With this week’s release of the United States Department of Agriculture annual food security report and with only a few weeks left in 2010, the need to pass child nutrition reauthorization before the end of the 111th Congress has become more pressing than ever. Given that 1 in 4 American children at risk of hunger, it is imperative to pass a child nutrition bill that reauthorizes and improves programs that are not only being administered across the country, but that are essential to the health and well-being of our children.
Our state partners also know the importance of programs included in the child nutrition bill, like the Woman, Infant and Children’s Program (WIC), which provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education to low-income pregnant and postpartum women, as well as to infants and children up to age five and the school meals programs which are key components in the fight against childhood hunger and obesity. With the passage of a strong child nutrition bill, these vital programs will continue to reach the vulnerable kids and families that need them most, and school lunches served will become healthier for children nationwide. For these very same reasons our state partners have joined us in advocating to pass a strong child nutrition bill before the end of the 111th Congress. Our state partners have taken a multitude of actions, ones that we encourage you to take as well:
- Signing on to the Feeding America Letter
- Advocates for Children and Youth, and Children First for Oregon, are all urging their networks to contact Members of Congress and ask that they make child nutrition reauthorization a priority before the end of the year.
- New England Alliance for Children’s Health is urging their network to contact Members of Congress as well as highlighting this video from our friends at Feeding America .
Congress has adjourned for Thanksgiving without completing work on child nutrition reauthorization. We are hopeful that when Congress returns, a child nutrition bill will be voted on without delay and without any motions by Republicans to delay or kill the bill. In order to grow up healthy, all children need access to nutritious food. Passing the child nutrition bill is an essential step to making sure all children have access to the nutrition they need to grow into a healthy adulthood.
There’s no time to play politics when children are going hungry. Tell Congress to pass child nutrition now.