Defense Authorization Bill Includes Support for Child Nutrition Programs

Last Thursday, the House voted on an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill. The amendment, sponsored by McGovern (D-MA), Emerson (R-MO), Bishop (D-GA), includes a “Sense of Congress” stating that hunger and obesity are impairing military recruitment and must be properly addressed by fully funding Child Nutrition Programs.

An encouraging 341 members voted to support the amendment, with only 85 voting against.

The Defense bill does not appropriate funding to the Child Nutrition Act, but it stands as a record that Congress feels that child nutrition programs should allocate an additional $10 billion over the next ten years, as requested by President Obama.

The “Sense of the Congress” amendment says “reducing domestic childhood obesity and hunger is a matter of national security. The federal Child Nutrition Programs under the Richard Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) should be funded at the President’s request; and the increases in funding for such programs should be properly offset.”

In a Washington Post article, two retired US Army Generals explain their position:

Military concerns about the fitness of our children are not new. When the National School Lunch Act was first passed in 1946, it was seen as a matter of national security. Many of our military leaders recognized that poor nutrition was a significant factor reducing the pool of qualified candidates for service.

Our country is facing another serious health crisis. Obesity rates threaten the overall health of America and the future strength of our military. We must act, as we did after World War II, to ensure that our children can one day defend our country, if need be.

Over the past month, 221 members of Congress have already sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) supporting President Obama’s request for an increase of $1 billion a year for the Child Nutrition Programs.

Thank you to the many of you who joined Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and food banks throughout California in a postcard campaign sending the same message. This is a down payment toward achieving President Obama’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015.

We will keep you posted as things progress on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act.

Report from the 2010 National Anti-Hunger Conference

On March 7, our Senior Director of Programs and Services Cindy McCown, along with hundreds of other hunger advocates, converged on Washington D.C. for the 2010 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. Co-sponsored by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Feeding America, the conference provided three days of innovative training, networking and advocacy.

Cindy found herself inspired by the personal stories and conviction of the speakers, who included

• Congresswomen Donna Edwards (D-Maryland)
• Kevin Concannon – Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services
• Tom Vilsack – Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana)
• Representative Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts)
• Senator Robert Casey, Jr. (D-Pennsylvania

Key Messages:

• Hunger is a bi-partisan issue
• Federal nutrition programs such as SNAP/Food Stamps, school based feeding, after school snacks, summer meals and WIC are critical to combating hunger in our communities.
• We need a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill if we are to achieve the President’s goal of ending child hunger by 2015.
• We need a significant level of increased funding in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill – no less than the President’s request of one billion dollars per year over the next ten years to meet this need.

Meetings were held with representatives of Senators Boxer and Feinstein and Congress Members Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren, Jackie Speier and Jerry McNerney to apprise them of hunger issues impacting our local communities.

For a deeper dive into the issues, see the following links:

• (PDF) Ending Childhood Hunger by 2015: The Essential Strategies for Achieving the President's Goal
• (PDF) Reading, Writing and Hungry: The Consequences of Food Insecurity on Children, and On Our Nation’s Economic Success
• (PDF) Obesity, Food Insecurity and the Federal Nutrition Programs: Understanding the Linkages
• (PDF) Proceedings of the Roundtable on Understanding the Paradox of Hunger and Obesity
• (PDF) Hunger and Obesity? Making the Connections (Fact Sheet)
• (E-publication) FRAC Focuses: Obesity and Poverty: a periodical review of research and action

Nutrition is a priority - locally and nationally!

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and First Lady Michelle Obama know fresh produce is invaluable to good health, and are spreading the word. (See the slideshow of their recent shopping adventure in North Philadelphia on The Huffington Post.)

The support coming from the top to improve childhood nutrition is most welcome at Second Harvest. For several years now, we have put a lot of thought and effort into upgrading the nutritional density of food we distribute.  A Nutritional Indexing System developed in-house has enabled us to tag incoming food with a number according to certain guidelines that have been established, and then these numbers are tracked over time.

Thanks to the Farm to Families program, a large percentage of our food poundage gets the highest ranking as fresh produce. At a recent Family Harvest distribution, I watched children in their school uniforms on the grass working their way through bags of fresh, sweet oranges, rinds piling up next to them as their parents picked up the rest of their food allotment. The kids' bright smiles and laughter said it all.

We believe we have a responsibility to those we serve in our community to provide quality, nutritious food that will enable parents to instill healthy eating habits in their children despite their current financial status. The little girl on our holiday food drive poster is standing next to a cart of the actual food that was going out on the day we showed up. Check out that produce!

Second Harvest is pleased that a number of our key priorities for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act—including improved access to fill the gaps in food assistance and the development of innovative ways to reach hungry children during out-of-school times—are included in the Obama Administration's priorities. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress in the coming months to make legislative changes that will move the nation forward in the crusade to end childhood hunger in America. Check out a full list of Secretary Vilsack's administration priorities on our main website.

In addition to Secretary Vilsack's work, First Lady Michelle Obama will also be positively impacting our efforts with her "Let's Move" campaign and the new foundation she heads up called "Partnership for a Healthier America".

From their website: "The Partnership for a Healthier America will serve as a partner to the First Lady’s Let’s Move Initiative by linking and mobilizing the private sector, foundations, thought leaders, media, and local communities to action and further the goals of curbing childhood obesity within a generation."

Our Senior Director of Programs and Services Cindy McCown will be in Washington DC next week for the 2010 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. Stay tuned for info and actions to come! Be sure to get the news:  sign up for our email list here and help us end childhood hunger!

Further Info: 

• Learn about our Produce Mobile serving local food deserts and the Kids NOW program that sends food home with kids every Friday, filling the gap until they are back in school on Monday. These creative solutions to ending hunger are right in line with Vilsack's priority recomendations.
• Do you know someone or a family who could use assistance? Check out our Outreach Flyers and Handouts page.