For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
AFSCME Commends Rep. Tonko for Nutrition Bill
Legislation to Reduce Child Obesity, Improve Health, and Enhance Development
Washington, DC —Today Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009 in the United States House of Representatives to update the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) by adding additional resources to pay for healthier meals and expanding the program to include more children. Rep. Tonko’s bill is identical to legislation introduced in the Senate in November by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
“Rep. Tonko’s nutritious meals bill can decrease childhood obesity, improve child nutrition and health, enhance child development and school readiness, and reduce hunger,” said AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee. “AFSCME commends Rep. Tonko for working to improve young children’s access to healthy foods.”
CACFP provides healthy, nutritious meals to 3 million children each day who are in Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care programs in both centers and family child care homes. Healthy eating and good nutrition is critically important for all children and youth, particularly for children ages 0-5 as their brains are rapidly developing. This is also a key time to set healthy eating patterns. As our country faces a childhood obesity epidemic of 30%, CACFP plays an important role in educating children, families and child care providers about healthy nutrition and providing resources for at-risk children to eat healthy meals.
Family child care provider and VOICE/CSEA member Doreen Lawson of Kingston, NY also commented on the bill: “With parents being rushed, they are relieved to know that their child will get a healthy meal at my day care. The children are developing good eating habits because of my participation in the food program. I have been able to attend great workshops put on by my local child care council and I have even gotten some great recipes from them!”
The program rates, however, have not kept up with the rising costs of food and increasing costs from revisions in the Dietary Guidelines.
“I spend much more than $.43 per child for breakfast and definitely more than $1.31 for lunch! To give children healthy food, you have to spend more money than they provide! I don't even receive half of what I spend to feed my children properly,” said Dionysia Clovis, an AFSCME/VOICE member in Mt. Vernon, NY.
