lunch funds,” Commissioner Fried said. “Every single complaint made by the Alliance Defending Freedom hate group and Tallahassee Republicans was intended to push a false narrative and the hate group’s agenda – it was never about a true concern for our students or their access to meals.
“Let me be as clear as possible because the Alliance Defending Freedom is trying to claim victory: our decision to allow the school to move forward with the school lunch program had nothing to do with this lawsuit…. This lawsuit has been an obvious political stunt from the start. It’s disgusting that Florida Republicans would use hungry children as pawns in their political games. They should be ashamed of themselves, but clearly they are without shame,” she concluded.
Background: Last month, Commissioner Fried held a press conference in response to guidance from the Florida Department of Education encouraging schools to disobey updated federal nondiscrimination guidance from the USDA. The guidance from USDA requires schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program to hang a poster with an updated nondiscrimination statement int their school food service area. The Florida Department of Education is encouraging schools to defy this guidance, which is a violation of federal law and would negatively impact the health and wellbeing of students in Florida. Video of the press conference is available here. The updated nondiscrimination guidance provided by USDA and disseminated by FDACS can be found here. The memo from Education Commissioner Diaz encouraging schools to violate federal law can be found here.
Ending child hunger has been one of Commissioner Fried’s top priorities during her time in office. Last year, after many roadblocks from the DeSantis Administration, Commissioner Fried secured $1 billion dollars for supplemental meals for Florida children through the federal P-EBT program. The program is still active and Commissioner Fried has repeatedly encouraged the DeSantis Administration to apply for the available Summer 2022 federal funding to provide supplemental child nutrition assistance, but they refuse to do so. When schools closed due to COVID-19, she activated the BreakSpot program early, which served 74 million meals to Florida kids from March through August 2020. Commissioner Fried advocated for using federal COVID relief funds to support school nutrition and secured $93.2 million for Florida school districts and successfully requested the Biden Administration consider establishing universal school meals for children.
“Because adherence to nondiscrimination guidance in the lunch line is my department’s only concern when approving applications, we never denied this school’s application and we never threatened to withhold their school lunch funds,” Commissioner Fried said. “Every single complaint made by the Alliance Defending Freedom hate group and Tallahassee Republicans was intended to push a false narrative and the hate group’s agenda – it was never about a true concern for our students or their access to meals.
“Let me be as clear as possible because the Alliance Defending Freedom is trying to claim victory: our decision to allow the school to move forward with the school lunch program had nothing to do with this lawsuit…. This lawsuit has been an obvious political stunt from the start. It’s disgusting that Florida Republicans would use hungry children as pawns in their political games. They should be ashamed of themselves, but clearly they are without shame,” she concluded.
Background: Last month, Commissioner Fried held a press conference in response to guidance from the Florida Department of Education encouraging schools to disobey updated federal nondiscrimination guidance from the USDA. The guidance from USDA requires schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program to hang a poster with an updated nondiscrimination statement int their school food service area. The Florida Department of Education is encouraging schools to defy this guidance, which is a violation of federal law and would negatively impact the health and wellbeing of students in Florida. Video of the press conference is available here. The updated nondiscrimination guidance provided by USDA and disseminated by FDACS can be found here. The memo from Education Commissioner Diaz encouraging schools to violate federal law can be found here.
Ending child hunger has been one of Commissioner Fried’s top priorities during her time in office. Last year, after many roadblocks from the DeSantis Administration, Commissioner Fried secured $1 billion dollars for supplemental meals for Florida children through the federal P-EBT program. The program is still active and Commissioner Fried has repeatedly encouraged the DeSantis Administration to apply for the available Summer 2022 federal funding to provide supplemental child nutrition assistance, but they refuse to do so. When schools closed due to COVID-19, she activated the BreakSpot program early, which served 74 million meals to Florida kids from March through August 2020. Commissioner Fried advocated for using federal COVID relief funds to support school nutrition and secured $93.2 million for Florida school districts and successfully requested the Biden Administration consider establishing universal school meals for children.
https://www.fdacs.gov/News-Events/Press-Releases/2022-Press-Releases/VIDEO-Commissioner-Nikki-Fried-Sets-the-Record-Straight-on-Florida-Republicans-and-Known-Hate-Group-Using-Low-Income-Students-Food-Access-as-Pawn