(Washington,
D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) applauded the passage of the
Child Nutrition reauthorization bill that will expand programs to reduce
childhood hunger while promoting healthy eating and addressing child obesity.
The bill passed by unanimous consent and allocates $4.5 billion in funding for
child nutrition over 10 years.
“The
welfare of our nation’s children is of the utmost concern to me,” said Senator Murray. “As a parent and
former educator, I consider providing our children with nutritious meals
that will give them the energy to engage and be active participants
within classroom activities a top priority.”
The
bill, which was fully offset, expands program access to reduce childhood hunger
and promote childhood nutrition by:
- Expanding
Afterschool Meals for At-Risk Children Nationwide
For
the vast majority of states, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
afterschool program only provides reimbursement for a snack for at-risk
individuals. This section will allow communities in all 50 states to be
reimbursed for a meal. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that by
2015, an additional 21 million meals will be served annually through this
provision.
- Expanding
Universal Meal Service through Community Eligibility
This
new option will allow schools in high-poverty areas to offer free meals to all
students without collecting paper applications, which will expand access to
more children and reduce administrative burdens on schools. By 2020, CBO
estimates that roughly 2,500 schools will elect to participate.
- Connecting
More Eligible Low-Income Children with School Meals
Children
whose families receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits
are directly certified for free school meals. This provision will expand the
direct certification process to include Medicaid in select districts in the
U.S. CBO estimates that by 2015, approximately 115,000 students annually will
be newly certified for free school meals as a result.
- Performance
Bonuses for Direct Certification
This
section will establish performance benchmarks for states to improve their
direct certification methods and provide incentive bonuses to states to
encourage improved performance. According to CBO, states will newly certify
approximately 4,500 students per year, on average, through this provision.
- Automatically
Enrolling Foster Children for Free School Meals
This
section will add foster children to the list of those that are automatically
eligible for free meals, eliminating the need for foster children to
demonstrate their income when applying for school meal benefits. According to
the Department of Health and Human Services, 463,000 children were in foster
care in 2008.
- Promoting
the Availability and Locations of Summer Meal and Breakfast Sites
Many
children do not have access to filling, healthy foods in the summer when they
are away from school. This provision will require school food authorities to
coordinate with institutions operating the Summer Food Service Program to
develop and distribute materials to families to inform them of the availability
and location of summer meal sites and school breakfast sites.
- Piloting
Innovative Methods to Provide Nutrition to Hungry, Low-Income Children
The
bill provides mandatory funding to test pilot projects to improve methods of
providing nutritious foods to hungry children, including during out-of-school
times.
English 
Spanish