Action Alert: Congress Needs to Reauthorize Child Nutrition Programs!

Even after the economic recovery, food insecurity in the United States remains at staggering rates: 49 million people live in food insecure households.[1] One in five children live at risk of hunger every day.[2] Katie Klabusich, a policy writer, who has experienced hunger, defined food insecurity in the U.S. as eating “just enough so that you aren't really hungry, just enough so you can put one foot in front of the other, just enough so you can push your body through another workday. ”[3]

 

Although thousands of nonprofits and faith communities (like many of your churches) offer food assistance, they only provide one of every twenty grocery bags that those who are food insecure receive.[4] Federal nutrition programs stand in this gap. We need both.

 

Child nutrition programs, encompassed in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, include the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (food assistance to child and adult care institutions). This legislation also includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The act expires on September 30, 2015 and must be reauthorized before then.

 

Congress is taking up this legislation now. Make sure your Senators and Representative know where you stand.

 

WIC, school breakfast and lunch, after-school snack, and summer meals work together to fight childhood hunger. 21.5 million children eat a free or reduced school lunch everyday. However, gaps still exist: only four of every seven children who eat school lunch also eat school breakfast. Only one in seven participate in summer meals, often because many families cannot reach or are too far away from summer meal sites.[5]

The WIC program serves more than 8 million low-income women and children annually. Pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women and their children up to age 5 are eligible for these benefits. There are four components of the highly successful program: nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, healthcare and social service referrals, and a nutritious food package. Participation in WIC contributes to healthier births, lower rates of anemia, and more nutritious diets for both the mother and her children.[6]

 

2015 Legislative Concerns

 

In the past, these programs have received broad bipartisan support. School lunch was first legislated in 1946 and expanded during the War on Poverty; WIC was enacted in 1974. Now, they are under increased scrutiny due to partisan politics.

 

This year, faith advocates are concerned that improvements in the 2010 legislation, such as heightened nutrition standards and funding for farm-to-school programs, will be scaled back. In addition, we are concerned that funding for child nutrition programs and other social safety net programs like food stamps will be cut. Lastly, we are worried that legislation will include legal-status documentation requirements for school meal eligibility. The school meals program is the only federal nutrition program that does not require documentation of legal status.[7] This is one way that Congressional members could insert their position on the rights undocumented immigrants should have in our society.

 

Improvements to Child Nutrition Programs

 

Source: http://www.cbpp.org/school-districts-and-schools-that-
are-eligible-for-the-school-meals-community-eligibility-provision

A promising initiative within school meals is the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), a program that opens school meals to all students within high-poverty districts. It eliminates application fees, reduces administrative work, and more importantly reduces stigma for children. It has been rolled out over the past three years. Now, 14,000 schools in 11 states participate, serving more than 6 million children.[8]

 

More progress is on the horizon. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Linda Sánchez (D-CA) introduced the Wise Investment in Our Children Act (H.R. 2660) in June. It would extend a child’s eligibility for WIC benefits to age 6, closing the hunger gap for children who don’t enter kindergarten until they are 6 years old.[9]

 

What does the PC(USA) Say about Child Hunger?

 

The 221^st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) affirmed the importance of maternal and child nutrition in the first 1,000 days, from the beginning of a woman’s pregnancy to her child’s 2^nd birthday. Without proper nutrition during this time, children suffer permanent physical and cognitive delays. The General Assembly reiterated the Confession of 1967 that says“enslaving poverty in a world of abundance is an intolerable violation of God’s good creation.” [10] The overture highlighted programs like WIC that provide good nutrition for women and infants in this 1,000 day window. In addition, the PC(USA) participates in the 1,000 Days Movement that focuses on adequate nutrition for women and children in countries around the world.[11]

 

Time is running out! Urge your Senators and Representatives to reauthorize these critical nutrition programs before September 30.

 

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[1] http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1565415/err173.pdf

[2] http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=food-insecurity

[3] http://mic.com/articles/120610/49-million-americans-live-with-this-so-why-are-we-so-uncomfortable-talking-about-it utm_source=Mic+Check&utm_campaign=7b33b2ae5b

June_16_20156_16_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_51f2320b33-7b33b2ae5b-285492657

[4] http://www.bread.org/ol/2015/downloads/ol15-issues.pdf

[5] http://www.bread.org/ol/2015/downloads/ol15-issues.pdf

[6] http://www.cbpp.org/research/index.cfm?fa=topic&id=31

[7] http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/files/upload-docs/11-Benefits_for_Immigrants-1.pdf

[8] http://www.cbpp.org/research/take-up-of-community-eligibility-this-school-year?fa=view&id=5273

[9] https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2660/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22%5C%22hr2660%5C%22%22%5D%7D

[10] Book of Confessions, Confession of 1967, 9.46 https://www.pcusa.org/media/uploads/oga/pdf/boc.pdf

[11] http://www.thousanddays.org/

More Time For Schools To Participate in Free Meal Program

USDA Extends Community Eligibility Deadline for Upcoming School Year

By Anne Fyffe

It is not too late for eligible schools in your community to notify their state agencies that they want to participate in Community Eligibility and provide free breakfast and lunch to all of their students for the 2014-2015 school year!

In mid-June, USDA Food and Nutrition Service announced an extension of the deadline for local educational agencies to elect to participate in Community Eligibility from June 30, 2014 to August 31, 2014!

Take Action: Find out if your schools are eligible here! For more links, scroll down.

Community eligibility is an opportunity for schools in areas that experience high levels of poverty to provide free breakfast and lunch to all of their students. A win-win for students and schools, community eligibility removes the families' and schools' burden of submitting paper applications to enroll students in school meal programs and works to ensure that all children in high-poverty communities receive two healthy meals a day, enabling them to pay better attention in class and perform better academically.

The PC(USA) is continuously a leader in the fight to end child hunger and has long recognized the "importance of federal nutrition programs as part of the path to ending hunger in our nation" (General Assembly Minutes, 1996, p.784). Community eligibility is one such program that will go a long way in providing healthy meals for children and ending hunger.

Take Action!

Here's what you can do now, before the August 31st deadline for school districts to notify their state agency that they want to participate in CEP for the 2014-2015 school year:

• Check out our original post: Community Eligibility can make a positive impact in your community by serving more meals to hungry kids.
• See if your School District is eligible: Check out the list of eligible schools in your state!
• Contact your school's Administration: If your school is eligible, contact the administrators in your school district and ask them if they plan to participate in CEP next year.
• Write an op-ed: Create some public discussion in your community around CEP by clicking here!
• Learn more about community eligibility: Utilize these CEP resources from FRAC.

More Meals for Hungry Kids

Community Eligibility: Fighting Child Hunger and Building Stronger School Meal Programs

By Anne Fyffe

Kaylee, a nine-year-old from Texas, speaks honestly to the importance of free meals at school when she says that "when I go home, we don't have that much food...when I come here, I can eat." Kaylee is just one of nearly 32 million children who rely on free or reduced-price school meals every day at school.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a long tradition of advocacy on behalf of children and is committed to the goal of ending childhood hunger. The PC(USA) recognizes the importance of federal nutrition programs, including school lunch and breakfast programs, as part of the path to achieving this goal (General Assembly Minutes, 1996, p.784).

Community eligibility is a new opportunity for schools in areas that experience high levels of poverty to provide free breakfast and lunch to all of their students. The community eligibility provision (CEP) was previously only available in 11 states, but beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, all schools nationwide that meet the 40 percent "identified student" threshold will qualify to participate in this option. You can find a list of eligible schools here. The deadline for school districts to notify their state agency that they want to participate in CEP for the 2014-2015 school year is June 30, 2014.

Take Action: Find out if your schools are eligible here! Click here to write an op-ed to your local newspaper in support of community eligibility. For more links, scroll down.

How Community Eligibility Works

Community eligibility is a win-win for students and schools. Designed to help schools in high-poverty areas, it ensures that all children have access to healthy food at school. Community eligibility removes the families’ and schools’ burden of submitting paper applications to enroll students in school meal programs in high-poverty communities. Instead, schools are reimbursed through a formula based on the number of "identified students" who participate in additional federal benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly the Food Stamp Program) or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance, among others. Typically, more than 75 percent of students who go to schools that qualify for community eligibility receive  free or reduced-price meals, so this is a great opportunity to make sure that 100 percent of children are getting the food they need to thrive.

Benefits for Children, Schools, and Communities

Community eligibility has been successful in increasing the number of students eating meals each day and in changing the way that schools provide food service, according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). School districts can increase meal program participation, bring staff costs down, eliminate bad debt from unpaid student meal fees, and cut down on administrative costs associated with printing and processing paper applications.

School food service workers will no longer have to confront, and sometimes take food away from children who have unpaid fees on their accounts and administrators and families will no longer have to bear the burden of submitting paper applications. Most importantly, this program removes the stigma of receiving free meals at school and children will no longer have trouble paying attention in class because they are hungry.

Schenectady City School District, NY is one example of a school district that has successfully implemented community eligibility district-wide, making both breakfast and lunch available to all children at no charge, and as a result, they experienced growth in both their breakfast and lunch programs. They also attribute the changes in their nutrition programs to substantially improving their attendance rates. Larry Spring, superintendent of Schenectady City Schools, sees community eligibility as an opportunity to level the playing field for all students and address issues such as racial inequality and food insecurity as part of a larger city-wide equity agenda.

Take Action!

Here's what you can do now, before the June 30th deadline for school districts to notify their state agency that they want to participate in CEP for the 2014-2015 school year:

• See if your School District is eligible: Check out the list of eligible schools in your state!
• Contact your school's Administration: If your school is eligible, contact the administrators in your school district and ask them if they plan to participate in CEP next year.
• Write an op-ed: Create some public discussion in your community around CEP by clicking here!
• Learn more about community eligibility: Utilize these CEP resources from FRAC.

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

     

      Anne Fyffe is a Summer Fellow at the Office of Public Witness. She will graduate from The Ohio State University in August with a degree in Public Affairs and hopes to begin seminary in 2015.

Food Stamp Challenge and Farm Bill Advocacy

Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons' groceries for the week

This week, hundreds of Presbyterians, including our leaders Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, Moderator Neal Presa, and Executive Director Linda Valentine are taking the  Food Stamp/SNAP Challenge.  The Stated Clerk reflects on his trip to the grocery store in this article.

While living on a food stamp budget for just a week cannot come close to the struggles encountered by low-income families week after week and month after month, it does offer those who take the Challenge with a new perspective and greater understanding.  For more resources, visit our Food Stamp Challenge page and the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

Authorization of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) is included in the Farm Bill, on which Congress is working to negotiate a final deal right now.

Write to Congress now and urge them to produce a comprehensive, fair, and faithful Farm Bill.

Earlier in the year, serious threats were made to the funding of SNAP and on Nov. 1st, SNAP benefits were cut as a 2009 funding increase ran out.  Far from there being room to cut SNAP, we are finding out this week that they are already inadequate to meet reasonable, nutritional needs.  If anything, we need to invest more in Food Stamp benefits.  SNAP is a designed as a counter-cyclical program that expands to meet needs when the economy is bad and people lose income and become eligible.  When the jobs outlook and economy improve, it contracts as participants cycle off the program.

Members of Congress need to hear loud and wholehearted support for a program that catches people in their moments of need.

With the PC(USA)’s long-held convictions about food justice and fair food and farm policy, our interests in the Farm Bill, while very concerned with the nutrition programs, are also much broader that. In a joint statement with interfaith partners, the PC(USA) called on Congress to pass a Farm Bill that:

• Protects and strengthens programs that reduce hunger and improve nutrition in the United States.
• Promotes investments and policies that strengthen rural communities and combat rural poverty.
• Provides a fair and effective farmer safety net that allows farmers in the U.S. and around the world to earn economically sustainable livelihoods.
• Strengthens policies and programs that promote conservation and protect creation from environmental degradation.
• Protects the dignity, health, and safety, of those responsible for working the land.
• Promotes research related to alternative, clean, and renewable forms of energy that do not negatively impact food prices or the environment.
• Safeguards and improves international food aid in ways that encourage local food security and improve the nutritional quality of food aid.

In light of our experience this week with the Food Stamp / SNAP Challenge, it is essential that Members of Congress hear from Presbyterians who are concerned about hunger and food justice, at home in the U.S. and around the world.

Write to your Members of Congress here.

To read more about the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness’ advocacy around the Farm Bill and SNAP, visit our blog.