“A Big Step Forward to End Summer Hunger for Kids”
Washington, D.C. -- Breaking news from Capitol Hill today, where the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry passed the bipartisan “Improving Child Nutrition Integrity & Access Act of 2016.”
Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign commends the Committee’s positive action on this critical legislation. This is a huge step forward for kids in need in this country, where approximately 16 million live in households struggling with hunger. The summer months are particularly challenging for children: currently, only about 18% of kids in need are able to access a meal.
The “Improving Child Nutrition Integrity & Access Act of 2016” contains the strongest improvements to the summer meals program in more than 40 years and includes many other provisions that improve and strengthen other child nutrition programs. (Here is a look at some of these critical policies.)
The strong bipartisan support this bill has will be critical to its ultimate passage into law. In the days ahead, legislation will need to quickly move forward in both the full Senate and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
“We are urging Congress to take swift action on this bill,” says Lucy Melcher, Associate Director of Advocacy for No Kid Hungry. “These policies to address summer hunger will ensure children get the nutrition they need, regardless of their zip code or the time of year. And that helps build a smarter, healthier, more productive generation of children and stronger nation. America’s hungry kids can’t wait.”
For more information on the need for bipartisan reforms to the summer meals program, watch this video from No Kid Hungry.
To talk to Lucy Melcher or other experts about childhood hunger in America, contact Christy Felling at 202-649-4340 or cfelling@strength.org.
ABOUT NO KID HUNGRY
No child should go hungry in America, but 1 in 5 kids will face hunger this year. Using proven, practical solutions, No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger today by ensuring that kids start the day with a nutritious breakfast, are able to get the nutrition they need during the summertime, and families learn the skills they need to shop and cook on a budget. When we all work together, we can make sure kids get the healthy food they need. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of national anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength.