Rockefeller Supports Bill to Improve Childrens' Health, Protect Jobs, and Slash Deficit
Press Release
Senator Jay Rockefeller today voted for a bill to promote better health for children, protect jobs, and cut the deficit by more than $23 billion.
"We must support programs that help kids get healthy food, and enough of it so they don't go hungry," said Rockefeller. "Earlier this month, I held a roundtable conversation in West Virginia on the importance of making sure that children receive the nutrition they need to get the most out of their days and of school. This bill is not only a lifeline to making sure these programs obtain essential funding, but it's also a lifeline to so many families in need. We must give our kids the tools to do their best in school, which is much harder if they go to bed hungry.
"We also need to use all means at our disposal to protect jobs and cut spending. This bill does that in a responsible way by giving farmers the certainty they need to keep growing the economy and by reducing fraud and abuse to make critical food programs more efficient."
Background:
On June 8, Rockefeller held a roundtable discussion in Charleston that examined summer food programs, which face an uphill battle in feeding hungry children who are out of school for the summer. Many of these programs are funded by the farm bill.
Among other things, the farm bill, approved by the Senate today by a vote of 64-35, would:
Provide Critical Funding for Nutrition Assistance Programs -- Authorizes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and increases funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides funding for food banks, along with several other important nutrition programs.
Promote Better Health for School Children - Continues the successful Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Program, which provides fresh fruits and vegetables to elementary school children throughout the school day in school districts with a high proportion of low-income students. It also continues the Department of Defense Fresh Program, which distributes fruits and vegetables to schools and service institutions, and continues to allow the Agriculture Marketing Service to conduct pilots to allow states to source locally grown produce.
Increase Access and Affordability of Healthy Food Options - Authorizes the Healthy Food Financing Initiative to administer loans and grants to improve access to healthy foods in low-income communities where many people lack reasonable access to nutritious and affordable food. The bill also expands access to healthy options with initiatives that give low-income individuals incentives for purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables and by allowing Community Supported Agriculture operations to be authorized to accept SNAP.
Continue Hunger-Free Communities Grants -- Maintains grants to incentivize the purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP participants in underserved areas.
Increase Assistance for Community Food Projects -- Provides grants to eligible non-profit organizations to improve community access to food
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