USDA FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE WESTERN REGIONAL OFFICE LISTENING

							                           USDA
                FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE
                  WESTERN REGIONAL OFFICE
                     LISTENING SESSION
      2009 CHILD NUTRITION AND WIC REAUTHORIZATION
                        AUGUST 6, 2008

My name is Matthew Sharp. I am a senior advocate with California Food
Policy Advocates. I appreciate the opportunity to share a few suggestions
for strengthening the vital child nutrition and WIC programs. California
Food Policy Advocates is a statewide nonprofit organization whose
mission is to improve the health and well-being of low income
Californians by increasing their access to nutritious, affordable food. One
hundred percent of our time is spent working to strengthen the federal
nutrition safety net.

Need. We co-author with UCLA a biennial study on the prevalence of
food insecurity and hunger in California. The most recent data available,
gathered prior to this year’s spikes in food and fuel prices, indicate that 30
percent of California low-income adults experience food insecurity.
Subsequent analyses estimated that over nine million Californians,
including several million children, live in households struggling to put
adequate food on the table.

Widely available data indicate the rate of overweight and obesity among
California children has risen dramatically in recent years, with 31percent
of adolescents at risk statewide. Even more alarming, is the recent finding
that among low-income 3 to 4 year olds in Los Angeles County, 34 percent
are already overweight or at risk. Only 1% of children eat according to
dietary recommendations.

Actions. I will briefly share a few themes and examples of changes that
ought to be enacted to strengthen these programs. We have seventeen
pages of detailed proposals that we will provide in writing, sparing you an
exhaustive presentation here this morning.

There are changes needed to improve access, participation, quality,
simplification and education. Here are a few highlights:

1. Strengthened nutrition quality linked to higher reimbursement.
   A recent USDA study (SNDA-III) confirms the need for further
   progress in nutrition quality in all the child nutrition programs (SNDA-
   III). Let me state the obvious: purchasing and preparing healthy foods
   call for higher reimbursement, and the swift, current escalation in food
   prices makes additional resources absolutely essential.


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   Specific actions include:
   • Additional servings of fresh fruit in the School Breakfast Program,
      reimbursed at 10 cents per serving.
   • A requirement that more than half the grains offered in all the
      programs be whole grain, reimbursed at an additional 10 cents per
      serving.

2. Cost savings earned through administrative streamlining.
   Paperwork should be minimized to ensure that resources are preserved
   for healthy food. New technological capacity can both improve and
   simplify administration of the programs.

   Specific proposals include:
   • Direct certification of children enrolled in Medicaid for free school
      meals.
   • Administration of school-sponsored child care food programs under
      school meal rules.
   • Continuing California’s fabulously successful pilot to combine
      afterschool snacks and summer lunch to ensure year-round nutrition
      in low-income neighborhoods.

3. Greater access and greater participation.
   Too many children are missing out on the essential nutrition that the
   programs offer. Some children attend schools or live in neighborhoods
   without nearby sites. In many other places, programs fail to reach the
   children who need them most.

   Specific actions include:
      • Provide grants to schools initiating breakfast service during the
         school day and out of the cafeteria.
   • Using the CRE to ensure that wellness policies more directly focus
      on student experiences, such as long lines, menus, preparation and
      service.

Thank you for your time and please consider reading our entire, written
recommendations, which include additional detailed proposals for child
care, WIC, commodities and nutrition education. While WIC and child
nutrition programs make a difference, there is a lot more to do to ensure
these programs evolve to meet children’s nutrition needs in the 21st
century.




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