Dear Congress member:

The Hunger Action Network of New York State is a statewide membership organization of emergency food programs, advocates, faith groups and low-income individuals whose goal is to end hunger and its root causes, including poverty, in our state.

The three thousand food pantries and soup kitchens in New York help feed nearly three million New Yorkers a year - more than a third of whom are children.

We urge you to support at least an additional $4 billion a year of funding for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition and WIC Act, which includes the School Breakfast and the National School Lunch Programs, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). While the act was up for reauthorization at the end of September, as a result of the health care debate Congress extended the program for one year. The new target date for finishing reauthorization is March 2010.

We believe that stronger and improved child nutrition programs are essential if we are to meet President Obama's goal of ending child hunger by 2015. We realize that allocating an additional $4 billion annually will be a challenge. That is why your individual leadership to help support our children is so critical to New York residents.

Three key priorities for reauthorization include: increasing access to and participation in the various programs; improving the nutritional quality of the food provided (e.g, strengthen nutritional standards); and, streamline both the application for and administration of the programs.

The Food Research Action Center, which is  helping to coordinate a nationwide coalition around reauthorization, cites key reforms such as: Expand the Afterschool Meal Program to all 50 states; Improve the area eligibility test so more communities can operate afterschool, summer, and child care food programs; Provide funds for a grant program to support the start-up and expansion of universal and in-classroom school breakfast programs; Invest in Summer Nutrition Programs by providing funding for start-up, outreach, and transportation grants; and, Allow child care centers and homes the option of serving a third meal.

In NY, Hunger Action coordinates the Faith and Hunger Network along with Bread for the World. Below is a summary of Bread's recommendations.

Improve Access:

Families cannot get access to benefits for their eligible children if there is no program operating in their community. Congress should increase the number of breakfast, summer, and afterschool sites and explore alternative models to connect hungry children with food  during the summer.

Explore alternative strategies to reach children without access to summer food sites, such as increasing children’s SNAP (food stamp) benefits in the summer or providing WIC-style vouchers for the purchase of nutritious foods.

Provide outreach, technical assistance, and start-up funding to potential sponsors to help them establish breakfast, summer, and afterschool sites in underserved communities.

Expand the CACFP supper pilot nationwide so afterschool programs can provide supper to at-risk children whose parents work late into the evening.

Increase Participation:

Congress should simplify enrollment procedures and encourage school districts to find creative solutions to participation barriers. Expand cross-program direct certification to include Medicaid so children in that program are automatically connected with school meal programs. Encourage states to maximize the use of direct certification to more seamlessly enroll SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid children in school meals.

Provide universal free breakfast and eliminate the reduced-price fee in high-poverty school districts. Support the use of creative solutions – such as grab-and-go breakfasts, mobile SFSP, and satellite WIC clinics – to overcome transportation and other barriers to participation.

Provide transportation assistance to help children access out-of-school feeding programs like summer and afterschool.

Encourage Progress Toward Ending Child Hunger:

President Obama set the ambitious goal of ending child hunger by 2015. With significant, targeted federal investments, this goal is achievable, but it requires a commitment from the states. Congress should encourage states and school districts to be active partners in the 2015 goal by setting targets, providing incentives, and rewarding progress:

Improve Benefit Adequacy:

While we must ensure that children have enough to eat, but more expensive whole grains and fresh produce are essential to giving children a healthy start. Congress ought to provide children not just with enough food, but the right food:

Base nutrition standards for WIC food packages and school meals on scientific data from the Institute of Medicine and USDA’s Dietary Guidelines. Reward schools that improve the nutritional quality of meals with higher reimbursement rates.

Our country has the resources to ensure an adequate diet for all our children. What we need is your leadership to make it happen. Help end child hunger in our communities.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Dunlea, Esq.

Executive Director