President Barrack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on December 13, 2010, capping a two-year effort to reauthorize and strengthen the nation’s nutrition assistance programs for children. The legislation will increase meal reimbursement rates for the first time in 30 years, ease program access so more low-income children can be fed, and simplify paperwork for participants and administrators alike.
However, finalizing the reauthorization of child nutrition programs has had significant repercussions for other programs, notably the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. The Hunger-Free Kids Act relies, in part, on $2.2 billion in SNAP funds to pay for child nutrition improvements. Adding in another $11.9 billion in future SNAP benefits reprogrammed in August 2010 to pay for a jobs bill, a total of $14.1 billion in SNAP funds has now been redirected to pay for other government services and avoid further growth of the national debt.
But the trend is worrisome. “We are concerned about recent moves to balance the federal budget on the backs of poor and hungry people – including the cuts to SNAP benefits used to pay some of the cost of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act,” Kathy Mulvey, policy director for the Community Food Security Coalition told Foodlinks America. “Times are hard enough for people struggling to makes ends meet. Protecting SNAP is critical not only to address food insecurity, but also to prevent future efforts to raid federal nutrition programs,” she added. read more…
