About NERAHN

Child Nutrition Program Reauthorization Recommendations

Our nation’s child nutrition programs are essential to the growth and development of our children. They are critical to our children’s education. Study after study continues to document the direct link between child nutrition programs and academic performance, behavior and cognitive ability. Yet it has become increasingly difficult for providers to ensure that children have access to these programs. Reimbursement rates fail to keep up with growing costs, many program sponsors and schools lack sufficient equipment required to prepare meals, and sufficient outreach funds are not available to encourage participation among low-income families who tend to shy away from participation in public programs. We ask policy makers to strengthen and improve these important programs: the Summer Food Service Program, the School Breakfast Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The following are recommendations for the 2003 Reauthorization of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1996.

ALL CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Streamline paperwork requirements and increase efficiency: This would help retain providers and increase participation.
Restore nutrition education and training, including training on food insecurity, food safety and methods for building healthy eating habits, for staff, community and teachers of all child nutrition programs. This would help ensure that children have access to more nutrious meals.
Align statutory requirements for all sponsors and providers of child nutrition and school meal programs: Because community-based providers provide critical services to our children, they should not face additional barriers to participation.
Eliminate Social Security Numbers from applications: Including requests for them on applications merely increases paperwork and deters participation.
Establish pilot programs for equipment: Many sponsors and providers lack appropriate and adequate facilities for school meals operation, including refrigerators, storage, ovens and stoves, freezers and other equipment. This pilot program would allow them to inventory existing resources, to purchase updated equipment or repair existing equipment.
Improve food quality: Develop dietary quality standards in the Child Nutrition Programs (USDA) that align with the overall dietary quality standards established in Healthy People 2010 (USDHHS), with particular emphasis on the problematic intakes of sugar, salt, and fats. These standards should establish specifications for food purchasing and preparation that complement federal meal planning guidelines.

SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM (SFSP)

Restore SFSP reimbursement rates to those in effect before the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was enacted: Under the current rates, sponsors must operate at a deficit, due to food and labor costs. This makes it difficult to attract and retain sponsors.
No cost. Implement meals X rate reimbursement process for all SFSP sponsors, including non-profit organizations: This would reduce the administrative burden for sponsors, the United States Department of Agriculture and state administering agencies. It would provide a single reimbursement rate for both operating and administrative costs, and it would bring SFSP into line with reimbursement procedures of the National School Lunch Program.
Expand the open-site eligibility threshold from areas where 50% of the children are eligible for free or reduced meals to areas where 40% of the children are eligible for free or reduced meals: Lowering the SFSP open-site eligibility to 40% will allow us to serve more children who truly need the program during the summer months. This would help compensate for the fact that school meal applications often do not accurately reflect the economic condition of the surrounding neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income families. This is particularly common in large, rural areas served by a single school district.
Provide funds for outreach: Underutilization of summer food programs may be attributed largely to a lack of public awareness about the program and an insufficient number of programs. Outreach is necessary in order to expand the program and increase child participation.
No cost. Eliminate income documentation requirements for sponsors operating enrolled sites in communities where at least one school is eligible for an open site: This would reduce administrative costs by preventing duplication of effort.
No cost. Lengthen the time allowed for meal service: This would eliminate the requirement for sponsors to obtain waivers for extended meal service. Sponsors serving large numbers of children often need more than two hours to distribute lunches.
Establish a pilot program to encourage innovative approaches to increasing access in rural areas. This would address a population that is seriously under-served by the program.
Establish a pilot program providing funding for transportation reimbursement to SFSP sponsors: This would reimburse sponsors for the cost of transporting meals and/ or children to summer food programs.
Provide waivers to allow certain children to take SFSP meals off site: These waivers would allow more low-income children to participate in the SFSP and gain access to the nutrition they need. Waivers would apply to children who are caretakers of elderly family members or those who are employed during the summer months. These waivers would also benefit sponsors lacking adequate space for congregate dining.
Cost savings. Allow all SFSP sponsors to utilize the “offer versus serve” menu option: This option allows sponsors to be reimbursed for meals as long as children are offered complete meals containing all required components. For example, this option would benefit sponsors serving children who refuse the milk component due to lactose intolerance or family religious beliefs. It would also reduce waste.

SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM

Increase reimbursement rates: Increasing these rates will make it easier for schools to break even financially, in the face of food and labor costs that make it difficult to operate in the black.
Establish a pilot program to encourage schools to serve breakfast in the classroom: This would allow schools to make breakfast part of the school day, a proven method to increase participation.
Provide funds for outreach: Compared to the school lunch program, the School Breakfast Program is significantly underutilized. This may be attributed to a variety of barriers to participation, including a lack of awareness about program availability, insufficient time allotted for program operation, and stigma. Federal outreach funds are necessary in order to expand participation.

SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PROGRAMS

Provide funding for implementation of automated Point of Service systems: These systems allow children to swipe meal cards or enter personal identification numbers before school meals. This enables schools to distribute meals quickly and easily, reduces paperwork, increases participation, and increases accuracy. These systems also reduce stigma, because all children are treated the same.
Establish universal meals in all elementary and middle schools where students are nutritionally “at-risk”: Establishing universal meals in schools where at least 40% of the students are eligible for free or reduced priced meals without additional paperwork would target nutritional resources to the children who need it most.
Encourage healthy eating habits: Establish a pilot program to provide incentives for schools that purchase locally grown produce and make a concerted effort to replace unhealthy foods in vending machines with nutritionally sound foods.
Provide support for start-up and continuing use of Provision 2: Providing funds to help schools implement Provision 2 would allow them to establish their programs while continuing to operate in the black.
Develop alternatives for schools using Provision 2 to establish eligibility: Allowing schools to use alternative sources of eligibility data, such as census data, would provide an accurate picture of income eligibility and remove barriers in the application and recertification process.

CHILD and ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM (CACFP)

Increase CACFP meal reimbursement rates: Current reimbursement rates are not sufficient to cover the cost of meals in day care centers, family day care homes, or after-school programs.
Redefine nutritionally “at-risk” as areas where 40% of the children are eligibility for free or reduced meals: Lowering the CACFP nutritionally “at-risk” definition from 50% to 40% to expand area eligibility will allow more child care providers to utilize CACFP funds to serve meals to children.
Expand eligibility to certain teenagers: Children from age 13 to 18 who live in domestic violence shelters and homeless shelters who are nutritionally at risk should be eligible for this important nutrition support program.
Implement a nationwide supper program for children who are nutritionally at risk: The at-risk supper program has been a great success as a pilot. Implementing the program nationwide would allow the utilization of CACFP funds for serving free suppers to children under 19 at schools with after-hours programs in areas where 40% or more of the children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.
Add reimbursement for a third meal for children in family day care programs: This would ensure access to good nutrition for children of working parents who rely on day care for extended hours.
Enhance reimbursement rates for sponsors serving family child care homes in rural and low-income areas: This would help attract and retain sponsors in areas that are traditionally under-served.
Provide funds for program outreach: Outreach is necessary in order to expand the number of day care centers, family day care homes, and after-school programs utilizing the Child and Adult Care Food Program, for underutilization of CACFP may be attributed to a lack of awareness about this funding opportunity.
Eliminate tiers in CACFP reimbursement: Eliminating reimbursement tiers will reduce the amount of paperwork and other administrative burdens faced by CACFP family day care providers.
Allow state administering agencies to serve as CACFP sponsors in areas without other sponsors: This would allow child care providers to access CACFP funds to serve meals to children in areas without CACFP sponsoring agencies
Restore 2% audit funding for state agencies administering CACFP: The current 1.5% audit funding is not sufficient to cover costs associated with CACFP audits.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN (WIC)

Provide funding for outreach to improve access to WIC: Outreach funds would encourage state programs to take steps to improve access to WIC, including outreach to working people, through an extensive media campaign, extended office hours, out-stationed staff and other measures.
Increase funds for nutrition services and administrative tasks: WIC providers have received increased responsibilities without receiving increased funds to accommodate additional services. Coupled with inflation adjustments that may not reflect realities faced by providers, these unfounded mandates make it more difficult for providers to meet their most basic responsibilities under the WIC program.
Provide a new independent funding stream for the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: Decoupling WIC funding from the farmers’ market program would strengthen both programs by eliminating the competition between the programs for funds. It would stabilize the farmers’ market program by allowing for consistent and predictable resources, and thereby increase access to fresh, nutritious produce for WIC clients and thereby increase access to fresh, nutritious and locally grown produce for WIC clients.