Pandemic Waivers Enabled $242M School Meal Fraud | US News

A federal judge exposed how pandemic-era USDA waivers—born from a bill by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—turned America’s child nutrition program into a $242 million fraud magnet, with for-profit restaurants exploiting relaxed rules to hand out meals off-site and inflate counts. Evidence showed systemic abuse enabled by the waivers, which removed critical safeguards like on-site eating, leading to an explosion of fraud that prosecutors and judges now blame squarely on the crisis-driven policy changes. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/01016d8c717f80b2