If You Learned in the Forgotten Classroom, You Should Support the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director

In most classrooms, the tools needed for success are not rationed by income.  Children from both poor and wealthy families play on gym equipment, and use textbooks, computers and lab equipment, regardless of income.

However, in the forgotten classroom – the lunchroom – children are not given equal access to the tools needed for success. In some states, children who forget their lunch money, or whose parents were delinquent on paying lunch, or filling out the required paperwork, are at least guaranteed a cold cheese sandwich.  In Texas, it is up to the individual schools to determine if a child receives a lunch if their account is overdrawn. We can only hope that the lunch administrators show compassion for the student – and the teachers attempting to instruct hungry children after lunch period.

Universal Feeding Program – One Lunch, No Paperwork, No Kidding!
The tough economy is not the only reason parents choose not to participate in the program. Paperwork is one of the greatest barriers to the success of the school lunch program.  Language barriers, literacy and stigma prevent otherwise eligible children from properly accessing the free- and reduced-lunch program.  In Philadelphia, the popular two-decade long Universal Feeding pilot program enjoyed participation nearly rates twice as high as in non-Universal sites (80 percent vs. 45 percent, according to state figures). In this program, all children, regardless of income, have access to school lunches.  Similar to how children are allocated textbooks, there is no probing into a family’s financials.

S. 1226 / H.R. 2803, makes the successful Philadelphia “Universal Free” model a national option – one of the many bills to be potentially bundled as part of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act up for review this fall.

Would it be “fair” to have low-income families pay the same for food as other families? Why is it acceptable to treat lunch differently from other school-related experiences?

 TAKE ACTION

Ask your Senator to co-sponsor S. 1226, and your Representative to sponsor  H.R. 2803.  Click here to find your congressperson.

If Your Parents Wax Poetic about their Childhood in the Country, You Should Care About the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act.

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Marketing Online Director

Growing up in New York City, I wasn’t exposed enough to the day-to-day joys of country life – at least that’s what my father told me.  When my preteen world meant trips to the mall and MTV, his stories of playing hide-and-seek in the woods, picking fresh mangoes from the neighbor’s tree and spending an afternoon at the local fishing hole, didn’t make an impression on me.  

When I moved to Texas and met more rural-turned-urban friends, I began to understand why these memories are cherished by my father.  From what I understand, there’s a type of freedom and creativity children experience that is unique to rural life.  I’m proud to say, I’m no longer the ignorant city dweller who thinks Texans spend their days tipping cows for fun.

If Central Texans value these country memories, and wish to preserve these opportunities for future generations, we must also ensure that federal feeding programs don’t forget our rural families.

Kids Cafe, Boys & Girls Club - East Austin

As you know, hunger is not just an urban issue.  However, the majority of sponsors and sites participating in the Summer Food Service program in Central Texas are in urban areas. Summer meals are available in areas where at least 50 percent of the children are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals.  A successful pilot program in Pennsylvania showed that by simply reducing the threshold to 40 percent, significantly increased the number of sites and provided tens of thousands more meals.

H.R. 540, the Summer Food Service Rural Expansion Act, makes the successful pilot program a permanent program and would be effective for every state.  This bill amends the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act up for review this fall.

Let’s give children more than good memories.  Let’s give them good food during the summer.

 

Take Action

Ask your congressman to co-sponsor H.R. 540.

 Click here to find your legislative representative.

Real Story: Olea family struggles during summer months

Irma with her children, Rachel, John Paul and Pete

Irma Olea’s story is one of many reflecting the growing trend of hunger in Central Texas. She has four children and her husband works in construction.  With the poor economy, there are few construction jobs available.

During the school year, Irma’s children receive warm meals because Austin ISD schools provide free breakfasts and lunches to children living in qualifying households. With school out of session, and shrinking family budget, Irma was faced with tough choices. For the first time, she needed to turn to food assistance from a food pantry.
 
“Before the situation got bad, our family was fine with just my husband working,” said Irma. “I considered finding a job, but my paycheck would be the same as it costs for child care. I think our situation will change when the children go back to school in the fall. Summer is the most difficult time of year for me.”

According to Yvonne Seiders, Assistant Director of Nutrition and Food Services with Austin ISD, 63 percent of all students in the district qualify for free and reduced meal benefits. During the summer, all children ages one through 18, regardless of household income can participate in the federally-funded Summer Feeding program.  An area qualifies for a Summer Feeding site if at least 50 percent of enrolled students qualify to receive free/reduced price meal benefits.

“It breaks my heart to hear that parents are worried about providing food for their children this summer,” said Yvonne. “I wish more people knew about our program. The more kids we feed, the better our community will be.”

Transportation is a huge barrier for many families.

Since the feeding program is not offered at every school, families without transportation may choose to pick up bags of food from a local pantry, rather than sending their children twice a day to the specific meal sites. Across Texas, participation in Summer Feeding programs are low because of inconsistent outreach and a lack of organizations willing to sponsor sites.

Summer Feeding programs are up for reauthorization this fall, as part of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. Ask Congress to support Summer Feeding programs by:

• Increasing reimbursement levels and and assisting in rural transportation costs
• Reducing sponsor paperwork where possible
• Decreasing area eligibility from 50% of the poverty line to 40% (H.R. 540)

Learn More
Austin ISD Summer Feeding program sites

Breastfeeding or not – you should care about the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act.

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director 

Returning to work a little more than two months after maternity leave after each of my sons were born was certainly a shock to my system.  The intimate quiet moments I enjoyed to feed my newborn was replaced by a quick dash (well within the speed limit and driving safety guidelines, of course) home during my lunch break.   I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones because I have a private space to pump if I choose, or can go home to nurse, as well as the finances to take an unpaid maternity leave for three months.  Across the nation, and especially in Texas, many women are not as “lucky.”

According to an Institute for Women’s Policy Research study, paid parental leave is still not standard, even among the best U.S. employers. While no federal or state law mandates paid maternity leave, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Family and Medical Leave Act provide some protection for pregnant women and new families.  This powerful report released by Texans Care for Children made me realize how lucky my family is, and how so many children in Texas have the odds stacked against them. Did you know:

• Texas ranks last in the number of children without health insurance.
• Texas has one of the country’s highest rates of births to teenage mothers (49 out of 50 states).
• Infant mortality rates have steadily climbed in Texas, this decade, while remaining unchanged in the nation as a whole.

And then there’s cost. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months, with some additional nursing as solid food is introduced and continuing at least for the baby’s first year. I again, was one of the lucky moms who didn’t have a great deal of difficulty nursing or maintaining supply. As this Babble.com article points out, breastfeeding isn’t exactly free for everyone, especially moms who return to the workforce. With my second, more than my first boy, work and life responsibilies sometimes got in the way of my desire for breastmilk-only babies, and I needed to suppliment my hapazard supply with formula.

So what happens when you live in a country that doesn’t create laws that make it easy to meet pediatric guidelines, in a state with the odds stacked against you for growing healthy children, and where the cost of breastfeeding while returning to work could cost a small fortune?  I’ll tell you –

Guilt.

I’m sure, I’m not the only mom who experienced this after returning to work, wanting to at least make it to one year exclusively breastfeeding.  A  New York Times article explains this breastfeeding class divide and says that on average, lower-income mothers have less time, fewer resources and less employer support for breastfeeding.  And before anyone thinks I’m going down the path of “formula is poison,” I, like many mothers, clearly made the informed decision that supplementing with formula is good enough. 

Over time, and with the support of my loved ones, I have made peace with my choice. In the end, guilt serves no one. 

For many moms, breastfeeding is a sore subject (no pun intended) which is why we need your voice. Your advocacy for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act and WIC can help moms have more real choices about how they feed their new babies.

One of the major goals of the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program is to improve the nutrition of infants, and encourage breastfeeding. They do this by offering support and resources that consider the real-life challenges of low-income moms:

• Breastfeeding mothers receive follow-up support through peer counselors
• Breastfeeding mothers are eligible to participate in WIC longer than non-breastfeeding mothers
• Mothers who exclusively breastfeed their infants receive an enhanced food package
• Breastfeeding mothers can receive breast pumps, breast shells or nursing supplementers to help support the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding

WIC is one of five programs under the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act that is not an entitlement program.  This means that Congress does not set aside funds to allow every eligible individual to participate.  Each state has a yearly food expenditure goal and must meet at least 97 percent of its food grant or face penalties in the form of reduced funding for the next year.  Funding does not keep up with rising food costs and increased caseloads from the poor economy.

We need your support to ensure:

• Adequate funding in the FY 2010 budget to meet the growing need
• Combat pay from income for the purposes of determining eligibility (S.581) is excluded

My two boys -

Today! Tweet #twitterforfood to support the Food Bank.

Today, the second Twitter For Food event is happening on the popular social network, Twitter.  As you know, food bank donations are down and the need is up.  About 100 million more people worldwide are going hungry this year as compared to last, and with the poor economy, donations for food have dropped. 

You can help.
Tweet this cause using #twitterforfood in your tweets.

Twitter for Food is asking you to skip a meal and use the savings to fund hunger relief  through your local food bank.

Don’t forget to tell your friends!

 

 

Don’t Get Mad — Take Action

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director

Earlier today, we shared our disappointment about the Food Bank bill and encouraged you to not be discouraged.  Here’s an opportunity for you to get involved in some fast-moving federal legislation.  Well, as fast as the federal government moves, but you know what I mean. 

The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee will take the Fiscal Year 2010 Agricultural Appropriations bill next Thursday, June 11.  There’s a request to provide $15 million for food bank infrastructure grants and $100 million in TEFAP storage and distribution grants. U.S. Representatives James P. McGovern (D – MA) and  John Boozman (R – AR) are circulating a sign-on letter for Congress to show bi-partisan support for inclusion of these appropriations. There are only 33 signatures on the McGovern-Boozman letter supporting this bill, including U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D- TX). You can help by calling your Representative’s office no later than 4 p.m. Eastern time, Friday June 5, and ask for their support.  If Congressman Doggett is your representative, you can call and tell him thanks.

TEFAP 101
TEFAP, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, is a Federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income people, including the elderly, by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance.  Local organizations, like food banks, distribute this food to those in need.

Appropriations 101
Every year, Congress considers appropriations measures which provide funding for a variety of government services and operations. The rules for considering these funding measures are called the congressional appropriations process.  Here’s a great summary about the process.

How to take action:
Call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Representative. You will be transferred to your Representative’s office. If you’re not sure who your representative is, use our legislator finder.

Your talking points:

1. I understand that the Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee will be taking the Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill next week which requests $15 million for food bank infrastructure grants and $100 million in TEFAP storage and distribution grants.
2. In the Capital Area Food Bank’s service area, there has been a more than 40 percent increase in clientele since this time last year.
3. In order to meet the growing demand and to effectively distribute increased food approved as a result of the Farm Bill, food banks need funding to help with the equipment and facilities they use to store and distribute food safely.   

Bring it home with a strong ask:
These modest requests are desperately needed to help food banks, like the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, acquire and provide food to struggling families.

Get bonus advocacy points: 
Encourage your friends — across the country – to take action. This legislation doesn’t just help our food bank.

If you took action, and have any feedback from your legislator’s office, please let us know.

Letter to the Editor: Hungry Texas Children Should Be a Top Priority

The following is a letter to the editor of the Austin American-Statesman by David Davenport, President & CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank.  Similar letters were sent to newspapers in our 21-county service area. It is re-printed here in its entirety:

Over the past year, social service providers in Travis County supplied by the Capital Area Food Bank have noticed an unsettling trend – the rates of both child hunger and child obesity are rising.

Last week, a national report confirmed the worst: Texas has the highest rate of child hunger in the nation.

Thankfully, the Texas Legislature just approved a measure that could help.

HB 1622, the “food bank bill” passed unanimously in the Senate this week, promising to distribute $20 million in nutritious food to at-risk children across the state. HB 1622 is an opportunity for food banks and the state to work together, but the bill is only a promise – in order to work it must be funded by the budget conference committee, including local Senator Steve Ogden.

HB 1622 can supply the nutritious food needed by hungry children in Travis County, and provide a crucial link in the fight against child obesity. Our state budget offers tough decisions this year, but in this economy it is more important than ever that hungry children receive top priority. After all, if the health of our children isn’t “basic,” what is?

TAKE ACTION: Support the Food Bank Bill (HB 1622)

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director

Good news!  Thanks to the support of so many across Texas, the Food Bank Bill (also known as HB 1622) passed in both the House and Senate.  However, this bill will be unfunded unless money is found in the state budget.  Your legislators are making that decision this month. We need your help in the next few days to help ensure this bill is funded. 

Our ask is simple.  Please call your Senator and Representative and tell him or her, “Please support the funding request of $20 million for the Food Bank Bill, HB 1622.”  Or you can take action online by visiting our website or clicking the Take Action button below.

How this bill helps hungry Central Texans

One in five children is overweight or obese, and Texas leads the nation with the highest rate of children at risk of hunger. These children are at increased risk of cognitive, motor, emotional and behavioral problems, and multiple health deficiencies.

While it may seem paradoxical for these two situations to exist in the same body, they are in fact, two sides of the same coin. Without the means to purchase enough nutritious food, families often choose to reduce the quality of food purchased.

The Food Bank Bill (HB 1622) would provide $20 million to help food banks distribute healthy foods to children at risk of hunger and obesity. This bill will direct free, nutritious food to needy families through Texas food banks, and their programs serving children. One hundred percent of the money provided by the bill will be used to purchase healthy, nutritious food for children with no administrative costs. With bills in the legislature addressing obesity through nutrition education and fitness programs, the Food Bank Bill provides that “third leg” support through ensuring families have access to the right foods.  Click here to read the bill.

Five Earth-friendly Ways to Support CAFB

 1.      Plant an extra row of vegetables and donate your produce to the Food Bank.

2.      Ink Out Hunger by donating your toner cartridge to the Food Bank.  Ring Out Hunger by donating your old cell phone.

3.      Instead of dumping the shampoo and other personal care items from your hotel room, save them and donate them to the Food Bank.

4.      Call your representative and ask for him or her to support anti-hunger legislation.  Not sure what’s out there?  Take a look at this list.

5.      Go paperless by donating online and signing up for e-communcation.

Earth Day Action Plan Includes Supporting Access to Healthy Foods for Children

 
Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director

We’re pleased to see the call to action on the Earth Day website for increased access to healthy foods for children.  Advocacy tips include supporting nutrition education for both children and parents, connecting with local schools to improve school lunches, and supporting the Child Nutrition and WIC Act Reauthorization of 2009.   CAFB is doing our part - we planted a square-foot garden, encouraging  the community to grow food for hungry Central Texans and continue to advocate for increased access to healthy foods. 

Take Action:  81st Texas Legislature is also doing its part to support  Earth Day’s call to action to support healthy Texas children  – especially those in need.  Help us make every day Earth Day for hungry Central Texans by contacting your Senator or Representative about the following legislation.

HB 1622 creates a grant program distributing funds to food banks which will provide children at risk of hunger or obesity by increasing access to nutritious food.
Author: Giddings (Companion bill SB 944)
Status:  Passed in the House

HB 482 increases access to fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income people. The bill instructs the Texas Department of Agriculture to establish a time-limited competitive grant program to assist small grocers in low-income communities where access to larger food retailers is limited. The program will assist grocers that receive grants to be able to effectively and efficiently stock fresh produce.
Author:  Rodriguez
Status: Passed in the House

HB 4629 creates an Early Childhood Health and Nutrition Interagency Council which helps identify and implement best practices in nutrition and physical activity for children under age six.
Author: Lucio (Companion bill SB 395)
Status:  In Committee

SB 282  provides for nutrition education in early childhood and after-school environments and to reward achievements in school nutrition and establishes three new grant programs to address this:  the Fresh Start Program, which provides grants to pre-kindergarten and Head Start programs to support nutrition education among three-year-olds and four-year-olds; the Community Nutrition Program, which provides grants to community and faith-based programs for children and youth to support nutrition education; and the Healthy Rewards Program, which provides grants to individual schools based on best practices in school nutrition.
Author: Nelson
Status:  Out of Committee

SB 867 requires a school district in which 50 percent or more of the students are eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program, unless the school district obtains a certain waiver, to provide or arrange for the provision of a summer nutrition program for at least 30 consecutive weekdays during the period in which school districts are recessed for the summer.
Author:  Lucio
Status:  Out of committee, placed on intent calendar

SB 868 provides free breakfast to all elementary school students during school hours if 60 percent or more of the students attending the school qualify for the free or reduced-price breakfast provided by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The bill also requires a school district or open-enrollment charter school to participate in and provide all students access to the National School Breakfast Program if at least 10 percent of the students enrolled in one or more schools in the district are eligible for free or reduced price breakfasts.
Author: Lucio
Status: In Senate Education Committee

SB 343 requires that an advisory committee be established to identify the extent of the lack of access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved areas of the state and provide recommendations to the legislature regarding options for increasing access to healthy foods for Texans living in these areas.
Author: Nelson
Status: In Public Health Committee

SB 344 establishes an advisory committee to study and make recommendations to the legislature regarding the costs, benefits, feasibility, acceptance, incorporation, and use of food stamps and WIC program benefits at Texas farmers markets.
Author: Nelson
Status:  In Public Health Committee

SB 1027 establishes an interagency farm-to-school coordination task force chaired by representatives of the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Education Agency, the Department of State Health Services, farm organizations, and other relevant public and nonprofit partners.  The bill expands and coordinates current systems and creates mechanisms to facilitate local food purchases by school districts, expand food-focused experiential education, and assist farms and schools in overcoming barriers to increase the use of fresh fruits, vegetables, and health practices in school diets. 
Author: Watson (Companion bill, HB 1840)
Status:  Passed Senate, In House Agriculture Committee

Learn more about these bills.