Child advocates welcome progress on child nutrition program renewal

But concerned that some costs to be offset with funding from food stamps

WASHINGTON – Voices for America’s Children, the nation’s largest multi-issue child advocacy network, welcomed passage of child nutrition reauthorization in the U.S. Senate, which could help millions of needy children achieve a more secure, healthier diet.  But it also warned that funding the renewal with money from food stamps is counterproductive.

“With more than one in four children living at risk of hunger and one in three obese or overweight, child nutrition reauthorization cannot come too soon,” said Bill Bentley, president and CEO of Voices for America’s Children. “In this time of severe need for many families, we encourage Congress to renew child nutrition programs at a level that is as close to $10 billion over 10 years of additional funding called for by President Obama and by experts in child hunger.”

The legislation which passed the Senate offsets some of the child nutrition program costs by taking funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), a move that Voices opposed.

“We are making real progress toward wiping out child hunger by 2015, and Voices will not let up,” said Bentley. “But cutting from one food program to fund another is simply outrageous.”

Bentley added, “We now look to the U.S. House to finish its work on the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act [HR 5504]. This bill gets us much closer to ending child hunger by 2015.”

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As the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations, Voices for America’s Children (Voices) has been on the forefront of every major child policy victory for the past quarter-century. With 60 members nationwide, Voices speaks up for kids, and mobilizes and advocates for public policies to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, throughout the United States. Visit us at www.voices.org.

Voices is a founding member of the Children’s Leadership Council, a coalition of more than 50 leading national policy and advocacy organizations. www.childrensleadershipcouncil.com.