healthy food - FOOD SAFETY NET SHREDS IN SUMMER; DISAPPEARS AFTER GRADUATION - SIBEJO

Summer marks a serious gap in the nation�s food safety net for children. Of the 22 million students who receive free or reduced�-price lunch in U.S. public schools, all but 3.9 million of them lose access to those meals over the summer, according FeedingAmerica. Whether it is because they can�t get to community summer meal sites or don�t know about them, more than 18 million children go hungry over the summer. A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Hunger �Free Summer For Kids Act last August to give communities more flexibility for summer meals programs.Their proposal would allow communities to deliver packaged meals to families or distribute electronic benefit transfer cards to eligible children over the summer, allowing their families to buy extra food from retail stores.

Yet, while students in K�12 schools lose access to reliable food sources during the summer, high school students lose access completely when they graduate and go to college. Graduates lose access to the School Lunch Program, and SNAP work requirements make it difficult to go to college. Campus surveys have found nearly 40% of undergraduate students in the City University of New York system are food insecure as well as 21% of students in the California State University and University of Hawaii systems. Colleges and states are starting to pay attention. As of July 5, 2016, there were 339 active member institutions of the College and University Food Bank Alliance. And the California legislature is considering a bill to help local food banks coordinate with college food pantries and require both public and private colleges to participate in restaurant meals programs in their counties.

Source: Education Dive, 7/28/16, Food Safety Net for Students

healthy food - CONGRESS FIGHTS OVER SCHOOL MEAL MONEY - SIBEJO

Rep. Todd Rokita�s (R-IN) proposal in the House child nutrition bill to conduct a block grant pilot program for school meals in three states �demonstrates a broader effort to block grant the school meal program nationwide,� said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). If the pilot program were approved, states that were chosen would be given a capped amount of money for child nutrition programs to use as they see fit. The one requirement is that they provide at least one affordable meal a day. According to the School Nutrition Association, block granting a program makes it easier to eliminate. The House bill also would raise the threshold for schools to participate in the community eligibility program to 60% of students in poverty, thus eliminating the ability of 7,000 schools to offer free lunch to all students, and would eliminate that option for 11,000 schools currently eligible but not participating.

Source: The Hill, 7/5/16, School Food Fight; Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 7/8/16, Child Nutrition Bill

healthy food - HUNGER DOESN�T TAKE A SUMMER VACATION - SIBEJO

After three years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs plateaued last summer. During July 2015, the programs served nearly 3.2 million low-income children across the country, a modest increase of 11,000 participants from July 2014. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization currently being considered by Congress provides an important opportunity to invest in the Summer Nutrition Programs so that more children return to school in the fall, well-nourished and ready to learn. A new report measures the success of the summer programs both in absolute numbers and as a ratio of the number of children receiving summer meals to the number of low-income children receiving school lunch during the regular school year. By that latter measure, fewer than one in six children who needed summer nutrition received it in 2015. Even though total participation in Connecticut decreased from 2014 to 2015, at about 25%, the state�s ratio of summer participants was among the top 5 in the nation.

Source: Food Research Action Council, 6/14/16, Summer Meals

healthy food - REPUBLICANS PROPOSE TO TEST SCHOOL MEAL BLOCK GRANTS - SIBEJO

House Republicans are proposing to test funding school meal programs through block grants as part of the House child nutrition reauthorization bill. If passed, the pilot would be tested in three yet-to-be-determined states. Republicans claim the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016, which passed through committee last month, gives schools flexibility to find ways to help children and families in need. But critics, including the School Nutrition Association, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Food Research & Action Center, say participating schools would lose all paid-meal reimbursements and 6-cent-per-lunch reimbursements collected by meal programs certified as meeting federal nutrition standards.

Source: The Hill, 6/15/16, Block Grants

healthy food - Current proposal cuts funding for school meals - SIBEJO

The Republican proposal to test block granting school meal programs in three states would likely cut school meal reimbursements, according to critics of the plan, which include FRAC. It�s estimated that, under block grants, California could lose $78 million in federal reimbursements, Texas could lose $72 million, Georgia $30 million and North Carolina $24 million annually.

Advocates: School meal budgets could lose millions under GOP plan � The Hill, June 15, 2016

healthy food - Summer food programs successful in Vermont - SIBEJO

While the distances and low population density of the North Country make providing summer meals to children in need challenging, our neighbors in Vermont seem to have figured it out.

The Food Research and Action Center�s summer meals report found that Vermont�s rank in serving children free summer meals improved from fourth to third and average daily participation in the state increased 14 percent in July 2015 compared to July 2014. The number of summer meal sites also increased six percent.

�The rural nature of our state presents unique challenges for sponsors who provide summer meals to children,� said Marissa Parisi, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont. The organization has been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local communities to feed more children summer meals at sites including libraries, day care centers, and housing developments.

What can we learn from their work?


Vermont ranks 3rd for providing summer meals for children at risk of hunger � Vermontbiz.com, June 14, 2016

healthy food - New report on summer food for children - SIBEJO

After three years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs plateaued last summer, according to the Food Research & Action Center�s annual Hunger Doesn�t Take a Vacation report (pdf) released today. During July 2015, the programs served nearly 3.2 million low-income children across the country, a modest increase of 11,000 participants from July 2014. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization currently being considered by Congress provides an important opportunity to invest in the Summer Nutrition Programs so that more children return to school in the fall, well-nourished and ready to learn.

While the report shows New York State among the top ten in the nation for participation in summer meals by low-income children, that does not hold true here in the North Country, where it is very difficult for children in need to find a meal site.

healthy food - SUMMER ELECTRONIC BENEFITS REDUCE CHILD HUNGER - SIBEJO

Providing low-income children with $30 to $60 a month during the summer reduced severe food insecurity, according to a USDA report. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (Summer EBTC) demonstration project was also associated with positive nutrition changes in participating children. the Summer EBT demonstration project provides parents or guardians of children eligible for free and reduced-price meals with a monthly benefit via a debit-type card that can be redeemed for food purchases throughout summer when children do not have access to school meals.  Providing low-income children $30 or $60 per month per child during the summer reduced the most severe type of food insecurity by one-third.  A $60 per month per child benefit cut less severe food insecurity by 10%.

Source: USDA, 5/11/16, Summer Benefits

healthy food - THE END OF COMPETITIVE BIDDING COULD DRIVE UP WIC COSTS - SIBEJO

The Education Committee bill would change WIC in ways that cater to corporate interests and could make the program less cost-effective. For decades, WIC has used competitive bidding to reduce the cost of infant formula and some other foods for infants. The billwould require states that want to use competitive bidding to jump through a series of hoops that appear designed to discourage competitive bidding.  (Gerber Foods, which controls the majority of the U.S. market for infant foods other than formula and is a subsidiary of Nestl�, has been lobbying for limits on competitive bidding for infant foods other than formula.)

Source: Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 5/17/16, WIC Costs

healthy food - HOUSE COMMITTEE WORKS ON CHILD NUTRITION BILL - SIBEJO

The House Education and Workforce Committee, on which Representative Stefanik serves, completed drafting its bill last week to reauthorize the Child Nutrition and Education Act. The bill, critics contend, contains a number of damaging provisions, including: shrinking coverage of the community eligibility provision and inadequately investing in the Summer Food Service Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The bill would reduce access to the programs, water down nutrition quality, and increase administrative burdens on both schools and families, they say. ? ?This legislation also includes a three-state school meal block grant demonstration pilot to replace School Breakfast, Lunch and other school meal programs. The funding would be capped at the amount a state received for the programs and administrative funding in FY 2016. The pilot states would have broad discretion to:

• establish eligibility rules for free or reduced-price meals;
• decide the length or time of year that meals are provided;
• and abandon the current nutrition standards (meals are only required to be �healthy�).

Source: Food Research  & Action Council, 5/18/16, Child Nutrition Bill; Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 5/17/16, Child Nutrition Bill II

healthy food - USDA Official: Reauthorize Child Nutrition Programs So They Benefit Children - SIBEJO

Posted by Kevin Concannon, Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services

It may seem like common sense for child nutrition programs to benefit children, but some see it differently today.

Nationwide, schools have made the lunchroom a healthy environment. In fact, in only the second school year of full implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), over 98 percent of schools participating are already meeting the healthier meal standards.  Students are eating more fruits and vegetables during the school day and more low-income children are eating nutritious breakfasts and lunches at school. And data show obesity rates for some children are leveling off. With all the success of HHFKA, now is not the time to intentionally go backwards on nutrition standards in healthier school meals and to block access to these meals for millions of children.

In January, the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously took a bipartisan step toward reauthorizing critical child nutrition programs like school lunch and breakfast. Rather than diminish the progress we�ve already made, the Senate�s bill ensures these improvements to our children�s diets will continue.  The bipartisan Senate bill represents a compromise that allows us to stop rehashing old debates and secures a healthier future for our kids. It represents a win for children, parents, schools, and our country�s future.

In contrast, the House Education and Workforce Committee�s bill aims to weaken one of the most successful aspects of HHFKA. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows high-poverty schools or districts to serve all students free meals without any burdensome paperwork, has been lauded for increasing student participation, reducing administrative burdens and costs on schools, cutting down on paperwork for busy parents, and improving program integrity. But the House bill would place new limitations on the number of schools in high-poverty areas that qualify for CEP, forcing many high-poverty schools to lose eligibility. This would cause school meal participation to fall dramatically, and schools would be forced to spend more time on paperwork and less time focusing on feeding kids. And some children who need free meals may slip through the cracks.

The House bill would also roll back the school meal nutrition standards and gut the Smart Snacks in School rule, which ensures that all snack foods and beverages for sale to students during the school day are nutritious. Under the House bill, school vending machines could go back to selling soda and junk food.  Schools have already invested time and effort into making the switch to healthier options.  The snack food industry has innovated and developed hundreds of new products that meet the requirements and are popular with students.  Now is not the time to regress.

We are proud of the way the school meals program provides flexibility for schools to tailor the programs to their local needs. For example, schools design their own menus and have the ability to serve items they know their students prefer.  They can also choose options like CEP and serve afterschool snacks and suppers if they are the right fit for their local community. However, in the name of local flexibility, some are considering a proposal to convert the school nutrition programs into a block grant. That is a very dangerous idea. Not only would it put further strain on state and local school districts� budgets, but it would jeopardize children�s access to quality, healthy school meals no matter where they live.
Instead, we are working with schools and districts to ensure their programs meet their needs. One example is the Team Up For School Nutrition Success training. Along with the Institute of Child Nutrition, we offer all state agencies the opportunity to host local events to provide tailored technical assistance, support, and best practices for schools in administering successful meals programs. During the training, schools cover topics like menu planning, financial management, procurement, meal presentation and appeal, as well as youth engagement tactics and strategies to reduce plate waste. Schools have the opportunity to learn from each other in order to make positive strides toward providing healthy school environments with financial stability and strong student participation. With all these strides being made, now is not the time to eliminate the successful partnership between the federal government and state agencies, putting further strain on state and local school districts� budgets.

It would be unwise to roll back the school meal standards and I urge Congress to stay the course for sake of our children. USDA looks forward to working with Congress, schools, parents and communities to continue to improve the health and wellbeing of the next generation.

healthy food - DO NUTRITION PROGRAMS MAKE TEENS HUNGRY? - SIBEJO

As any parent of a teenager knows, his or her child eats a lot. The new U.S. dietary guidelines estimate that teens need as many calories as their parents, and more than three times their younger siblings. While the dietary guidelines treat teenagers like adults, SNAP benefit calculations do not. The maximum SNAP benefit is based on the monthly cost of the USDA�s �Thrifty Food Plan� for a hypothetical (or �reference�) family of two adults and two children under age 12. By USDA�s own calculations, feeding a family of four with two teenage boys would cost $50 more per month than the maximum SNAP benefit available to the family. Reformulating the Thrifty Food Plan with the needs of teens in mind could help to reduce food insecurity and very low food security among recipient households with teenagers.

Nutrition standards for school lunch and breakfast programs could also be revised to pay particular attention to the dietary needs of teenagers and children living in food-insecure households. Current calorie guidelines, developed to reduce obesity, result in male teens getting about 50% of their daily calories from school meals compared to elementary school children who can get up to 75% of their daily calories at school.

Source: Brookings Institution, 4/29/16, Hungry Teens

healthy food - Survey Results: Farm to School in Early Care and Education Builds Healthy Kids with Bright Futures - SIBEJO

In 2015, the National Farm to School Network surveyed early care and education providers across the country. Nearly 1,500 providers serving 183,369 young children in 49 states and Washington, D.C., responded and shared fascinating insight into the important work that they are doing to connect young children to healthy, local foods and food related educational opportunities. The results show that farm to school in early care and education is on the rise across the country. 54% of respondents are already doing farm to school activities and another 28% plan to start in the near future. A new infographic and factsheet are available with more survey results. To see the results and learn how the National Farm to School Network is working to expand farm to school in early care and education, visit farmtoschool.org/earlychildhood. 

healthy food - Webinar: Farm to Summer: Incorporating local foods in Summer Food Service Programs - SIBEJO

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

May 3, 2016 2:00-3:30 pm ET

Summer Food Service Programs can be an ideal time to start looking at local purchasing. At the height of the Michigan farming season, there is more local product available than at any other time in the year. Farmers are often willing to sell seconds or bulk surpluses at a discounted rate, and what better way to take advantage of those than in your Summer Food Service Program! Join the Michigan Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, and MSU Center for Regional Food Systems for an interactive and informative webinar covering all things Farm to Summer. Hear about farm to summer programs happening in Michigan, learn how to incorporate local purchasing into your site�s meal program, and see how Farm to Summer programs can increase nutritional quality of meals and boost participation rates. Register here. 

healthy food - KIDS ARE EATING HEALTHY SCHOOL LUNCHES - SIBEJO

Schools can serve healthy lunches, but whether kids will eat them is a question that has been asked often since 2012-13, when updated national nutrition standards led districts across the United States to raise the nutritional quality of their meals. Multiple studies comparing students� eating habits before and after these changes show that the answer is clearly yes.  For example, researchers from UConn�s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity weighed and photographed lunches served to children at 12 Connecticut schools. Compared with 2012, the amount of their entrees that children ate increased by nearly 13 percentage points in 2013, and 18 percentage points of their vegetables by 2014. Food waste declined as a result. The researchers also found that greater variety led to healthier choices. Each additional fruit option offered was associated with a 9.3% increase in fruit servings selected by students.

Source: Pew Charitable Trust, 4/14/16, School Lunches

healthy food - WIC CHANGES IMPROVE TODDLER�S NUTRITION - SIBEJO

A change to the WIC nutrition program improved the diets of millions of young children in low-income families, a new study says. Researchers compared the eating habits of nearly 1,200 2- to 4-year-olds in low-income households before and after WIC was changed in 2009. With the revamp, more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat milk were included in the WIC food voucher package.

The change improved the diets for the approximately 4 million children in the program, according to the University of California (UC) study published.

Source: Health Day, 4/7/16, WIC Changes Work

healthy food - Webinar: How to Successfully Implement Salad Bars in Your School Cafeteria - SIBEJO

Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools

Thursday, April 28, 3pm ET

School salad bars are one of the easiest ways to meet the fruit and vegetable standards for school lunch, increase participation in the lunch program, reduce plate waste and increase student�s fruit and vegetable consumption. The Let�s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative has donated salad bars to more than 4,500 schools nationwide and has resources to help schools successfully implement salad bars. Hear from school food service directors about their experience with salad bars and how you can apply for salad bars from LMSB2S. Register here.

healthy food - ChopChop: The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families - SIBEJO

The award-winning ChopChop Magazine is an engaging tool for teaching kids about food and where it comes from, cooking, nutrition and health. Inspire and teach kids to cook real food through delicious, kid-tested recipes, fun food facts and puzzles, gardening activities and games to keep kids moving. Teachers use ChopChop as part of wellness and nutrition education programs throughout the country. Available in English and Spanish and endorsed by the Academy of Pediatrics, ChopChop is a quarterly magazine and does not contain any advertising. You can purchase a 1-year subscription (4 issues) for just $14.95. Teachers can purchase a special classroom package of 30 copies for $40 (shipping and handling included). Each teacher package includes curriculum which includes classroom activities, printables and math lessons in math, science, ELA and social studies. Download a free sample of ChopChop curriculum here.  ChopChop can also be purchased in large quantities of boxes of 50 copies for $65/box (includes shipping). For more information on custom programs and pricing, please contact Evilee Ebb at ev@chopchopmag.org.

healthy food - Help kids get meals in the summer - SIBEJO

HOW DOES THIS PROGRAM WORK?

Purpose: To serve free, healthy meals to low-income children and teens during summer months when school is out. 

Where: Any safe place for kids (for example: school, park, rec center, library, faith organization, etc.) can be a summer meal site.

Who: Summer meal sites receive meals from local sponsoring organizations (for example: Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, local school district, etc.).  Sponsors prepare the food (or order it), deliver it to the meal site, and are reimbursed by USDA for the costs.

Eligibility: Any meal site open to the public is eligible if it is in a school attendance area where 50% or more children qualify for free and reduced-priced school meals.  If it is not open to the public (for example: a summer camp), 50% of more of the enrolled students must qualify for free and reduced-priced school meals.

---

HOW DO I BECOME A SITE OR SPONSOR?

Contact your State Agency that operates the program for your state.  They will provide information about the eligibility of your area and local sponsors that serve meals to sites.

We encourage you to learn if sites are already nearby in your community before starting a new one.  Through community outreach and promotion of the program, you can increase the number of children participating in sites that already exist. 

Learn about sites that may have been in your community last summer, and nearby organizations that can work with sites through USDA's Summer Meals Capacity Builder.  It will be updated with 2016 meal sites closer to summer time.

---

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?

Summer Meals Short Videos: Watch these inspiring YouTube videos about the program.

USDA Summer Meals Toolkit: Learn tips for getting the word out through community planning and outreach, success stories, and more.

Summer Food, Summer Moves Toolkit: Explore fun games that children can play at sites.

healthy food - Summer EBT extended, but not to the North Country - SIBEJO

USDA recently announced $26.9 million in grant funds to be distributed among eight grantees to continue administering pilots of the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) programs, providing summertime nutrition assistance to children who receive free and reduced price meals during the school year. In addition to funding existing pilots for summer2016, these grants will extend benefits to new rural areas, Tribal Nations, and areas of extreme need.  Unfortunately, the North Country is not among the areas receiving this funding.

Summer EBT provides a monthly benefit on a debit-type card that can be used throughout the summer for food purchases at authorized stores. Summer EBT is a complement to traditional summer meals programs, which offer no cost summer meals at approved sites, and is especially valuable in areas with limited or no access to traditional summer meals programs.

Summer EBT, which is currently operating as demonstration project, was first funded by Congress in 2010. Rigorous evaluations of these pilots found that Summer EBT can significantly reduce very low food security among children, the most severe form of food insecurity, by one-third. Studies also showed that these additional resources enabled families to eat more healthfully, eating significantly more fruits and vegetables and whole grains � key building blocks to better health. Based on these proven successes, the President's proposed plan would allow Summer EBT to reach nearly 20 million children once fully implemented.