Please pull up a chair and get engaged with The Policy & Advocacy Roundtable

Topic of discussion: How can you get involved in the Fight Against Hunger?

Advocacy on The Table

It takes more than food to fight hunger.

In most of its work, the San Antonio Food Bank focuses on providing emergency food support to individuals and families in need. While a little bit of help putting meals on the table is usually a temporary "leg up" during a crisis, sometimes hunger and poverty create a cycle that becomes very difficult to break without attacking the causes of the problems that create them. The San Antonio Food Bank is committed not only to providing emergency support, but also to working to address the systemic issues that cause hunger and poverty. We strive each and everyday to do our part in feeding the hungry and providing support to the many families that live throughout our sixteen county service area, but... we cannot do it alone.

Policy on The Table

Federal Level: Reauthorization of Child Nutrition Programs

The USDA is reporting 49 million Americans are living on the brink of Hunger…many are children. Raise your voice for a more comprehensive Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) policy that we can all be proud of healthier meals, ultimately means healthier minds for our future.

Congress is taking up CNR as soon as possible and will be looking at the possibility of including enough funding to make critically important changes to our nation’s child nutrition programs. The opportunities are…improving access, meal quality and nutrition for millions of children, particularly low-income children in child care (the Child and Adult Care Food Program – CACFP); in school (breakfast and lunch programs); during out-of-school time (afterschool, on weekends and during the summer) and at home (the WIC Program). Thousands of diverse national, state and local organizations are committed to a reauthorization bill that has bold vision to eliminate child hunger.

The Texas Food Bank Network has announced that Child Nutrition is a health, education, national security and moral issue in terms of:

• One in five Texas children is currently obese, and the state demographer predicts an explosion of diet-related disease as these children become adult.
• Numerous studies point to the role of proper nutrition in boosting academic achievement.
• Did you know that the school lunch program was created because the U.S. lacked healthy men to fight in WWII?
• Texas has the highest rate of children facing hunger in the nation.

In 2010 this reauthorization offers a tremendous opportunity to create a future for school food in which fresh, healthy meals are more common place for all children…giving them access to the type of comprehensive nutrition education that creates healthy habits for a more prosperous and productive future.

You can certainly do your part in advocating for CNR by contacting your federal elected officials…let them know that you want them to support child nutrition programs by making significant new investments in Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization that match or exceed the President’s budget of an additional $1 billion a year. These investments are necessary to ensure that all low-income children, including those in the SAFB service area, can access enough nutritious food for an active and healthy life, and will move us closer toward the President’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015.

A Healthy CNR:

• Assures and strengthens program access and supports participation by underserved children and communities
• Enhances nutrition quality and provides adequate meal reimbursements
• Modernizes technology and simplifies program administration and operation

CNR Update

On March 24, Child Nutrition Reauthorization unanimously passed out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. But this is just the first step. The bill will move to a full Senate vote that is expected to take place later this spring or early summer. With all the priorities in Washington these days, we must keep the pressure on to be sure that Child Nutrition Reauthorization is passed this year! Contact your federal representative and let them know that you are in support of a healthy CNR for our kids…our future! This critical legislation impacts the programs and funding that helps the SAFB’s network engage in the fight to end child hunger! Let’s end it by 2015!

Key Points to Emphasize with your Legislator

• According to USDA, nearly 1 in 4 American children at risk of hunger every day.
• The programs funded by this legislation provide children with access to quality, nutritious food during school as well as in out-of-school settings.
• When children are not in school – during evenings, weekends, school vacations, and the summer – federal programs continue to fall short in meeting the needs of low-income children and these gaps must be addressed.
• Ask for them to support for at least $1 billion per year in this Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

Please join the SAFB in taking action and advocate for a healthy reauthorization of the Child Nutrition!

What you can do in less than 5 minutes:

• Call your U.S. Congress Member and your U.S. Senators.
• Tell them you are a constituent and provide your name and address.
• Ask them to support the passage of a strong child nutrition reauthorization bill in 2010 so that we can end child hunger by 2015.

Texas U.S. Senators

Want to do More?

• Contact your congress member and the latest on federal legislation - www.congress.org
• Contact your state elected officials and the latest on state legislation - www.capitol.state.tx.us
• Receive updates about policy issues affecting hunger and how you can make a difference, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

"A Blueprint To End Hunger"

Check back for more information on public policy related to hunger and how you can help.