Child NutritionTAKE ACTIONSend an e-mail to both Congress and the President urging them to make restoring SNAP benefits enacted during child nutrition reauthorization a priority. Use our online media alert to send a letter to the editor to newspapers about hunger in your community. Read the National Anti-Hunger Organizations' (NAHO, of which RESULTS is a member) Roadmap to End Childhood Hunger in America by 2015. Federal child nutrition programs help ensure that children in low-income families are getting the food they need to be healthy and productive. According to the recently released U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, the rate of child poverty in the U.S. was 20.7 percent in 2009 up from 16.2 percent in 2000, up almost 1.4 million children in just one year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 16.7 million children (22.5 percent of all children) lived in households that were food insecure in 2008, up sharply from 12.4 million (16.9 percent) in 2007; and 12.1 million adults and 5.2 million children lived in households with very low food security. This means their families had to scramble, with varying outcomes, to put food on the table. Both poverty and food insecurity were much higher for Hispanic and African-American households than for non-Hispanic White households. In an effort to better understand hunger in our nation, two helpful reports were released in March 2011. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) released their Food Hardship data showing that nearly one in five Americans struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families. Feeding America released their Map the Meal Gap data which represents food insecurity data on a county level. This data is ground breaking because before now we have only had data on the state level. Both of these reports show us that hunger and poverty are in every congressional district, and every county, though the levels and how hunger presents itself greatly varies. President Obama has pledged to end child hunger in America by 2015. In December 2010, the National Anti-Hunger Organizations (NAHO), of which RESULTS is a member, published a Roadmap to End Childhood Hunger in America by 2015. The roadmap lays out nine steps to reach this goal:
Every five years, Congress reauthorizes the federal child nutrition programs, namely the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), The School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP). 2010 Child Nutrition LegislationOn August 5, 2010 the Senate passed S.3307, Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, its child nutrition reauthorization bill, by a voice vote (no recorded vote). This is the child nutrition reauthorization bill written by Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR). The bill takes several steps toward ensuring that children can participate in nutrition programs and get the food they need. The bill would:
On December 2, 2010, the House passed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (S.3307) by a vote of 264-157. This bill will invest $4.5 billion in new money over the next ten years to improve access, administration, and resources for child nutrition programs. At a signing ceremony at a local elementary school on December 13, the President, alongside Mrs. Obama, signed the bill into law. Mrs. Obama said at the event, “We can agree that in the wealthiest nation on earth all children should have the basic nutrition they need to learn and grow. Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children. Nothing.” RESULTS applauds Congress for getting a child nutrition bill passed before adjourning this year. However, there is still work to be done. The cuts to future Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are now part of the law and will go into effect in two years if action is not taken. Polling data from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) shows overwhelming support for federal anti-hunger programs. For example, over 70 percent of respondents said that SNAP was important for the United States and oppose cutting SNAP to pay for child nutrition programs or to reduce the deficit. These findings bolster efforts to make the President and Democratic leaders honor their pledge to restore the SNAP cuts as soon as possible. TAKE ACTION: Send an e-mail to both Congress and the President urging them to make sure these important SNAP benefits are restored immediately. In your correspondence, be sure to point out the recent hunger data showing that hunger is still a pressing problem in America and we don’t risk more falling into hunger because of cuts to SNAP. In addition, use the media coverage of President Obama signing the child nutrition bill to generate more media on this issue. Thank members of Congress who voted for the bill and urge all our leaders in Washington to finish the job by restoring the SNAP cuts used to pay for it. Use our online media alert to send a letter to the editor to newspapers today. Other Child Nutrition LegislationThe Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 (H.R. 5504), passed by the House Education and Labor Committee in 2010, would:
The Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009, S.2749/H.R.4402: Introduced by Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY-21), this bill improves young children's access to nutritious meals in child care centers, family child care homes, and Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The Hunger Free Schools Act of 2009, S.1343: Introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), this bill allows schools serving a high proportion of low-income children to serve free meals to all children. Amending the National School Lunch Act, S.990: Introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), this bill expands access to healthy afterschool meals for school children in working families. Resources
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