U.S. Sen. Casey Stops In Falls Twp., Heralds Program To Feed Kids

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who represents Pennsylvania, visited a summer camp in Falls Township on Monday.

The Democratic senator’s stop was to see how federal funding was helping the YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties serve kids meals at the camp at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church.

Campers talked to Casey and showed him their lunches, told of the highlights of the summer camp, and explained what they were painting. The senator also had a minute to shoot some hoops in the gym.

Casey touted recent bipartisan support in Washington D.C. to extend pandemic-era waivers extending free meals for kids who are food insecure.

The extensions, Casey told reporters, will run out in September and are a key factor in helping kids who may not have meals.

“We have to do a lot more,” he said. “We have to expand opportunities for children to be eligible for school lunch or breakfast.”

The senator from northeastern Pennsylvania said he has proposed automatic certification for school meal programs and expanding free meal service in low- and moderate-income schools.

Casey said that between expanding access to meals for kids and restoring pandemic-era monthly child tax credit checks that ended last December, families have seen the benefits, which makes the country stronger.

“One of the best investments Washington has ever made,” Casey said of the programs.

Zane Moore, CEO of the YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties, said the expanded federal funding for meals has been a huge benefit for local kids, reducing hunger in Bucks County. He added he supports efforts to continue and expand the program.

At the camp in Falls Township, the YMCA is feeding 140 kids through the program.

Without federal funds, the local YMCA wouldn’t be able to offer free meals to the kids.

Moore said the camps are important not just for the kids, but for some families who need them to provide childcare while parents are at work.

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