More on the Lincoln School Lunch Bill.. and it Ain't Good

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 13:08:35 PM PDT

Part of the problem is that Congress passed a "PAYGO" rule (Pay as you go) requiring that any time they increase spending in one area, they find a way to pay for it by either taking money away from another area or by raising taxes. And obviously nobody wants to raise taxes. When Obama called for $10 billion over 10 years for child nutrition, he did not also provide Congress with $10 billion in cuts elsewhere in the budget. So it was left to Congress to figure out how to pay for it. And Lincoln - Senator of Factory Farms and Wal-Mart - decided to cut conservation spending. I'm positive there's any number of wasteful weapons programs out there that we can cut, and I would also like to see corporations pay their taxes (as many do not). Those to funding sources alone, if tapped, could probably pay for gourmet, all-organic meals for our kids.

The bill text and more details on the bill are available here. I had these links yesterday when I posted saying I didn't have the bill text. That's because the bill does not open when I download it. The other files do open though, so check those out.

UPDATE: I forgot to add that there will be a hearing on this on Wednesday, March 24. You can watch live via webcast from the Senate Ag Committee website.

School Lunch and WIC: We Have a Bill... Lots of Bills

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 00:53:43 AM PDT

• S. 3123: Growing Farm to School Programs Act of 2010, introduced by Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) with 13 cosponsors.
• S. 3124, to reduce the paperwork burden on child care sponsors and providers, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) with 1 cosponsor.
• S. 3126, a bill to promote wellness policies by Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) with no cosponsors.
• S. 3127 a bill to require continual updating of foods provided under WIC by Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) with no cosponsors.
• S. 3128, a bill to make all foster children automatically eligible for free breakfast and lunch by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) with no cosponsors.
• S. 3129, a bill to change WIC so that once qualified, participants are in the program for a year before they must be re-certified by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand with no cosponsors.
• H.R. 4734 and S. 3040, a bill to improve summer meal programs by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Sen. Lugar (R-IN) with 1 cosponsor in the House and 4 in the Senate.
• H.R. 4710: Farm to School Improvements Act of 2010 by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) with 17 cosponsors.
• H.R.4638: The Healthy Start Act, a bill to provide $.05 in federal commodities for school breakfasts by Rep. Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) with 10 cosponsors.
• H.R.4148: The Hunger Free Schools Act, a bill to provide direct certification for free breakfast and lunch by Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA) with 21 cosponsors.
• H.R. 3705: Expand School Meals Act, a bill to expand the number of children eligible for free school meals by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) with 47 cosponsors. (It appears that this bill makes meals free for any children who are currently eligible for reduced cost meals.)
• H.R. 4402: The Nu­tri­tious Meals for Young Chil­dren Act and S.2749, a bill to improve access to food for young children in child care by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand with 41 cosponsors in the House and 5 in the Senate.

What will probably happen is that most of these bills will die, and components of them will be folded into whichever bill ultimately becomes law. Lincoln's bill, which I don't think she's actually introduced yet (and the text of the bill is most certainly not available from the Library of Congress yet), has a darn good chance of ultimately becoming law. More on that below.

TODAY: House Hearing on Child Nutrition

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Mar 02, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST

Improving Children's Health: Strengthening Federal Child Nutrition Programs
Full Committee Hearing 2:30 PM, March 2, 2010

On Tuesday, March 2, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on strengthening the federal nutrition and school meal programs through the upcoming the child nutrition reauthorization.  Improving federal child nutrition programs is one of the four pillars of First Lady Michelle Obama's recently announced "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity.

Witnesses:

• Dora R. Rivas President of the School Nutrition Association, Executive Director of Food and Child Nutrition Services Dallas Independent School District Dallas, Texas
  
• Carolyn L. Morrison President of the National Child and Adult Care Food Program Forum Chief Executive Officer of Child Development Services, Inc. Gresham, Oregon
  
• Kiran Saluja Deputy Director Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. Irwindale, California

Additional witnesses to be announced.

Vilsack's Child Nutrition Priorities

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 15:13:48 PM PST

Obama Proposes Budget, Pushes GMOs, and Falls Short on School Lunch Reform

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Feb 03, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST

Unlike other nutrition programs (such as food stamps) that are entitlements, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) must have funds appropriated by Congress. For entitlement programs, the government spends as much money as it takes to pay for everyone who is eligible for the program. That's not the case for WIC. And when the economy is down (as it is now), the number of people eligible for WIC goes up. (To be eligible for WIC, you must be a pregnant or breastfeeding mom or a child under age 5 with a household income of less than 185% of the federal poverty level.)

After splitting out part of the extra $1 billion for WIC, according to Kim Severson of the New York Times, the remaining money for school lunch amounts to less than 20 cents per meal. Quite frankly, this is pathetic. The School Nutrition Association asked Congress for an extra 35 cents per meal, and I thought THAT was pathetic. This is far worse. Tom Philpott agrees (and cleverly references the Depression-era hit song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"... or two dimes in this case).

In other parts of his proposed budget, Obama gives a record amount to ag & food research (much of which will go to biotech), money to promote agricultural exports, and (the one bright spot) conservation money for Chesapeake Bay.

Among the USDA's goals, he ironically lists "Ensure that all of America's children have access to safe, nutritious and balanced meals." (A great idea, if only he would fund it!) And, sadly, he says "Help America to promote agricultural production and biotechnology exports as America works to increase food security." Dumping cheap commodities on other countries to undermine their food sovereignty is bad in itself, but a specific emphasis on biotechnology by the Obama administration is especially upsetting.

See Obama's budget fact sheet below...

State of the Union's School Lunch: Nutrition as National Defense and Fiscal Health

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jan 28, 2010 at 16:36:11 PM PST

State of the Union's School Lunch: Nutrition as National Defense and Fiscal Health

by Debra Eschmeyer

Don't make us tighten our belts on child nutrition programs while the girth of the nation grows. The government spends $1 million per soldier in Afghanistan, yet barely spends $1 on the food in a school lunch.

More below...

Vilsack Lays Out Priorities for Child Nutrition But Says Very Little

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 14:49:54 PM PDT

In general, he wants three things. First, better access to school nutrition programs for children. Second, healthier school lunches. Third, less errors made by the federal government in managing the school lunch program.

The Child Nutrition Debate Starts!

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Oct 05, 2009 at 09:28:14 AM PDT

The schedule for Thursday's hearing can be found below. It looks like it is going to be a good one, as the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities looks at successful, innovative strategies from around the country for bringing healthy school meals to kids. You can view the hearing live at 10am Eastern online at the House Education & Labor Committee's website.

Pot Luck: Child Nutrition Edition

by: JayinPortland

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 19:00:00 PM PDT

Back to the issue at hand, Jill has written on this here many times before.  A list of specific suggestions as to what we should ideally see implemented this time around are in this diary, and Jill sums everything up perfectly with this quote -

The biggest point we need to make is that the money we spend on our kids' nutrition is an investment, not an expense, and that all children should have a right to safe and healthy food.

Rep. Blumenauer's letter to constituents is below the fold.

This is an open thread, let us know what's on your mind!

The Obamas Get It: Part of Health Care Reform is Prevention - And Diet!

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jun 17, 2009 at 03:25:05 AM PDT

The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so we can avoid illness and disease in the first place...

It also means cutting down on all the junk food that's fueling an epidemic of obesity - (applause) - which puts far too many Americans, young and old, at greater risk of costly, chronic conditions. That's a lesson Michelle and I have tried to instill in our daughters. As some of you know, we started a White House vegetable garden. I say "we" generously, because Michelle has done most of the work. (Laughter.) That's a lesson that we should work with local school districts to incorporate into their school lunch programs.

Michelle Obama (in a separate speech) also spoke about school lunches:

But government also has a role to play in this, as well.  For so many kids, subsidized breakfasts and lunches are their primary meals of the day.  It's what they count on.  It's where they get most of their nutrition.

And the USDA's National School Lunch Program serves approximately 30 million meals each year to low-income* children.  And because these meals are the main source of consistent nourishment for these kids, we need to make sure we offer them the healthiest meals possible.

So to make sure that we give all our kids a good start to their day and to their future, we need to improve the quality and nutrition of the food served in schools.  We're approaching the first big opportunity to move this to the top of the agenda with the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition programs.  In doing so, we can go a long way towards creating a healthier generation for our kids.

I'm glad the Obamas are for healthier school lunches, but if they wants to achieve that, Barack specifically needs to take the same kind of leadership on that that he's taking on health care reform. We need him out there making televised speeches to the School Nutrition Association about spending more - maybe even double - on each child's lunch. We need him to talk about not starving our schools of funds so they look to the lunch programs as money makers and serve the kids junk to get them to buy more food. And we need him to talk about how it's unrealistic to expect our nation to eat better if we aren't even producing the right amount of healthy foods in the first place.

If every single American wanted to eat the recommended amount of fruits & veggies every day, they couldn't - we don't grow enough. Kind of an obvious problem that we need to fix, huh? There's a bill (H.R.800) that would address some of the problem by allowing commodity farmers to grow fruits and veggies on their land. Right now, if you grow commodities that receive federal subsidies and you want to rotate your crops, you're not allowed to grow fruits and veggies on that land. This bill would allow you to do so. Not so surprisingly, it's supported by legislators from the midwest from both major political parties - and California farm groups like Blue Diamond Growers are out lobbying against it because they don't want any competition from midwestern farmers.

UPDATE: Ali from Gastronomalies just called my attention to this Maureen Dowd article on the Obamas' mixed messages about food. When they are in front of kids and doctors, they are for healthy eating. But they don't hesitate to take high profile trips to burger joints too. It reminds me of my friend's Dad who spent a lifetime telling my friend about the evils of pot... until one day he called him to ask, "Have you seen my stash? I can't find it." The problem isn't so much Barack and Michelle as it is our culture that views eating junk as being down to earth and fun.

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Basics

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Apr 08, 2009 at 17:15:00 PM PDT

Some favorite articles & videos on school lunches:
- Video: The Food Lobby Goes to School (watch it and be outraged!)
- Unhappy Meals: Why School Lunches are Loaded with Fat
- Many Barriers Keep Fresh, Organic Food Out of School Lunches  

Sen. Harkin Rocks My Socks! (Child Nutrition Hearing)

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 10:30:06 AM PDT

UPDATE: If you want to express your thoughts to the Senate Ag committee, the committee # is 202-224-2035.  

School Lunch Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 13:51:44 PM PDT

Local Food in Schools

• IATP has posted what MN school lunch directors think about school food. The good news? 35% said they bought some local food!

• Civil Eats reports that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is off to a good start - she's already advocating for the USDA to ease up its rules in order to allow more local food into schools.

• Some schools see a disconnect between the food in the school garden and the crap served in the cafeteria. The result? Revising the school district's "Wellness Policy" to advocate for serving locally grown food.

Child Nutrition Statement of Principles

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 15:47:34 PM PST

They say:

we call on the Administration and Congress to enact a reauthorization bill that:

1. assures and strengthens program access and supports participation by underserved children and communities;
2. enhances nutrition quality and provides adequate meal reimbursements; and
3. modernizes technology and simplifies program administration and operation.

(BTW - If you're interested in child nutrition, I highly recommend checking out farmer and child nutrition advocate Deb Eschmeyer's Open Letter to Michelle Obama)

More below...

2009 Approaches... The Child Nutrition Battle is ON!

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 29, 2008 at 19:27:18 PM PST

Nowadays we have another problem to deal with as well: obesity. This is a harder sell, politically. For one thing, telling kids to eat less of anything - or making sure that they actually DO eat less - will cut into somebody's profits and most of those somebodies are rich and powerful (i.e. Coca Cola, Grocery Manufacturers of America, McDonalds, National Cattleman's Beef Assocation). Second of all, healthy food costs more than junk, and that means using taxpayer dollars to fund child nutrition programs with more than the absolute bare minimum amount to keep kids from starving. Add to that the issue that schools are already cash-strapped and usually the lunch program is a lower budgetary priority for them than teaching reading and math... in fact, sometimes the lunchroom is seen as an area to make money for the school. It's a difficult argument to make that schools should put more money into food if it means taking it out of education.

I've got a few ideas on specific things we can ask our legislators for when they write the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, listed below.