House Approves Mollohan Action to Help WV's At-Risk Teens

Press Release

House Approves Mollohan Action to Help WV's At-Risk Teens

Congressman Alan B. Mollohan secured passage of legislation making a nutritious hot supper available to thousands of at-risk teenagers throughout West Virginia who participate in after-school programs.

The action was applauded by experts in the field who note that nutrition plays a key role in the efforts to help teenagers avoid a long hard slide into potentially antisocial behavior at the community level.

"Congressman Mollohan is to be commended for his hard work on this initiative," Rev. James Ellison, executive director of Wheeling's Laughlin Memorial Chapel said. "We are excited that the House of Representatives has passed legislation to fund an evening meal to teenagers in West Virginia. The passage of this bill corrects what has been a major gap in providing for the needs of the youth of our state."

Laughlin Memorial Chapel is typical of the organizations around West Virginia that are hard at work addressing the needs of young people. Laughlin Chapel feeds between 125 and 150 children and youth each evening during the school year.

Mollohan amended the National School Lunch Act by adding West Virginia to a list of just seven states in which institutions running after-school programs under the Child and Adult Care Food Program can receive a full meal subsidy from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In West Virginia and most states, meals currently served to at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 18 can be subsidized only at the much lower "snack" rate.

"We've always wanted to participate in the supper program," said Mollie Wood, assistant director of West Virginia's Office of Child Nutrition. "We're very excited that West Virginia may become one of the few states eligible."

"Good nutrition is a critical building block in a child's healthy physical and intellectual development," Mollohan said. "The Child and Adult Care Food Program is one of the federal government's most successful tools in the fight against chronic hunger and malnutrition. My language will increase the program's impact in West Virginia by making sure that recreation centers, schools, nonprofits, and day care centers offering after-school activities to at-risk youth can also offer a healthy and nourishing supper."

Mollohan's language was included in the fiscal year 2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The House passed the bill late Thursday evening.

"Qualified organizations currently provide approximately 45,000 after-school snacks per month in West Virginia," Mollohan said. Once his language is signed into law, those organizations would be able to offer full suppers to eligible teenagers who often lack a regular source of nourishing meals. "It is my hope that this new subsidy will also spur additional organizations in West Virginia to sponsor after-school programs," Mollohan added.

The bill must now be considered by the Senate before being sent to the President for his signature.

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