LEGISLATION

National Child Nutrition Legislation

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (S.3307) signed into law

U.S. Senate Bill 3307 was approved unanimously by the full Senate August 5 and passed the House on December 2 by a vote of 264-157. The President signed it into law December 13, 2010.

On behalf of hungry Texans, you may want to thank congressional representatives for their support of this bill. For contact information on members of Congress, go to Contact Elected Officials.

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (S. 3307)

S. 3307 invesst an additional $4.5 billion over 10 years in child nutrition programs.

AFTER-SCHOOL SUPPERS

Expand the At-Risk After-school Meal Program to All States: Currently, the At-Risk After-school Meal Program is limited to only 14 states (CT, DC, DE, IL, MD, MI, MO, NV, NY, OR, PA, VT, WV, and WI) and no state may provide after-school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The Child Nutrition legislation expands the At-Risk After-school Meal Program to all states.

SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM

Eliminates Summer Food Private Non-profit Sponsor Limits: Current law states that private non-profit organizations sponsoring the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) can only serve up to 25 sites and 300 children. The law removes the cap on the number of summer food sites and children that can be served by private non-profit organizations.

Requires Schools to Coordinate Outreach Efforts with Summer Food Programs: Current law requires sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to send out a media announcement containing information about program sites and times. In addition to this outreach, the Act requires school food authorities to work with SFSP sponsors to inform families about the availability of summer food sites in the local area.

Authorizes Summer Food Retention Grants: The bill authorizes a $20 million in competitive grant program for technical assistance, site improvement costs, and other innovative activities to support sponsor retention in the Summer Food Service Program. This provision helps retain the number of summer food program sites.

SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH

Authorizes School Breakfast Expansion Grants: The new law authorizes such sums as are necessary for competitive grants to State educational agencies for local educational agencies to help schools establish or expand school breakfast programs. Among other things it provides for outreach to schools with large populations of low-income children and allows funds to be used for training and technical assistance and the purchase of equipment needed to provide breakfast service outside of the cafeteria.

Increases Access for Eligible Children to School Meals: The Act includes several provisions for increasing access to free/reduced-price school meals for low-income children whose eligibility has already been established through other means without requiring their families to submit applications. Those provisions include establishing categorical eligibility for children in foster care, expanding direct certification for children receiving Medicaid benefits up to 133% of poverty, and allowing for the elimination of individual eligibility determinations in schools serving communities with high proportions of low-income children.

ENDING CHILD HUNGER GRANTS AND PILOTS

Authorizes State Childhood Hunger Challenge Grants: The new law authorizes such sums as are necessary for a competitive grant program to encourage states to develop comprehensive child hunger strategies that increase access and participation in child nutrition programs, improve program delivery, and strengthen the coordination of nutrition and other assistance programs.

Childhood Hunger Research and Demonstration Projects: The Act includes $40 million in mandatory spending to test innovative strategies – including alternate models of service – to end childhood hunger. It also includes $10 million in mandatory spending for research on the causes, consequences of childhood hunger, as well as the characteristics of families experiencing hunger.

Questions: Contact JC Dwyer, State Policy Director, Texas Food Bank Network, 817-721-9352 or email.

Background

Legislation for five major national child nutrition programs expired September 30, 2010. This legislation authorizes free and reduced-cost school meals, after-school feeding programs, summer food programs and the Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), among others.

The President and CEO of Feeding America, the national food bank network of which Tarrant Area Food Bank is a member, wrote about the child nutrition bills in her August 24th Huffington Post article, “Why the House Child Nutrition Bill Is Better for Children.”