The "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act" is a proposal for the reauthorization of the Federal Child Nutrition Act. As it is currently written, the act would bring 4.5 Billion dollars over the next 10 years in child nutrition funding to our nation's hungry youth. On Wednesday March 24th, it was unanimously passed by the Senate Agricultural Committee.
Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) sponsored the legislation. “For far too many children, the only stable source of food that they can count on is what they get at school. This legislation invests in new initiatives to enroll more children in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, provide options for high poverty schools to offer universal free meal service to children and, for the first time in nearly 40 years, increase the reimbursement rate for the National School Lunch Program," said Senator Lincoln.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack commended Senator Lincoln and Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga) for their leadership on the Act. "Improving the quality of school meals and the health of the school environmentis critically important to the overall health of our kids, in addition to their academic achievement. At the same time, we must improve access to these vital programs and take steps to reduce hunger. The framework announced today makes progress toward both goals," said Vilsack.
But the Agriculture Secretary's accolades were tempered by his belief that Congress can do more. "Though we believe that additional access and nutrition goals can and should be accomplished by passing a more robust bill that supports the President's request of $10 billion in additional funding, the bipartisan announcement today is a very positive step forward,” Vilsack added.
Advocates are hoping that the Act will be passed by June. Elev8 supports the legislation.
Related Article: Elev8 New Mexico Students Put Food in Focus
A summary of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is below.
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
*all estimates are 10-year figures
A Path to End Childhood Hunger: $1.2 billion
- Expanding Afterschool Meals for At-Risk Children Nationwide
- For the vast majority of states, the CACFP at-risk afterschool program only provides reimbursement for a snack. This section would give communities in all 50 states the ability to be reimbursed for a meal.
- Expanding Universal Meal Service through Community Eligibility
- This new option will allow schools in high-poverty areas to offer free meals to all students without collecting paper applications, which will expand access to more children and reduce administrative burdens on schools.
- Connecting More Eligible Low-Income Children with School Meals
- Children whose families receive SNAP benefits are directly certified for free school meals. This provision would expand the direct certification process to include Medicaid in select districts in the U.S.
- Performance Bonuses for Direct Certification
- This section would establish performance benchmarks for states to improve their direct certification methods, as well as provide incentive bonuses to states to incentivize improved performance.
- Categorical Eligibility of Foster Children
- This section would add foster children to the list of those that are automatically eligible for free meals, eliminating the need for foster children to demonstrate their income when applying for school meal benefits.
- Promoting the Availability and Locations of Summer Food Service Program Meal Sites
- Requires school food authorities to coordinate with institutions operating the Summer Food Service Program to develop and distribute materials to families to inform them of the availability and location of summer meal sites.
- Piloting Innovative Methods to Feed Hungry, Low-Income Children
- Provides mandatory funding to test pilot projects to improve the way we feed hungry children, including during out-of- school times.
Promoting Health and Reducing Childhood Obesity: $3.2 billion
- Helping Schools Improve the Nutritional Quality of School Meals
- A performance-based increase in the federal reimbursement rate for school lunches — 6 cents per meal — will help schools meet new meal standards to provide children with healthier school meals.
- National Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in Schools
- This section would provide the Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to establish national nutrition standards for all foods sold on school campus throughout the school day.
- Promoting Nutrition and Wellness in Child Care Settings
- This section establishes nutrition requirements for child care providers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, as well as providing guidance and technical assistance to help providers improve the health of young children.
- Connecting More Children to Healthy Local Produce through Farm-to-School Programs • Provides mandatory funding for schools to establish school gardens and to source local foods into school cafeterias.
Total New Child Nutrition Funding: $4.5 Billion
