A Note from Matthew Feltrop
Executive Director, A Longer Table

If the federal government doesn’t reopen by November 1, millions of Hoosier families could temporarily lose access to SNAP benefits, the federal program that helps families afford food. For many, that change would hit hard and fast. It means looking at what’s in the pantry and finding a way to make it last. It means doing the math on every grocery trip and deciding what can wait until next paycheck.

When that happens, the strain doesn’t stay within one household. It moves through entire communities. Food banks and meal programs will do all they can to help (use Community Compass to find support nearby), but nothing can replace what SNAP provides. It’s the backbone of hunger relief in Indiana and across the country.

And for families with kids, school cafeterias will still be the most reliable place for children to eat. That reality doesn’t signal scarcity or weakness. It reveals the strength of cafeterias and the essential role schools play in supporting health and learning.

At A Longer Table, we believe those meals should be worth showing up for. Through Next Course Cafeterias, students share ideas, test recipes, and bring their own cultures and preferences into the menu. Meals are cooked from scratch by trained school food professionals who care about flavor, connection, and the experience of eating together.

Children consume up to half of their daily calories at school, making the quality of those meals a matter of public health. In one Next Course Cafeteria, attendance went up by 9 percent, chronic absenteeism dropped by 44 percent, and student satisfaction more than doubled. That’s what happens when we treat school food as a part of learning, not apart from it.

School meals matter. They connect health, education, and community in ways few other systems can. Investing in the school food system is one of the most powerful ways to strengthen families, support educators, and create lasting change for children across Indiana.

At A Longer Table, our promise is to ensure school cafeterias remain strong centers of kids’ health and learning, no matter what happens in Washington.

Matthew Feltrop
Executive Director, A Longer Table
Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellow, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

P.S. See how community collaboration is transforming what’s possible for students. Watch Matthew Feltrop and Sharvonne Walker’s conversation on YouTube.