Priorities
Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Matthew 19:13-14)
The Need for Child Nutrition Programs
Nearly 700,000 children in Wisconsin, and 17 million children nationally struggle against hunger. While hunger affects people of all ages, it is particularly devastating for children. Even short-term episodes of hunger can cause lasting damage to a child’s development. Hunger puts children at risk for a range of cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical problems, such as decreased attention span and lower test scores.
“The Bible also reminds us that children may be among the most vulnerable members of society. Many are impoverished, neglected, abandoned and abused. They need protection, justice, and compassion. Children are our neighbors whom we are called to love.” ELCA Social Statement “Our Calling in Education”
As Lutheran Christians we are called to love and serve those in need of daily bread. We are called to pray and discern where God is leading us to ensure children do not go to bed hungry. And we are called to act for policies and programs that break the cycle of poverty by providing our children with the food they need to succeed.
Here in Wisconsin, the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin is focused on the goal to end childhood hunger in our state. One of the most effective ways to ensure our children receive the nutrition they need is through school breakfast and lunch programs. Over 300,000 children receive free or reduced price meals at their school. For many children the meal at school is not only a reliable source of nutrition, it may be their only meal of the day.
The State of Wisconsin provides funding to schools to help pay the cost of meals for the students. This money is essential for schools to provide quality and nutritious meals each day. Wisconsin’s Legislators need to hear from you as a person of faith that funding for school meals is a budget priority. In the months ahead, LOPPW will be working with synods, congregations, and advocates to spread the message and speak out for children.
On the national level, LOPPW is collaborating with the ELCA Washington, DC Office to work for passage of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization. The federal legislation authorizes all of the federal school meal and child nutrition programs to ensure that low-income children have access to healthy and nutritious foods.
Millions of low-income children benefit from the meals provided by child nutrition programs. Congress reviews these programs every 5 years or so, and this renewal process provides an opportunity to improve and strengthen the programs so they better meet the needs of our nation’s children.
ELCA's 5 priorities for 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization
1. Invest in Children: Congress must provide a substantial investment of new funding for child nutrition programs in the budget. A $10 billion investment of new funds (an additional $1 billion per year) would enable authorizing committees in Congress to make critical improvements in these programs. Additionally, Congress must continue to fully fund WIC during the annual appropriations process to allow the program to serve all eligible women, infants, and children seeking enrollment.
2. Improve Access: Many families are unable to access benefits for which their children are eligible because not all programs operate in every community. We must improve access by increasing the number of breakfast, summer, and afterschool meal programs in operation and exploring alternative models to link children with the food they need when they are out of school.
3. Increase Participation: Not all children who qualify for assistance enroll in the programs, often because of burdensome application procedures, social stigma, or other barriers to participation. We must simplify the eligibility determination and application process to make it easier for families to enroll children in these programs.
4. Improve Program Implementation: Many states could do a better job implementing child nutrition programs. We should encourage states to be active partners in working to end child hunger by setting performance targets, providing incentives, and rewarding progress.
5. Improve Benefit Adequacy: Our first priority is ensuring that children have enough to eat, but we must take steps to provide children not just with enough food, but the right food.
To learn much more on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill and how you can speak out for kids, visit the ELCA’s Advocacy site at: www.elca.org
”When public schools perform other social functions for the best interest of children (for example, providing breakfast or caring for children after school), government should ensure they have adequate resources in addition to resources supporting their primary educational purpose.” ELCA Social Statement “Our Calling in Education
