Bread for the World Welcomes New Child Nutrition Priorities
Washington, DC, October 21, 2009 – Rev. David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World welcomed the direction of child nutrition priorities outlined today by the Obama administration. A White House gathering this morning hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama, the "Healthy Kids Fair," focused on healthy eating and good nutrition for children. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack highlighted opportunities to make progress on childhood hunger in the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
"President Obama has committed to ending child hunger by 2015, so I was pleased to hear terms such as 'access' and 'affordability' in describing the administration's plan for improving nutrition among our nation's children," said Rev. Beckmann. "Helping the more than 12 million kids in this country whose families struggle to put enough food on the table is a critical goal."
Among the priorities outlined by Sec. Vilsack was enrolling more children in the programs and improving children's access to meals, especially in the summer. In prepared remarks, Vilsack noted, "For many children in our programs, school lunch and breakfast represents the only healthy food that they eat all day. We must work to ensure access to nutrition assistance for children, when and where they need it, particularly during the summer months."
According to Rev. Beckmann, only 12 percent of children receiving meal assistance during the school year receive food assistance in the summer. He noted that children "are often left to fend for themselves" over the summer and holiday breaks.
"I support the president and Sec. Vilsack 100 percent in their valiant efforts to ensure access to nutrition assistance for eligible children," said Rev. Beckmann. I applaud the innovative approaches I heard about today, like automatically enrolling eligible children in these programs and providing direct support for state and local communities."
Sec. Vilsack emphasized the importance of supporting communities and States committed to "ending the scourge of hunger." Bread for the World recently won $5 million in funding for the Hunger-Free Communities Program, a grant program developed to support local community anti-hunger efforts. "By focusing grants on groups working to reduce hunger among children, the Hunger-Free Communities Program complements the president's child hunger goal," Rev. Beckmann said. The administration requested funding for the program and USDA will soon begin implementing it.
Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.
