Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Get ready for Hunger Action Month—September 2009!
Hunger Action Month is a nationwide effort to engage Americans in the fight against hunger—and it’s coming in September! Feeding America food banks will host events across the country that will bring together concerned citizens like you.
Our goal is to make people aware of why it’s important to get involved in the fight against hunger—and give them a multitude of opportunities to help solve the problem. From California to Florida, and Washington to Maine, people like you will be recognizing Hunger Action Month through local events both large and small.
Our advocacy efforts during Hunger Action Month 2009 will have a special focus on efforts to end childhood hunger in America, including advocating for full funding and reauthorization for federal child nutrition programs.
Keep your eye on the Hunger Action Center or call your local food bank to find out what’s coming up in your community!
What’s It All About?
Every five years, lawmakers work together to improve and reauthorize Child Nutrition Programs that are funded by the federal government. These programs include after-school, weekend, and summer nutrition programs; the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and various other support activities and initiatives.
These programs are designed to improve children’s nutrition and to give lower-income children better access to nutritious meals.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 is set to expire on September 30, 2009, and Congress will soon begin its debates on funding levels and allocations for these important programs.
Feeding America plays a critical role in advocating for and directly supporting child nutrition programs. Our goals are designed to:
- Strengthen the quality and efficiency of all child nutrition programs.
- Fill the gaps in food service for millions of low-income children.
- Offer creative ideas for new and innovative approaches to ending childhood hunger.
As Congress prepares to reauthorize funding for these programs, Feeding America will be actively engaged in developing proposals for legislative changes that will bring an end to childhood hunger in America.
Child Nutrition—A Critical Foundation
Part 1: Hunger and Education
In Savannah, Georgia, in 1989, two young brothers were discovered late one night in the kitchen of their housing project's community center. In response, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia started the first Kids Café, a program that provides free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of community locations where children already congregate.
Why was it so important for the citizens of Savannah to do something about these hungry children? Because they knew that the problem of childhood hunger is not simply a moral issue.
Studies show that children from food insecure households are likely to fall behind in their academic development compared to other children, making it difficult for them to reach the same level of development as their food secure peers. (Frongillo, E., Jyoti, D., Jones, S. Food Stamp Program Participation Is Associated with Better Academic Learning Among School Children. Journal of Nutrition: 136; 1077-1080.2006.) And children who struggle with food insecurity also have problems with academic performance, tardiness rates, and absenteeism. (Meyers, AF., Sampson AE, Weitzman, M., Rogers, BL., Kayne, G. School Breakfast Program and Performance. American Journal Dis. Children. 1989: 143; 1234-1239.)
Research even indicates that children with poor nutrition in the first three years of life show less capacity to learn—and any interruption in nutrition may have lasting effects later on. (C-SNAP, 2006. Nourishing Development: A report on food insecurity and the precursors to school readiness among very young children.)
Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children. Even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth impacts their behavior, their school performance, and their overall cognitive development.
A great example of the importance of providing every child with access to adequate nutrition is the story of Sylvia from Oregon.
I am a teacher who lives and works on the Oregon Coast. I recently became aware of the program Backpack Friday at the local school where my Special Education classroom is located. Children who are hungry and sign up for the program may take a backpack home every Friday filled with enough food to last the weekend. It is amazing how quickly the community rallied around the cause and has enabled these children to have a hunger-free weekend.
Since the recession hit, the number of children carrying home backpacks has risen. When I first heard of the program, fourteen students from our school were taking home backpacks filled with approximately fourteen dollars worth of food. When I asked about numbers a few months ago, sixty-seven students were taking home the backpacks. Since then, the numbers have risen to include children from families that were seen as "well-to-do."
Lay-offs from formerly lucrative jobs and the drop in the housing market have put families who own or are buying their own homes in a precarious position. They cannot make their mortgage payments, nor can they sell their homes. They have often sold off all excess possessions and are now among the non-working poor. Many call up in tears to sign up for the extra food, ashamed that they are among those that have hungry children.
Thanks to Sylvia for sharing her story—and to the wonderful people in Oregon who are making sure that their children are well-fed and well-educated.
Feeding America is committed to making sure that every child has the food necessary to survive and thrive—that’s why we’ll be front and center in the coming months as we advocate for increased government funding for critical Child Nutrition Programs.
No More Hungry Children
You Can Make A Difference!
A recent study—Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2005 - 2007—shows that 3.5 million children in America, ages five and under, live at risk of hunger. “The startling fact that so many very young children in this country do not have adequate nutrition necessary to grow and develop into healthy adults is heartbreaking. It is all the more tragic when one considers that it is also entirely preventable,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America.
Feeding America and its member food banks are determined to lower these numbers and protect our nation’s children.
Want to get on board? At the Hunger Action Center, you’ll find many ways to get involved!
- Spread the word. Share the Feeding America message with your friends and family—many of our advocates got involved when their friends told them about Feeding America!
- Email your Members of Congress. Lawmakers need to know what issues are important to their constituents. With Child Nutrition Reauthorization coming up soon, we need to let them know that fighting hunger is our highest priority!
Visit the Hunger Action Center today and make a difference in the life of a hungry child!