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As gas and food prices rise in the United States, some families are worried about having to pay for something else in the fall:随着美国汽油和食品价格的上涨，一些家庭担心在秋季必须支付其他费用：lunch for their children at school.For
at least the last two school years, many parents did not have to worry
about preparing or buying their school-aged children lunch.至少在过去的两个学年里，许多家长不必担心为学龄儿童准备或购买午餐。That is because emergency government funding during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic included food aid for children.这是因为在冠状病毒大流行早期，政府的紧急资金包括对儿童的食物援助。The aid covered lunch for children during the school year and during the summer for many families.这项援助包括在学年期间为儿童提供午餐，以及在夏季期间为许多家庭提供午餐。But the free lunch funding is set to end in several states before the start of the next school year.但在下一学年开始之前，几个州的免费午餐资金将会结束。Before
the pandemic, Kate Murphy of Vermont and her family did not have enough
money to pay for their four children to buy lunch at school.在疫情爆发之前，佛蒙特州的凯特·墨菲和她的家人没有足够的钱支付四个孩子在学校买午餐的费用。Instead, they purchased lunch foods in large amounts and sent their children to school with food each morning.相反，他们购买了大量的午餐食品，每天早上带着食物送孩子们上学。But when the pandemic hit, the U.S. government made lunch money available to most schools.但当疫情袭来时，美国政府为大多数学校提供了午餐资金。The support came at a critical time for the Murphy family, because Kate's husband had lost his job.这些支持的到来正好帮助墨菲一家解了燃眉之急，因为凯特的丈夫失业了。Because of the free lunch program, the Murphys had one less financial concern.由于免费午餐计划，墨菲夫妇少了一项财务方面的担忧。But now the family may have to worry about lunch again.Murphy said her family earns a bit too much money to qualify for free lunches based on the old program's income rules.墨菲说，根据旧计划的收入规定，她的家人挣的钱有点多，没有资格享受免费午餐。Experts
say the end of the school lunch aid and other programs that helped
families save money means more will have to get help from food banks.专家说，学校午餐援助和其他帮助家庭省钱的计划的结束意味着更多的人将不得不从食品银行获得帮助。Food banks provide meals and food for no cost to families and individuals in need.Vince Hall is a government relations officer for Feeding America, a group of food banks across the U.S.文斯·霍尔是一名政府关系官员，负责为美国各地的食品银行提供食物。He
said many families are now 'facing a very difficult reality of having
to choose between feeding their kids or filling up their gas tanks or
purchasing medicine.'他说，许多家庭现在“面临着一个非常艰难的现实——必须在喂饱孩子、加满汽油或购买药品之间做出选择。”The U.S. Agriculture Department oversees the school meal program.Cindy Long is an administrator for the department's Food and Nutrition Service.She said that, during the pandemic, the number of children getting free meals increased from 20 million to 30 million.她说，在大流行期间，获得免费食物的儿童数量从2000万增加到3000万。A summer meal program in 2020 gave out 1.3 billion meals and snacks.2020年的一项夏餐计划发放了13亿份餐食和零食。The total cost was $4.1 billion.That was eight times greater than program costs from a year earlier.President
Joe Biden recently signed a bill that should keep summer meal programs
running in the same way they did during the first two summers of the
pandemic.美国总统乔·拜登最近签署了一项法案：应该让夏季用餐计划像大流行的前两个夏天一样继续运行。Some states are using their own money to make the free meals permanent.California and Maine did that last year.Massachusetts and Colorado are working on state proposals that would provide food aid for at least one more school year.马萨诸塞州和科罗拉多州正在研究州提案，该提案将提供至少一个学年的食物援助。Vermont,
where the Murphy family lives, said it would use extra money in the
education budget to fund food aid for the upcoming year.墨菲一家所在的佛蒙特州表示，将使用教育预算中的额外资金，为来年的食品援助提供资金。'Our kids have so much to worry about these days, and food shouldn't be one of them,' Kate Murphy said.凯特·墨菲说：“如今，我们的孩子要担心的事情太多了，食物不应该是其中之一。”On a recent day at the Albert D. Lawton school in Vermont, students ate pizza and salad with their friends.最近一天，在佛蒙特州的阿尔伯特·D·劳顿学校，学生们和朋友们一起吃披萨和沙拉。One student, Ethan Pringle, said it is hard to learn when you feel hungry.一位名叫伊森·普林格尔的学生说，当你感到饥饿时，很难集中注意力学习。'Not everybody has the same situation at home,' he said.'So I think free lunch, it makes it easier for everybody.'
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