Washington, DC, March 18, 2010—Bread for the World is pleased that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) has begun this year's child nutrition reauthorization with the release of legislation yesterday. With nearly one in four kids in the United States hungry, it is critical that Congress enact a strong reauthorization bill this year.
Child nutrition programs provide critical safety nets that protect our children from hunger, but far too many vulnerable children are not connected with these programs.
Bread's top priority for reauthorization is improving program access and participation so that more hungry children get the food they need. Chairman Lincoln's bill begins improving these elements and includes several of Bread's recommendations, such as:
- making it easier for high-poverty schools to provide free meals to all students;
- encouraging states to improve efforts to enroll eligible children in free school meals; and,
- expanding the supper program from 14 states to all 50 states.
"We support President Obama's request for $1 billion annually in new funding for child nutrition programs to make progress toward the goal of ending child hunger by 2015," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. "We pledge to work with Chairman Lincoln and her colleagues to meet that goal."
The committee is expected to mark up the bill March 24.
Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.
