NWH Message to Congress: Strengthen Child Nutrition Programs Now!
June 10, 2010
Every day in the United States, some 17 million children are hungry because they don’t have enough food at home. In Washington state, we have about 377,000 hungry kids. We call on Congress to make it a top priority to feed our children where they live, learn and play by investing an additional $10 billion over 10 years as a part of Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
This crucial bill will pay for critical nutrition programs for our struggling young families, including the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program, national school lunch and breakfasts, afterschool snacks and summer lunches, and meal programs in child care and adult care settings.
With an increased investment of $10 billion over 10 years, Congress can significantly improve each federal Child Nutrition program by following three guiding principles:
- Improving access to the programs
- Modernizing enrollment and administration of the programs
- Improving nutritional quality of the food included in the programs
Study after study shows that hungry kids simply cannot learn in the classroom. Chronic hunger profoundly hinders kids’ ability to focus, retain information and thrive in our schools. Providing our children with proper nutrition for the school day is critical to the future success of our country.
The childhood obesity epidemic in the United States threatens the future health of our population, our economy and our national security. For many low‐income kids, obesity and malnutrition are closely linked as families are forced to make short‐term bargains with long‐term health consequences—like buying fast food or other high‐calorie, low‐cost foods to feed the family. Obesity puts kids at risk of heart disease and diabetes later on in life and can shorten a person’s lifespan up to a decade. Last year in the U.S., we spent about $150 billion on obesity‐related medical costs.
The childhood obesity epidemic also threatens our national security; three out of four 18‐ to 24‐year olds today are unfit for military service, in most cases due to the lack a high school diploma or obesity. Strengthening the Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act of 2010 to the level of $10 billion over 10 years will complement other national efforts to tackle child obesity, such as First Lady Obama’s recently announced Let’s Move initiative.
Northwest Harvest believes we have a responsibility to ensure all our kids are getting the nutritious food they need to be healthy and reach their full potential in the classroom and beyond. On behalf of Washington’s children, we call on Congress to invest in our children, invest in our future, and strengthen our investment in The Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act of 2010. Please act now and contact Senator Murray, Senator Cantwell, and your member of Congress.
Update:
We now have versions of the Child Nutrition bill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, please reference these bills in your contacts to lawmakers. To learn more about each proposal, visit the links below:
Find out more about Northwest Harvest Advocacy.
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