First Lady Michelle Obama is reportedly wrestling with at least 100 House Democrats who would rather not pass a re-authorization of the nation's school meals program if it means taking money from food stamp recipients.
The Senate approved the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which would increase spending on child nutrition programs by $4.5 billion -- including a 6-cent-per-meal boost to the rate the federal government reimburses school lunch -- but said the only way to fund it without adding to the deficit was to remove $2.2 billion from the food stamp (now known as SNAP) program. Re-authorization of the Child Nutrition Act must now be approved by the House before authorization for the legislation currently in place expires.
The Senate's funding method is a bit like picking the pocket of one panhandler to put it in the hand of another. Yet the mainstream media has hailed these measly 6 cents as the first increase in the subsidized lunch reimbursement rate in three decades -- a false notion.
Apparently, no one in the press has actually bothered to read the rules governing the school meals program. If they had, they'd know that the disputed 6 cents are barely more than what the National School Lunch Program receives automatically each year by way of cost of living increases. This year, in fact, the reimbursement rate has already gone up 4 cents -- from $2.68 per lunch to $2.72 -- thanks to an adjustment in the Consumer Price Index.
Granted, school kitchens are broke and have been for a long time. According to the School Nutrition Association, schools that rely on the federal reimbursements to pay their expenses lose 35 cents on average with every lunch they serve, which helps explain why they feed kids sweetener-stuffed snacks instead of real food in order to comply with the USDA's calorie requirements.
The 6 cent increase would be laughable if it weren't so tragic. But more important in this stalled legislation is a provision that would, for the first time, give the USDA authority to regulate all foods sold in schools, possibly meaning an end -- finally -- to so-called "competitive foods," such as sugary drinks and candy in school vending machines and ice cream bars and fruit rollups in the deli line. That would go a long way toward addressing the obesity epidemic that Michelle Obama has pledged to end.
So I say, Keep your 6 cents. Let the nation's lunch ladies do what they've been doing for years that Congress can't -- live with what they've got. Congress can then continue doing what it does best -- spending money we don't have on wars we don't need. Somehow, the kids will survive.
Military leaders along with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged Congress to pass child nutrition legislation by September 30.
The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 would boost the nutritional value of school meals by using more fruits and vegetables and by eliminating junk food, such as the ones found in school vending machines. The Senate version passed in August, and now it’s left to the House of Representatives, which would need to pass its version before the legislation expires September 30. The House is expected to take up the re-authorization before the deadline, since the bill has passed out of committee with bipartisan support.
More than 100 retired generals and admirals signed a letter to Congress describing the child nutrition bill as crucial to reducing childhood obesity and helping national security, by creating a pool of young adults who qualify for military service.
“Obesity is now the leading medical reason why young Americans today are unable to qualify for the armed forces. At least 9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all young Americans ages 17 to 24, are too overweight to enlist,” their letter read.
The group of retired military leaders, called Mission Readiness issued a report earlier this year, describing how more than a quarter of young adults are unable to meet physical requirements to join the military, creating a potential threat to national security.
Ex-military leaders: Young adults 'too fat to fight'
“Turning the tide of obesity in this country will not be an easy task,” the letter stated. “Certainly, there is no single action that we as a nation can take to remedy this problem. However, it is clear that one immediate step we must take is to improve the quality and nutritional value of food and beverages served in our schools.”
Advocates say that as much as 40 percent of a child’s daily caloric intake occurs at school, so these foods should be nutritious to produce a healthy generation.
“We believe schools are a critical place to address the obesity issue,” said retired Rear Admiral James A Barnett, Jr. of the U.S. Navy in a news conference Tuesday. “Millions buy food and snacks at schools everyday.”
The group says improving nutrition in the nation’s schools is a critical step to combat obesity among the youth. Military leaders made a similar push in 1945, when concerns about poor nutrition in potential recruits resulted in the creation of a national school lunch program.
Vilsack said there needs to be a better job of promoting “vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy, whole grains” and “getting sugar, sodium, fat content out of the meals. There needs to be a consistent message between what’s in the lunch line and vending machines. This is very important bill and we’re close to getting it done. We need Congress to act.”
