Somehow nearly three weeks have gone by since my last post. But I think I have a good excuse.
Two very big legislative passages happened this week. First, the Senate passed “The FDA Food Modernization Act” (S.510) and just today Congress passed “The Health Hunger-Free Kids Act” (S.3307). Both of these bills are incredibly important to the future of our food system.
The FDA Food Modernization Act, comes after a summer full of recalls. The FDA will now be allowed to mandate recalls on potentially contaminated foods, when recalls were previously voluntary by the producer. The number of routine FDA inspections will increase, improvements to tracking and tracing of high-risk foods will be made, and the FDA now has the power to suspend a food facility’s registration upon non-compliance of safety measures. This bill sat for well over a year before this passage and has a few changes that differ from the House bill. Reconciliation with the House still must occur before this is signed into law, and since time is short we should all keep our fingers crossed.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was voted on today at approximately 3:30pm. I never thought I’d watch so much C-SPAN in two days. However, after holding my breath for far too long the bill will now go to Mr. Obama and be signed into law. This bill provides a whopping 6 cents increase for each reimbursable school meal, the first non-inflationary increase in over 30 years. It will improve the quality of the foods sold in school meals, fried chicken and pizza will no longer count for reimbursement. Whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and low fat-milk will become more available and the standard. Additional funding will go to meals served after school hours, such as dinners and summer feeding programs. All improvements that our children deserve. Some day soon their meals might actually look like this.
What boggles my mind is that issues such as the future health of our children is even a debatable issue. We’re talking about providing a basic human need to kids. Food should not be something that turns into a political game, or something that we should pass off because of cost. The cost of obesity to tax payers is far greater than the $4.5 billion that will go towards this reauthorization (which, by the way, is not paid for with taxes). S.3307 passed unanimously in the Senate, but this wasn’t the case in Congress. I am genuinely bothered that our government cares more about tax cuts than the future of our Nation. That we even have to discuss the health and well-being of children on a political forum. Shouldn’t access to healthy, nutritious foods at school just be a right?
As thankful as I am that the two bills passed, I am left feeling uneasy about the state of our country. I do not want to worry about if my childrens’ classmates are able to eat three meals a day. It is unacceptable to me, that one of the wealthiest and most prosperous countries in the world has a hunger problem. It is an embarrassment. And I can’t provide any solutions. S.3307 is certainly a start. And as tired as I am, as stressful as the past three weeks were, it was all worth it knowing that an additional 100,000 children will be able to eat at least two meals a day.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s awesome about the laws passing!
True, we still have a long way to go, but baby steps will hopefully get us there eventually. I’m a huge supporter of improvement of school lunches and fighting childhood obesity, so I’m happy there are at least some things being done about it!
What a wonderful post (and a great excuse for your 3 week hiatus!). As you said, it is amazing that our country has a hunger problem. Hopefully all of these smaller changes will lead to bigger changes over time. Thank you for being a part of it and for bringing the information to us
I’m thankful to hear that these bills passed. It is certainly a step in the right direction; however, my morale remains low. I received an email earlier this week telling me that our school district is out of paper. There is no money left to buy it. We are now teaching without paper. We haven’t gotten new textbooks in the four years I’ve been teaching and I purchase all of my own consumable supplies (crayons, markers, pencils, etc). There are so many broken systems in our country and the same children keep suffering the effects.
That’s great about both passing and I really do hope changes are made.
My mom is an elementary teacher and she tells me what her school serves and I can’t believe they let children eat that! Most kids at her school have don’t know the name of common fruits and vegetables and most have never even eaten them!
Honestly? You are a hero. Thank you for working so hard to get good food (and enough of it!) into the the kids living in this country. I don’t have children yet, but I want them, and already the work that you are doing means so much to me.
I am also really glad these bills passed. Both are definitely huge steps. But I agree, it is really detestable that something as important as the health and nutrition of our children is debatable. It’s all about the politics and the misguided “principle of the thing”…and then the PEOPLE who will be impacted get lost in the shuffle. It’s sad.
On a more positive note, it’s really exciting that you are in DC right in the middle of all of this! I’m happy (for you!) that you got to be a part of something so monumental!!
A small step indeed but at least it sounds like people are FINALLY starting to move the needle. It breaks my heart to think that this goes on right here at home when we work so hard to help other countries. I know it’s never a win-win situation, but breaks my heart.
I commend you on this accomplishment. I can’t imagine your stress or how much passion and hard work you put into everything, you really are a rock.
I was so glad to hear that it was passed…I hope that we can continue to improve (well support) our schools and kids.
This is good news and a step in the right direction. I completely agree that this is not even something that should be debated but all you can do is focus on the things that can be changed right now and do what you can. Every little bit will go a long way in the long run.
A great start
And I think we’re headed in the right direction. Just need more people like YOU out there!
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