Nutritious meals often prove too expensive for families struggling to make ends meet. As an NPR report demonstrated on Tuesday, nutrient-rich foods and drinks are often replaced by cheaper, less healthy substitutes:"A gallon of milk is $3-something. A bottle of orange soda is 89 cents…Do the math."
The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, recently approved by the Education and Labor Committee on a bipartisan vote, aims to help solve this problem by increasing access to nutritious foods year-round in school, after school, during holidays, on the weekends, and during the summer. Among other improvements to childhood nutrition programs, the legislation increases the reimbursement rate for school lunch for the first time in more than 30 years – a move that will significantly increase the availability of healthy foods to children. Cliff Toomey of the Indian River School District in Delaware attests to the importance of the increase in today’s News Journal:
“‘Higher reimbursement rates would mean more food choices,’ he said. ‘It would allow us to possibly go with more fresh fruits and vegetables.’”
Today, approximately 22 percent of the nation’s children lack access to nutritious food and one in three children is overweight or obese. Pam Fessler of NPR succinctly describes the relationship between hunger and obesity:
“Hunger in America is complicated. It's not just getting enough food, but getting the right food — and making the right choices.”
