Improving the Child Nutrition Act for Parents

Children need school meals to get adequate nutrition. As more and more families struggle to put food on the table, strengthening school meal programs - one of the most effective hunger fighting tools in America - is the right thing to do.

We can do better by choosing to:

Increase the reimbursement rate, which currently stands at $2.57.
Improve Training for Workers on Food Safety and Nutrition.
Mandate Fairer Standards for Food Service Workers.
Broaden the School Breakfast and Summer Programs.
Expand Enrollment and Eligibility.
Raise the Bar on Nutrition Standards.
Increase Accountability.

Increase the Reimbursement Rate

Our nation's economic crisis has caused a significant increase in the number of families qualifying for free and reduced price meals. School meals are the best opportunity for needy children to get a nutritionally adequate diet.

But when the Federal reimbursement rate for a free school lunch is currently at $2.57, providing a good, well-balanced meal at this funding level is difficult at best. As school districts face tough choices as they struggle with steep budget cuts, districts should not be put in the position of having to choose between serving healthy meals and keeping teachers in the classroom.

Improve Training for Workers

School food service workers see children every day and they play an important role in their lives. When school food service workers receive proper training to ensure they can effectively promote the health and well-being of students, school meal programs are more successful. Food service workers would be better equipped to handle the serious food safety risks School Districts face every day - and as an additional benefit, improve their skills and create a stable, committed workforce. While the National School Lunch Act calls for "training and technical assistance to improve the skills of individuals employed in food service programs," the provision is extremely underfunded.

Mandate Fair Standards for Contract Food Service Workers

The National School Lunch Act gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to maintain the integrity of the programs and issue guidelines for our schools' food service workers, but the Act fails to define labor standards.

Thousands of contracted food service workers across America are uninsured or impoverished, with no other option but to enroll in public health and public assistance programs. Many do not have access to affordable health insurance or paid sick leave, which forces them to choose between losing a day's pay and coming to work sick. Insufficient training, pay and benefits leads to high turnover in the industry.

We believe the Act should, therefore, be amended to include both paid sick days and a workforce development pilot program.

Expand the School Breakfast and Summer Programs Immediately

Currently, only one in five children eligible for free school breakfasts actually receive them because of both logistical hurdles and the stigma attached to participation.

Pilot universal breakfast programs have shown a decrease in absenteeism and greater student attentiveness in class, and have allowed every child to be fed without discrimination.

Funding for breakfast and summer programs would help everyone from farmers and directly to the cafeteria workers, all while ensuring adequate nutrition for children at risk of going hungry.

Expand Enrollment and Eligibility

Despite significant progress towards increasing access to school meal programs, the current free and reduced enrollment system is not reaching all eligible kids. We think the USDA should expand access by eliminating the reduced price category and streamlining the application process.

Raise the Bar on Nutrition Standards

The American diet, especially amongst low income families, too often features high-sugar, high-fat, or high-salt foods.

We need to incorporate healthier approaches to cooking and eating. "Slow food," "farm-to-school," and "buy local" programs all yield important nutritional and environmental benefits. We would like to see changes to the school meal programs that would encourage and enable School Districts to adapt menus and procurement policies to promote the use of fresh, local food supplies.

Increase Accountability

School meal programs represent a very large investment of Federal and state dollars. We recommend strengthening reporting requirements of all school meal programs to ensure transparency and to build public trust. States often lack the resources to offer District administrators and board members advice and training to meet their responsibility to exercise effective oversight. Therefore, we recommend that the statute be amended to give the USDA the authority to act in an agency role on behalf of Districts to ensure compliance with Federal procurement rules.