Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Strengthening Programs for Healthier Children

Policy Focus: Child Nutrition Reauthorization, SNAP and WIC

Hill Happenings What s the Lay of the Land on Capitol Hill? CR/Gov t Funding 2/18/22 Senate - ECA/Ukraine/SCOTUS/Covid stimulus/Inflation/confirming nominees House - Acted on BBB - Await Senate action or break up BBB - What s in & what s out (potentially) StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) An opportunity for Congress to reduce hunger and improve the diet and health of millions of children across the U.S. through strengthening the child nutrition programs. Federal nutrition programs authorized under CNR include the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Special Milk Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), and Farm to School program. StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) The last CNR, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), became law in 2010. Most of the federal nutrition programs have continued to operate via annual appropriations legislation. Federal nutrition programs, including the child nutrition programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), serve one in four Americans. Total federal expenditures for the child nutrition programs reached $23.6 billion in FY 2019 and $32.3 billion in FY 2020, including $10.7 billion for Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

What CSA and Mission Readiness Supports What Do We Support? We encourage Congress to support an all-encompassing, long- term solution. This includes moving forward on a Child Nutrition Reauthorization and making the critical improvements necessary to strengthen and improve the program. We know more can be done for improving food security under an updated CNR through the following actions: StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

What CSA and Mission Readiness Supports Expand summer meal reach by using alternative meal delivery sites like housing complexes and civic centers, in addition to community- and school- based sites. For children who cannot access fixed, mobile, or delivery sites, allowing take-home meals and Summer EBT. The Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program is key to getting more nutritious foods to children. We should expand this program to operate during out-of- school times, especially those summer months when local produce is typically at its peak. Prioritize and increase funding for USDA technical assistance to train food preparers in the school and summer meal programs to provide visually appealing, more nutritious, balanced meals with ingredients kids like. StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

What CSA and Mission Readiness Supports Invest in and expand modern kitchen equipment and infrastructure so that more nutritious and diverse food options can be more easily prepared. Kids also need to learn about why nutrition is important in addition to consuming nutritious foods. That is why we believe there should be a return to nutrition education in schools. Outside of school, we should also allow eligible families to maintain WIC certification through the early years of a child s life, increasing the time frame families stay enrolled. StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

WIC - Overview of how the Program Functions Improve health status and prevent occurrence of health problems during critical times of growth and development Began in 1972 for low-income and nutritionally at-risk pregnant, postpartum (breastfeeding), children to age 5 Provides supplemental nutrition-rich foods and nutrition education and referrals to health care and social services Discretionary program subject to annual appropriations ~$6.5B, serving ~ 7.2M people Congress does fund to meet the enrolled needs No state matching funds required StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

WIC - Role in eradicating child malnutrition Roughly half of all infants in the US receive WIC benefits Individually designed food packages, with nutritionally dense and fresh foods All eligible household members receive foods Integrates nutrition education, and public health resources Breastfeeding incentives Food package expansion to address health disparities StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

WIC - Opportunities for modification and modernization A healthy start in life, requires healthy food Conversion to EBT should be complete soon ; remote application and eligibility should be extended; on-line purchasing Increase eligibility to age 6 or enrollment in Kindergarten Update food packages when National Nutritional Guidelines are published (every 5 years) Incentivize states to recruit a variety of food retailers/vendors StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

The Farm Bill The farm bill is a package of legislation passed roughly once every five years that has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. It covers programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low-income families, from beginning farmer training to support for sustainable farming practices, the farm bill sets the stage for our food and farm systems. Each farm bill has a unique title. The current bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. It was enacted in December 2018 and expires in 2023. The Nutrition portion covers SNAP and a variety of smaller nutrition programs to help low-income Americans afford food for their families. StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) SNAP provides parents and children with direct payments to purchase food at retailers, and serves as an essential tool in combating food insecurity in low- income families. As access to fresh and nutritious foods is critical to reversing child malnutrition, ensuring that families can utilize SNAP benefits to purchase fresh and nutritious foods is a key policy priority. Support nutritional incentives to use SNAP benefits to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables and nutrient dense healthy foods, like the GusNIP program Foster eligible families enrollment in the program by reducing stigma and barriers around enrollment Expand the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) to reach more families enrolled in SNAP StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness

Ideas Questions Next Steps StrongNation.org/MissionReadiness Mission_Ready MissionReadiness