Senate passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Need to Push the House!
Posted August 12th, 2010 by Sarah FrancisFor the first time in over 30 years, we have a chance to overhaul school lunches in this country. Late last week, with the help of MomsRising members across the country, the U.S. Senate passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.[1]
We’re halfway there! The U.S. House is our next step, and we have to move fast. We only have a few weeks before House members start focusing on winning re-election and forget about school lunches. We can’t let this opportunity to overhaul school lunches pass us by!
So, we’re turbo-charging our campaign and bringing the important voices of moms forward in a big way. With your help, we’ll super charge our campaign in these last few crucial weeks before the vote with action elected leaders just can’t ignore: Like hand delivering lunch sacks with personal notes from moms to Congress, launching an advertising campaign and targeting key votes with a new petition. Basically we’ll make sure the voices of moms just can’t be ignored. We’ve seen that moms can bring change to Congress, but we need your help to make sure we’re heard.
Can you chip in $5 today to turbo-charge our Child Nutrition Campaign in these last few weeks?
http://action.momsrising.org/go/CNRAugust2010/315?ak_proof=1&akid=.244833.eCPWa2&t=4
Here’s why your support is so important right now:
Since last November, MomsRising members (just like you) have sent over 100,000 letters to Congress demanding that our elected officials stand up for better school lunches and better child care nutrition.
Guess what? Congress is starting to listen to you. We’ve passed the bill in the Senate, and we just need the House to finish the job. We’ve come too far to give up now.
As U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, said last week: “Nearly 100,000 Nevada children don’t know where they will get their next meal, and nearly 200,000 Nevada children depend on free or reduced lunch programs. With the bipartisan bill we passed, these children will receive healthy school lunches every day. Eating healthier improves a child’s personal well-being and prevents health problems later in life. No one knows this like mothers. I thank MomsRising for their advocacy for our nation’s school children and their support of legislation that will enrich the lives of our children now and save lives years later.”
*Chip in today so we can continue bringing the voices of moms forward in creative ways our leaders just can’t ignore:
http://action.momsrising.org/go/CNRAugust2010/315?ak_proof=1&akid=.244833.eCPWa2&t=6
And please pass this email along to your friends and family by forwarding it along now — school lunches in this country need all the help they can get.
Together we’re a powerful voice for children and families!
- Sarah, Kristin, Donna, Joan, Mary and the whole MomsRising.org team
4 Comments
November 10, 2010 at 7:51 pm by Beth CochranMany people are trying to get the word out regarding the Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act (S. 3307) and the recovery of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or formerly known as food stamps). As it stands, Congress has changed this bill in a way which will affect every parent, especially the parents who have their child(ren) receiving reduced or free lunches. If the amendment of this bill is denied it will cause a serious financial burden for parents by raising the cost of school lunches, and cause possible nutritional problems for our children by lowering SNAP (food stamp) amounts our children receive. As several of you may know, children’s SNAP has already been affected, and countless people are suffering from this loss.
Are we going to sit back and let Congress take food from our children to offset their expenses (like Medicaid reimbursement)? They are taking from Peter to pay Paul, however; in this case, Peter is our children! We need to stand up for those who cannot, those who are too young to have a voice of their own! Congress is re-examining this Act November 15. We need to act NOW! I am incorporating in this post a URL link to Feeding America. They have a page set up for you to send a pre-written letter via email that will go to your U.S. House Representative (Rep. Peter F. Welch – DEM), and President Barack H. Obama, to ask for this Bill to be emended, and for their support in the passing of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (S. 3307) and restore the SNAP program. Please take the time to look at this link:
http://www.hungeractioncenter.org/video.aspx
If this Act is not emended, our children will be the ones suffering. Please do not let our children go hungry!
[Reply]
August 13, 2010 at 3:11 pm by Anita@Lily – Thanks so much for your insightful comment. I talked with Sarah about it, and she says, “This action is to raise the funds needed to turbocharge our child nutrition campaign. That’s why when the House returns from the August recess, we’ll be strongly advocating for different funding for the House bill.”
[Reply]
August 12, 2010 at 4:25 pm by Lily Shahar KunningTHIS IS NOT A GOOD BILL!!!! I am very upset that Momsrising would support it. It’s class warfare, plain and simple. They are funding this program by slashing billions from foodstamps!
The only people that will benefot from this “overhaul” are middle class families in wealthier school districts. Poor kids will suffer because of this bill- ensuring the only place to eat is school. This is already a problem in the school district where I live, this bill will make it worse.
If Moms Rising wants to be relevant to ALL moms, including poor ones, they need to stop supporting bills like this.
[Reply]
August 12, 2010 at 3:53 pm by AnitaExciting to see this, after reading Jamie Oliver’s and others’ posts about the need for this kind of change.
[Reply]
Leave a Comment