by Ed Yowell
Federal nutrition programs provide for school meals and snacks, meals in child and adult care facilities, and nutrition assistance for low-income mothers, infants, and young children. School food is the largest part of these programs. During 2012, federal school food programs helped provide free or low-cost school meals to more than 31 million children in more than 100,000 public and non-profit, private schools. Federally funded healthy school meals make sure that all our kids have the energy they need to learn and are an important part of the fight against child hunger and obesity.
This September, the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the most recent five-year reauthorization of original legislation, will expire. The historic 2010 Act raised the bar on school food nutrition by calling for more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low and fat-free dairy products. Congress is now on course for legislating the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) Act of 2015.
Most school districts have adapted to and, in fact, embraced the nutritional standards of the 2010 Act. Our NYC Department of Education is among them. However, despite undeniable success nationally, there is push back in Congress and from the School Nutrition Association calling for school district nutrition implementation waivers and delaying implementation of important parts of the Act.
Our children are our most important resource. For their present and future health and well-being, let's make sure we hold the line on, and advance, healthy school food. And, while we are at it, let's get a CNR that also increases support of local farms through school food procurement. SFUSA Executive Director, Richard McCarthy, sent our SFUSA CNR platform to Congressional leaders. In it, Slow Food USA calls for a strong 2015 CNR that will:
- Make significant progress towards ending child hunger and food insecurity in America;
- Ensure that all our children have year-round access to high quality, nutritious foods, local and regional whenever possible, in their schools and through other child nutrition programs;
- Maintain nutrition standards and support high-quality nutrition education to help reduce obesity and diet-related disease and ensure productive, healthy generations to come; and
- Support and strengthen regional farm and food economies through child nutrition procurement policy, thereby helping preserve farmland, supporting small and mid-scale family farm viability, and reducing unsustainable environmental impact.
You can see the full Slow Food USA CNR platform here. And, you can help in the fight for a strong CNR by sending our message to your Senators and Representative by e-mail or Facebook. You can find your Senators here and your Representative here. Here is the message:
Dear Senator or Representative xxxx,
I am a constituent and supporter of Slow Food USA, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to good, clean, and fair food and farming. I call upon you to support a strong 2015 Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) that will: make significant progress towards ending child hunger; ensure that all our children have year-round access to high quality, nutritious, local food; maintain nutrition standards and support effective nutrition education; and support and strengthen regional farm and food economies through school food procurement. You can find the Slow Food USA CNR Platform here:
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/blog-post/letter-to-congress-reauthorize-the-...
Thank you for your attention.
[Your Name]