Update:
URGENT U.S. House of Representatives could vote soon on a bill that would roll
back years of positive steps toward eliminating childhood hunger in the U.S.
Your voice makes a difference and now is the time to act!
The
ELCA is committed to fighting childhood hunger. That commitment, rooted in our
baptismal call to care for our neighbors in need, is why we as a church are advocating
for a strong renewal of the Child Nutrition
Programs
critical to the health and wellbeing of children and families throughout our
nation.
The
U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on the “Improving Child
Nutrition and Education Act of 2016, (H.R. 5003),” that rolls back many years
of successes in feeding millions of hungry children. This legislation, if
passed, would take away access to
healthy nutritious breakfasts and lunches they need to learn and grow.
Some
of the worst provisions of this legislation would:
- Reduce the
number of schools eligible to implement community eligibility (high poverty
schools which provide free meals for all of their students).
- Raise barriers
and more red tape to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.
- Roll back
science-based nutrition standards for schools
- Create
additional requirements for schools and low-income families, jeopardizing
access to school meals for thousands of students.
- Create a risky “block grant” project
that would eventually cap assistance funding and erode the value of already
scarce resources
Our
nation's Child Nutrition programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides nutritious food,
education, and access to health care for millions of low-income new mothers and
infants; as well as the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food
Service Program, both of which support millions of low-income children so they
are able to have access to healthy food throughout the year.
Please urge your members of Congress to Oppose the Improving
Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 (H.R. 5003) today at the ELCA
Action Center!
(To view this email in web format, click here).
