Federal waivers for food-insecure kids are set to expire this month. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly sent a letter to Congressional leadership asking to extend Child Nutrition Waivers thru the summer months.

Kelly wrote that without the extension, more Kansas kids are going to go hungry, hurting their ability to succeed both in and out the classroom. The waivers guaranteed access to meals at no additional cost, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. The nonprofit Feeding America says more than 120,000 Kansas kids are food insecure, yet 40% do not traditionally qualify for federal school nutrition programs.

The governor’s letter further stressed the fact that some school districts will no longer be able to serve summer meals to students, which may be poor timing as the hunger crisis gets worse over the summer months when children are not in school.