Bread for the World Opposes House Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#CNR2016–Today, Bread for the World said it strongly opposes the House of
Representatives’ Education & Workforce Committee Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Bill. The bill would impose strict restrictions on
families’ and schools’ ability to participate in free and reduced-price
lunch, breakfast, and summer meals programs, denying potentially tens of
thousands of eligible students access to healthy meals.

“Bread for the World strongly opposes this bill as it is written,” said
Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “The bill would
deny untold numbers of eligible children access to the meals they need
to learn and grow. These meals serve as a lifeline for vulnerable
children because kids are hit especially hard by the effects of hunger
and malnutrition.”

The bill, which was introduced Wednesday evening by Rep. Todd Rokita
(R-Ind.), would make it harder for children to access free school meals.
It substantially cuts the number of high-poverty schools that are
eligible to implement community eligibility, which reduces
administrative work and increases school lunch and breakfast access. The
bill also fails to adequately close the summer hunger gap and weakens
evidence-based school meal nutrition standards.

One in five children in the U.S. lives at risk of hunger. For every six
low-income children who receive a school lunch, only about half also get
a school breakfast. Only one also gets a meal during the summer months.
As part of its 2015 Offering of Letters campaign, Bread for the World
members wrote over 220,000 personal letters and emails, and made
thousands of phone calls, urging Congress to pass a child nutrition
reauthorization bill that improves and strengthens child nutrition
programs.

“As this legislation moves forward, we urge lawmakers to make
significant improvements so that no eligible children are denied access
to the healthy meals they need to thrive,” added Beckmann.

Bread for the World (www.bread.org)
is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to
end hunger at home and abroad.

Contacts

Bread for the World
Chris Ford, 202-688-1077
cford@bread.org