Child Nutrition

Child Nutrition Reauthorization

The federal Child Nutrition programs focus mainly on two pressing concerns facing the United States—food insecurity and poor nutrition. It is comprised of many programs that address these concerns, including the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, Summer Nutrition Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Every five years many of the programs within the Child Nutrition program must be reauthorized.  Reauthorization presents opportunities not only for continued funding of the programs, but also for added improvements in the quality of the programs.  Improvements are critically needed, particularly in this time of high unemployment as significantly more children become eligible for the programs.

Reauthorization was originally due for September 2009 but was extended temporarily by Congress for one year due to other pressing issues facing our nation. The Senate passed its version of the reauthorization, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (S. 3307) in August 2010, and the House passed it in December.

NETWORK advocates for greater expansion of federal programs to reduce food insecurity, as well as easier access to existing programs.  The level of funding available for outreach and enrollment needs to be increased.  There needs to be more direct certification, based on eligibility for other safety net programs, additional funding to ensure all eligible children will be able to receive services.  We also need to ensure that these programs do not place a social stigma upon children receiving assistance, which is likely to lower their participation in federal meal programs. NETWORK also advocates for further improvement to allow for higher quality foods which are less available for the low-income population, such as fresh produce. Farm-to-School programs are fundamental in providing this nutritious food, as well as supporting local economies.  NETWORK supports expansion of Farm-to-School programs.

Child Nutrition and the Military

In recent months, the military has revealed that too many recruits are unable to pass physical exams for service. They report obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes (all of which are nutrition-related) among the causes.

Lack of fitness for military service after World War II spurred the creation of the National School Lunch Program. Given the current health status of potential recruits, NETWORK suggests that some funding be shifted from the Office of Personnel and Readiness of the Department of Defense to help support the child nutrition programs.

Current State of Child Nutrition in the United States

Nearly one in four children in the United States is at risk of hunger.

Hungry children have trouble focusing in school and fighting off sickness.

Child nutrition programs are very important. A meal at school is often a child’s only full meal of the day. For some children, it’s the only meal at all.

Child hunger is often worst in the summer, when children are out of school and don’t have access to regular school meals. Summer feeding programs are essential for filling in this food gap, but there aren’t nearly enough summer feeding sites to meet the need. There are only 34 summer food sites for every 100 school lunch programs.

Of the 19.5 million low-income children receiving free or reduced-price lunches during the school year, just 2.2 million access summer food program sites on a typical summer day.

NETWORK's View

Your representative is working on this bill right now. Contact him or her to say you support a robust Child Nutrition Reauthorization that will:

• Improve outreach, particularly in the highest unemployment area

• Increase funding to provide for the increased number of eligible children.

Resources for Distribution

The faith advocacy community in Washington (Interfaith Working Group on Domestic Human Needs) has been working actively on improvements to the Child Nutrition authorization throughout the 111th Congress.  Members of the group have developed faith-based resources to be used by congregations across denominations. These include a litany and other worship responses, bulletin inserts, teaching materials for use with children and sample op-eds. Please feel free to use or adapt any of these:

Closing the Child Hunger Gap

Response to Child Hunger

Insert for Church Bulletin

Teaching Children about Child Hunger

Child Nutrition Reauthorization

Sample Op-ed – Back to School

Sample Op-ed – Increased Need

"Every person has a right to life and to the material and spiritual support required to live a tru­ly human existence. The right to a truly human life logically leads to the right to enough food to sustain a life with dignity. The poverty and hunger that diminish the lives of millions in our own land and in so many other countries are fundamental threats to human life and dignity and demand a response from believers.” – USCCB, Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers, and Farmworkers