Judge links pandemic meal waivers to vulnerabilities cited in Feeding Our Future case

In an appellate filing, Aimee Bock attached findings from U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz that pandemic-era USDA waivers made the child nutrition program vulnerable to fraud. The waivers, part of the Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act and incorporated into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, relaxed enrollment and verification rules. Bock, founder of the Minneapolis nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted for running a network of fake food distributors that kept a 10%-15% administrative fee, siphoning over $240 million from federal funds.

The judge’s assessment draws on FBI affidavits and statements from co-conspirators, noting that the waivers allowed for-profit restaurants and off-site distribution. While the waivers are linked to the fraud’s scope, the judge did not attribute the scheme directly to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s legislation. Bock is now seeking to overturn her convictions or reduce her sentence before the 8th Circuit.