Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture Stacy Dean said, “Whether you are grocery shopping, standing in line at the school cafeteria, or picking up food from a food bank, you should be able to do so without fear of discrimination. No one should be denied access to nutritious food simply because of who they are or how they identify.” From that statement, who would ever think that he would threaten to withhold Food and Nutrition Service funds as punishment for those who Do Not Comply?

From the United States Department of Agriculture:

USDA Promotes Program Access, Combats Discrimination Against LGBTQI+ Community

Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Press Release No. 0100.22

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced today that it will interpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex found in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program (7 USC § 2011 et seq.), to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA and FNS are issuing this interpretation to help ensure its programs are open, accessible and help promote food and nutrition security, regardless of demographics.

This action is in line with President Biden’s Executive Order on Preventing and Combatting Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, and is consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the Court held that the prohibition on sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

This action is also in line with the USDA’s efforts to promote nutrition security, which is the consistent access to safe, healthy, affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being. Nutrition security places an emphasis on advancing equity to ensure all Americans have access to nutritious foods that promote health and well-being regardless of race, ethnicity, identity or background.

“USDA is committed to administering all its programs with equity and fairness, and serving those in need with the highest dignity. A key step in advancing these principles is rooting out discrimination in any form – including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “At the same time, we must recognize the vulnerability of the LGBTQI+ communities and provide them with an avenue to grieve any discrimination they face. We hope that by standing firm against these inequities we will help bring about much-needed change.”

Here comes the money line:

As a result, state and local agencies, program operators and sponsors that receive funds from FNS must investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Those organizations must also update their non-discrimination policies and signage to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Several states, including Kentucky, have laws in place which prohibit males who identify as female from competing against real girls in school athletics. Many schools prohibit students who ‘identify’ as something other than their biological sex from using restrooms and locker rooms sex segregated for students of the opposite of the ‘transgender’ students biological sex.

Remember: the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers the National School Lunch Program, which provides meals for millions of low-income children each school day. What are we to think other than the Department of Agriculture is threatening to withhold school lunch program funds from schools which do something really radical like follow the laws of their respective states?

Nutrition disparities negatively impact health, productivity and overall well-being for too many in the U.S. FNS recognizes that equitable nutrition assistance means that every American – regardless of identity or background – can access the food they need to thrive.

Really? Then why if the Department threatening to deprive schools of federal assistance for the free school lunch — and sometimes breakfast — programs for poorer children, because one biological boy wants to use the girls’ restroom?

And the school needn’t even have a ‘transgender’ student; the way I read the Department’s press release, schools must “update their non-discrimination policies and signage to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation,” which would mean that they’d have to have in place policies which would allow ‘transgendered’ students to pick their facilities at any time in the future.

Historically, the LGBTQI+ community has faced striking economic and social disparities, such as higher rates of poverty, unemployment and nutrition insecurity. For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, more than 13% of LGBTQ respondents lived in a household that experienced food insecurity, compared to 7.2% of non-LGBTQ adult respondents. This survey also found food insufficiency – not always having enough food to eat – to be three times as common among transgender individuals (nearly 24% of respondents) as compared to cisgender individuals (8.3% of respondents).

And yet the Department is apparently threatening to withhold the funds which would help feed the very people whom they claim to want to help if schools and other institutions refuse to go along with the ‘transgender’ agenda.

The Department’s press release is strangely written. Note that they have used “more than 13% of LGBTQ respondents” and “nearly 24% of (transgender) respondents”, but used 7.2% and 8.3% when referring to normal people.

There’s a bit more in the Department’s original, including the sentence quoted at the beginning of this article. But while the press release didn’t specifically threaten a withholding of funds, it’s meaning is clear: you will comply, or the poorer children who depend on the free school lunch program will pay the price.