Summer is the hungriest time of year for children in the U.S. It is a period when many of our most vulnerable youth lose access to school feeding programs that they rely on. As we head into summer vacation, it is especially painful that Congress is advancing a bill that could further cut funding to our nation’s nutrition programs.
H.R. 5003, the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act 2016, is disingenuous and misleading. On the surface, the bill appears to be about improving child nutrition programs. Underneath the surface, it is another attempt to balance our federal budget on the backs of poor people and actually cuts funding for child nutrition programs.
This is obviously wrong and especially offensive to us as people of faith, who understand that we are called to uphold the worth of every child.
This bill moves us in the wrong direction. It would impose strict restrictions on the ability of families and schools to participate in free and reduced-price lunch, breakfast, and summer meals programs. H.R. 5003 would potentially deny tens of thousands of students access to healthy meals.
As plainly stated in 1 John 3:17-18, our faith compels us to love in truth and action and not just in word or speech. If we love the children in our community, we must create opportunities for them to succeed. We must not cut funding to the very programs that help them to learn and grow.
Act now – Call on your Representative to oppose H.R. 5003!