Hunger Action Network of New York State

Hunger Action Network praised the State Assembly today for passing the Healthy School Act (A8698 – Nolan) to provide students with access to healthier school meals, snacks and beverages; eliminate the cost to students receiving a reduced price lunch or breakfast; and increase the State reimbursement for lunch and breakfast.

“The Healthy Schools Act will improve the nutritional status of children in New York, including addressing the growing problem of obesity among children. Hunger among children remains a significant problem in our state; nearly 50% of the two million plus individuals served annually by emergency food programs are children. We especially applaud the effort to expand the school breakfast program, increase state funding for school meals; and, eliminate junk food from our schools,” said Mark Dunlea, Associate Director of Hunger Action Network.

The Assembly bill makes a number of important improvements to Governor Spitzer’s laudable proposal. The Healthy Schools Act builds on prior laws supported by Hunger Action that reduced the sale of junk food in schools and expanded the federal school breakfast program to all elementary schools and low-income middle and high schools that were participating in the school lunch program.

Hunger Action Network urges the State Senate to agree to the improvements made by the Assembly.

The changes made by Assemblymember Nolan addresses concerns raised by Senator Bruno and school districts to Spitzer’s initial proposal, such as by increasing state funding for the school meals program. In addition, rather than writing into law nutritional standards for healthy school meals, snacks and beverage, the Assembly’s bill gives this power to the Education Department, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health. These rules would be updated every five years. Hunger Action however would like stronger measurers to promote the use of locally grown vegetables and fruits, helping local farmers while promoting better nutrition

The bill requires school districts that participate in the National School Lunch or the Child Nutrition Act programs to establish a local wellness policy. This would include examining whether to ensure that time is provided to each student to eat lunch and breakfast, which remains a significant problem. Hunger Action said it would like to see a stronger requirement to ensure the participation of a nutritionist in each of the school district’s planning process (the law presently says “if available”), since proper nutrition is critical to the effort to reduce obesity and other children health problems such as diabetes. Many nutritionists also feel the proposed legislation is not strong enough in requiring low fat rather than whole milk, which is recommended for children over the age of two. Hunger Action would also like to see stronger efforts to ensure access to free fountain water, not just sold water containers.

Hunger Action strongly supports the increase in the State subsidy to local schools for the breakfast and lunch programs by 15 cents per free and reduced meals beginning September 1, 2010. The Assembly would also provide a State subsidy for a reduced price breakfast and lunch in order to eliminate any cost to a student qualifying for a reduced price meal. The additional 15 cents would cost $40 million in additional State reimbursements when effective July 1, 2010. It would cost the State $9 million to eliminate the reduced price student’s share when effective July 1, 2008.