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Issue #35, September 8, 2015



Quote of the Week

""Bottom line is that the standards are being embraced. They are making a difference."

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA Press Release<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=uu4jjykQ5va5t%2BwcUZmG5sgA6J2CT8RC>, September 1, 2015

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Child Nutrition Reauthorization



Congress Has a Month to Reauthorize Free Lunch for a Record Number of Children<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9LU4OSx5POetmbdyAm3fEsgA6J2CT8RC> – Bloomberg.com<http://Bloomberg.com>, September 1, 2015

The number of children eligible for free school lunch continues to grow after the recession ended more than six years ago. Creating the increase: a high poverty rate and increased efforts to make sure eligible children are receiving the meals, according to Crystal FitzSimons, school program director at FRAC. “Even as the economy recovers, it isn’t trickling down” to poor families, said FitzSimons. “You have increased need among low-income households.” The Child Nutrition Act is set to expire on September 30.

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Encourages Congress to Reauthorize Strong Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act during Remarks at Center for American Progress <http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CAEJcX6RgIntCbSkoo5FycgA6J2CT8RC> – USDA, September 1, 2015

“Bottom line is that the [new school nutrition] standards are being embraced,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in his keynote remarks at the Center for American Progress. The standards are being “embraced by parents of school-aged children, 72 percent of parents in a recent survey suggested support for the new standards,” he noted. A majority of elementary and high school students are also embracing the new standards. Vilsack urged Congress to act quickly to expand, solidify, and strengthen the child nutrition act.

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Healthy School Meals



Oklahoma school districts look for ways to make lunches healthy, enjoyable<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=pjbggvHyNTMjeHHrOQG%2BvcgA6J2CT8RC> – NewsOK.com<http://NewsOK.com>, September 2, 2015

A recent survey from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation found that nine out of ten people surveyed said they supported the revised school meal nutrition standards, which were required under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. In addition, 86 percent said that these new standards should be continued as they are or strengthened, while nearly 70 percent of respondents rated school meals as excellent or good. In 2010, before the new standards were implemented, 26 percent said school meals were excellent or good.

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Schools use creative measures to serve breakfast to more students<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=h%2BsU79OsDebQYCqbhQGylMgA6J2CT8RC> – Baltimore Sun, August 21, 2015

More than half of the students in the Baltimore area who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals don’t participate in school breakfast, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. “Some kids who need breakfast the most avoid it because of the stigma of being ‘the needy kid,’” said David Sloan, director of No Kid Hungry Maryland. The organization has provided more than 220 schools with grants over the past five years to fund alternative methods of serving breakfast, including breakfast in the classroom. According to Kathleen Watkins, principal at Perry Hall High School, offering breakfast from “grab-and-go” carts doubled the number of low-income students participating.

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Food giants call truce with Michelle Obama<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QquHOrFDeCpaeJCZHXMCxMgA6J2CT8RC> – Politico, September 2, 2015

Food companies including General Mills and Schwan’s adapted to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act’s school meal nutrition changes and increased their K-12 food service sales last year. Many of them don’t want to go back to the old nutrition standards, notes Gary Vonck, vice president of the education division at KeyImpact Sales and Systems, a food service distribution company. “I think for some manufacturers, it’s been a great opportunity,” said Jessica Donze Black, director of the Safe and Healthful Kids Food Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts. The revised nutrition standards call for cuts to salt, fat and sugar and more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free and low-fat milk on school menus.

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Child Hunger and Poverty



Nutritious Food Out-of-Reach for 20 Percent of U.S. Homes with Children<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7xvFLJDSFDWtFIWEc1fZUsgA6J2CT8RC> – Healthline.com<http://Healthline.com>, September 1, 2015

A new study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association examined 7,435 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that the number of households with children experiencing severely low food security levels nearly doubled between 2003 and 2010. In addition, children raised in low- or very low-food secure households were up to 1.5 more likely to be obese. “When money is tight, food purchasing decisions are often focused on meeting immediate primal needs and are less focused on the healthiest alternative,” said study co-author Christopher Taylor, Ph.D., associate professor of medical dietetics and family medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

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Hispanic poverty in rural areas challenges states<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ps2rZdvCu6albk1aEz1SxsgA6J2CT8RC> – Albuquerque Journal, August 30, 2015

Forty-seven percent of rural Hispanic babies are born poor, while 41 percent of urban Hispanic babies are poor, according to Stateline. In rural areas, it’s harder for Hispanic babies to receive government assistance like SNAP and WIC. “These babies are starting behind the starting line,” said Daniel Lichter, a Cornell University researcher and co-author of a recent study on the problem.

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Hunger and the Economy



House Democrats write to Pope on minimum wage, hunger<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=sIzUHL0sfCLDOgk6ClI5bcgA6J2CT8RC> – Politico, September 2, 2015

A group of 96 House Democrats have asked Pope Francis to speak on hunger during his address to the joint session of Congress on September 24. “Currently nearly one in seven households are not sure if they can afford enough food to feed their families,” write the Democrats in a letter to the Pope. “Yet, recently, Congress enacted cuts to food support for those in need that totaled almost $9 billion over the next decade. We believe the continued existence of hunger in America is a disgrace and an indictment of our government.”

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Low-Income Workers See Biggest Drop in Paychecks<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bIXfKwhCV0BCOwqNSjlFycgA6J2CT8RC> – The New York Times, September 2, 2015

Despite economic improvement, take-home pay for many American workers has decreased since 2009, with the lowest-paid workers in areas where hiring has been strong (home health care, food preparation, retail) experiencing the biggest declines, reports the National Employment Law Project. A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute found that while labor productivity has improved since 2000, the benefits are going to companies, shareholders and top executives, not employees.

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Senior Poverty



More than three-quarters of a million elderly Californians ‘unofficially’ poor<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=iL1CDlyC80%2FuHueXDx%2BYL8gA6J2CT8RC> – UCLA Newsroom, September 2, 2015

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reports that nearly one in five California adults over 65 (more than 750,000 people) are unable to afford basic needs but are not eligible for government assistance. “Many of our older adults are forced to choose between eating, taking their medication or paying rent,” said D. Imelda Padilla-Frausto, a UCLA graduate student researcher at the center and lead author of the study. “The state might be emerging from a recession, but for many of our elder households, the downturn seems permanent.”

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About Us: The Food Research and Action Center (www.frac.org<http://www.frac.org>) is the leading national organization working for more effective public and private policies to eradicate domestic hunger and undernutrition. Visit our Web site (www.frac.org<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vmCJGP3pWtelOxR%2BD7mCwcgA6J2CT8RC>) to learn more.





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