FRAC: Press Release - March 2010 - Orgs Sign Letter for CNR

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jen Adach, 202-986-2200, jadach@frac.org

More than 1,000 Organizations Write Congress for Child Nutrition Reauthorization Investments in Reaching More Low-Income Children With Healthy Meals

Download the letter and list of signatures (pdf).

Washington, D.C. – March 26, 2010 – More than 1,000 national and state organizations voiced their support for making low-income children’s access to healthy meals a priority for Child Nutrition Reauthorization, joining a sign-on letter that urges Congress to make substantial investments in child nutrition program access and participation boosts.

The letter, circulated by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), encourages Congress to work with the Administration to find additional funding to strengthen the child nutrition programs in order to reach President Barack Obama’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015. In his FY 2011 budget, Obama proposed a $10 billion increase (over 10 years) for the child nutrition programs to achieve this goal.

The letter outlines the following priorities:

Expand the Afterschool Meal Program to all 50 states;
Improve the area eligibility test so more communities can operate afterschool, summer, and family child care food programs;
Provide funds for grants to support the start-up and expansion of universal and in-classroom school breakfast programs in low-income schools and provide breakfast commodity support;
Invest in Summer Nutrition Programs by providing funding for start-up, outreach, and transportation grants;
Allow child care centers and homes the option of serving a third meal;
Eliminate unnecessary paperwork that is a barrier to participation, through data-based eligibility systems in schools in high-poverty areas and through improved direct certification systems; and
Streamline afterschool nutrition rules to allow community-based and local governments in all states the ability to provide meals and snacks year-round through the rules and paperwork of the Summer Food Service Program.

As organizations rally around increasing access to nutritious meals for low-income children, the Senate Agriculture Committee took a step forward in the reauthorization process on Wednesday and “marked up” the Healthy, Hunger-Free Children Act of 2010. This bill includes some of the priorities identified in the sign-on letter, including the expansion of the Afterschool Meal Program to all 50 states.

“FRAC is pleased that the reauthorization process is moving forward, and we are committed to working with Chairman Lincoln to find additional funds to invest in increased access to reach the President’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015,” said Jim Weill, FRAC president. “The full Senate will now take up the reauthorization bill, and ensuring that more desperately needy low-income children can obtain nutritious meals and snacks must continue to be a top priority. The Senate must work to find additional funds – and the right mix of funds – to reach the 2015 goal and make sure low-income children can participate in these important programs.”

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The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is the leading national nonprofit organization working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States.