AURORA | President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan was on the lunch menu at Fulton Academy of Excellence in Aurora Monday when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the school along with Congressman Jason Crow and Gov. Jared Polis.
The trio stopped by a classroom and handed out lunches to students at the north Aurora school as part of Vilsack’s tour of Colorado to promote the Biden administration’s plan. On Friday he visited Red Feather Lakes and Loveland in Larimer County to discuss agriculture and conversation, according to the USDA.
Aurora Public Schools is home to many students who are food insecure, and since the beginning of the pandemic the district has served over 7 million free meals, according to the district.
At lunchtime Monday, Vilsack tweeted about child hunger spiking during the pandemic.
“…but now we’re making progress especially for children in Black & Hispanic households who experienced greater food insecurity than others. The American Families Plan will continue that progress by helping families put food on the table,” he said in the social media post.
A survey conducted in 2020 by the nonprofit Hunger Free Colorado found that 52% of the state’s households with children are struggling with access to nutritious food during the pandemic.