Childhood Hunger

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Renew School Lunch Program

Summary:

SIX BILLION MEALS ARE SERVED EACH YEAR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH AND BREAKFAST PROGRAMS.

June 24

Renew School Lunch Program

Lexington Herald Leader
by Anita Courtney
June 23, 2010

Six billion meals are served each year through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

Unfortunately, due to the many pressing legislative priorities in Congress in 2009, renewal of the child nutrition programs was delayed for more than a year.

Given the importance of those programs to financially strapped Kentucky families and that they tackle the high rates of childhood obesity, their reauthorization should be next on the legislative agenda.

Hunger and obesity both can be caused by a lack of access to healthy food.

According to the USDA, over 200,000 children in Kentucky are hungry. In this economic downturn, our families need the child nutrition programs now more than ever. Health care costs due to obesity are about $1.2 billion per year in Kentucky alone — more than half of which is paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid.

Child nutrition programs provide a means to improve the diets of millions of American children, but additional resources are needed to increase school meal reimbursement rates, strengthen nutrition education to teach children good eating habits, and provide more technical assistance and training to improve school foods.

The two seemingly disparate but closely related problems — hunger and obesity — are addressed together in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

That bill, which passed unanimously out of the Senate Agriculture Committee, would provide increased funding, including the first increase in school lunch reimbursement rates (above inflation) in more than 40 years.

This bipartisan legislation also would update the national school nutrition standards for vending and a la carte foods and finally get junk food out of all schools.

While Kentucky has been a national leader on this, most states have not addressed the problem. This once-controversial provision is now supported by a national coalition of health and education organizations and major food and beverage companies.

Chairman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., exhibited bipartisan spirit, amidst the contentious political climate in Washington, to develop a strong bill that would help improve child nutrition and health.

Now, child nutrition must be made a top priority by Senate leaders Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The Senate must vote on and pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act this month, so that child nutrition improvements can be put in place for children by the next school year.

The health of our children can’t wait any longer.

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