With Child Nutrition Bill Passed, Let's Fix Food Stamp Cuts

In a momentous occasion that was years in the making, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law today. The bill, also known as the Child Nutrition Bill, finally reforms school lunch, improving lunches' quality and enrolling more kids in free- and reduced-cost meal programs. Score one for sustainable foodies and public health advocates.

While the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act gives school lunches a long overdue boost, the legislation came at the cost of another federal hunger-alleviation program — food stamps. In order to fund school lunch reform, lawmakers included a $2.2 billion cut to future Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, otherwise known as food stamps. While President Obama pledged to remedy this decrease in funding, time is running out. We've got to get SNAP benefits restored before the lame duck session of Congress ends.

So for all of you who haven't been following the school lunch reform saga, here's the deal in a nutshell: Congress hasn't raised the federal reimbursement rate for cafeteria lunches since 1973. It's one of the main reasons America's school kids dine on garbage like tater tots and frozen pizza every day. With childhood obesity rates raging out of control (more than one in three American kids weigh in as overweight or obese), Michelle Obama, public health experts, and non-profits pushed Congress for a better school meal program. Lawmakers came up with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which, while far from perfect, makes some improvements to America's abysmal school lunch. The bill will boost lunches' nutritional quality, expand the number of students enrolled in free- and reduced-cost meal programs, and sets the stage to eliminate from cafeterias things like unhealthy vending machines.

There was just one problem — funding. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act calls for $4.5 billion more for school meals. Congress pulled that dough from an unlikely (and unwanted) spot — food stamps.

Congress cut $2.2 billion in future food stamp funds in order to pay for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. With the number of food stamp recipients at a record-high, this budget slash will inevitably be felt in millions of Americans' stomachs. Yes, we need to feed students better lunches at school, but the solution shouldn't come at the expense of their dinners at home.

The Obama Administration promised it would find a way to fix the SNAP cuts brought on by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Let's remind the President and Congress that we want to feed Peter, but not by robbing Paul. Sign our petition asking President Obama and Congress to restore the $2.2 billion taken from SNAP.

Photo credit: OakleyOriginals via Flickr