healthy food - 2 BREAKFASTS MAY BE BETTER THAN 1 - SIBEJO

A recently published study, found that weight gain among children who ate both breakfast at home and at school was no different than that seen among all other students. Meanwhile, the risk of obesity doubled for students who skipped breakfast or participated inconsistently. Researchers suggested several reasons for this outcome, including the fact that school breakfast is generally healthy, and students who skip breakfast are likely to overeat later in the day. And, of course, just the fact that growing adolescents often need a lot of food to grow means that they can eat more without necessarily gaining weight.

Source: NPR, 3/17/16, 2 Breakfasts

healthy food - U.S. MAKES IT EASIER FOR KIDS ON MEDICAID TO GET SCHOOL MEALS - SIBEJO

A new federal initiative will make it easier for low-income children who receive Medicaid to get free or reduced-price meals at school automatically, with no application required. Expanding a project launched in 2012, USDA is now accepting applications from any state that wishes to use Medicaid data to automatically enroll children for free or reduced-price school meals.  Six states ? Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania already use Medicaid data to enroll children for free school meals; now they can use this data to enroll children for reduced-price meals. 

Source: Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 3/17/16, Medicaid & School Meals

healthy food - TRENDS IN U.S. FOOD ASSISTANCE - SIBEJO

USDA�s annual look at food assistance programs shows the agency spent $104.1 billion in fiscal 2015 on its 15 domestic food and nutrition programs, about the same as in 2014. This was about 5% below the historical high of $109.2 billion set in FY 2013. SNAP accounted for 71% of all federal food assistance spending in FY 15. An average 45.8 million people per month participated in the program, 2% fewer than in FY 14. FY 2015 marked the second consecutive year that participation decreased, and only the third time in the last 15 years. About 8.0 million people per month participated in WIC in fiscal 2015, 3% less than FY 14. Daily participation in the National School Lunch Program averaged 30.5 million in FY 2015, about the same as the previous year. 65% of all participants received free meals, 7% received reduced-price meals, and 28% paid full price. An average of 14.0 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program each school day, 3% more than FY 14. 79% of all participants received free meals, 6% received reduced-price meals, and 15% paid full price.

Source: USDA, 3/16, Food Aid Trends

healthy food - 2017 HOUSE BUDGET WOULD SLASH SNAP - SIBEJO

The House Budget Committee-approved budget plan would cut SNAP) by more than $150 billion�over 20%�over the next 10 years. The plan:

�      Eliminates waivers for childless adults living in areas of high unemployment.

�      Eliminates states� option to use broad-based categorical eligibility, which helps households with gross incomes or assets are modestly above the federal SNAP limits but whose disposable income is below the poverty line, often because of high rent or child care costs. Several hundred thousand children in these families whose eligibility for free school meals is tied to their family�s receipt of SNAP would lose free school meals.

�      Restricts states� ability to reduce paperwork in determining SNAP benefit levels for households receiving LIHEAP benefits.  CBO has estimated this change would cut SNAP by about $10 billion over ten years

�      Would convert SNAP into a block grant beginning in 2021 and cut funding steeply � by $125 billion (or almost 30%) between 2021 to 2026.  States would be left to decide whose benefits to reduce or terminate. 

Source: Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 3/21/16, Budget Plan

To see how you can take action, go here

healthy food - WHY POOR WORKING MOTHERS CAN�T GET AHEAD - SIBEJO

Single mothers comprise more than 85% of welfare recipients, which is why child care support was a key focus of welfare reform legislation in 1996, which boosted federal funding for child care and streamlined it into the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the main source of funding states can use to provide child care subsidies for poor families.  The problem is that once welfare recipients get a toehold in the job market, they may end up losing child care help just as they are transitioning out of welfare.  And while CCDBG child care subsidies are supposed to help pick up the slack, only a tiny fraction of the children eligible for that help are getting it.  Research shows that access to child care help from the CCDBG program are at a 16-year low, with only 13% of all eligible children currently receiving child care assistance.

Source: Center for Law and Social Policy, 3/15/16, Child Care Subsidies

healthy food - SAFETY NET PROGRAMS ENCOURAGE WORK - SIBEJO

Public assistance programs such as SNAP, the EITC, and housing subsidies tend to encourage recipients to get jobs, work more hours, and receive higher pay, according to a new report. It Pays to Work: Work Incentives and the Safety Net finds that workers in or near poverty benefit substantially from working additional hours or at higher wages, and that the vast majority face lower incomes if they don't work. The authors argue that increasing the minimum wage, fully implementing the Affordable Care Act, and expanding the EITC would all further encourage public benefit recipients to work.

Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/3/16,

healthy food - Kids Healthy Lunchtime Challenge - SIBEJO

The 5th Annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge is currently underway! Kids 8-12 years old are invited to join a parent or guardian in creating an original MyPlate-inspired recipe that is healthy, creative, affordable and delicious. The recipe should follow MyPlate nutrition guidelines and this year, in celebration of the MyPlate, MyState initiative, it's encouraged that entries include local ingredients grown in your state, territory, and community.

The chef who created it, along with a parent or guardian, could win a trip to Washington, D.C.  to attend the 5th Annual Kids� �State Dinner� at the White House. Only one recipe from each of the 50 states (plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the 4 U.S. territories) will make the grade, so enter now!

Recipes must be submitted by April 4, 2016!

Learn more about the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge here.  

This would be a great opportunity for all of those North Country Junior Iron Chefs!