From ELCA Advocacy (https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/Advocacy):
Summer breaks from school settings often mask a harsh reality for many children in our communities: School is the only place a child might receive a reliable meal during the day. In fact, in the 2017-2018 school year some 22 million low-income children were served a free or reduced meal.
Pennsylvania served more than 167 million school lunches during the 2017-2018 school year. These healthy meals enhance our children’s readiness to learn. According to data from Feeding America, in Pennsylvania, more than 437,300, or one sixth of Pennsylvania children, struggle with hunger. See how many children in your community are eligible for free and reduced school meals.
We’ve come to rely upon the foundational benefit of critical nutrition assistance in the summer months when children are away from school, such as through Summer Meal Programs. However, its funding cannot be taken for granted.
Child nutrition programs are made possible by Congress. The law allowing these programs to function expired in 2015, and since then they have operated through annual appropriations. The 116th Congress has begun the process of renewing or “reauthorizing” these programs, and our voices and input are needed to ensure these critical programs continue and are improved to better address the nutritional needs of our hungry children.
Our congregations, ministries and members have seen first-hand the important place of these programs in fighting childhood hunger. Therefore, we urge renewal of child nutritional programs on a firmer foundation.
Please urge your members of Congress to support a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization this year using the ELCA Action Center at https://support.elca.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1162! You do not need to be Lutheran—you can personalize the message to reflect your faith connection.
Leave a Reply