Action Alert - School Meals Need Your Support - California Association of Food Banks

We do not offer food. Here’s where you can find food.
No distribuimos alimentos. Encuentre comida gratis aquí.
我們不直接提供食物，但我們能幫助您找尋食物。

The House Appropriations Committee is voting tomorrow morning, May 29th, on the agriculture spending bill for FY 2015. This bill includes a waiver that would allow schools to opt out of complying with all school meal standards if they show even the slightest decline in revenue over six months in the previous year (even if that decline is due to higher gas prices, lower enrollment, or other factors unrelated to the school meal standards.) Another provision would allow potatoes into the WIC food package.

The good news: California’s Congressman Sam Farr (CA-20) will be offering a straight amendment in the full committee mark-up on Thursday to strike the waiver provision in the Chairman’s mark, and he will call for a vote.

EMAIL OR CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!

Today is the best time and last chance to weigh in with California’s House Appropriations Committee members before their full committee vote tomorrow. There are several California House members on the committee to whom it is important we communicate the following:

Remove the school nutrition waiver provision and the potatoes in WIC provision, both of which would override scientifically-based decisions that support children’s health; and
Support Rep. Farr’s amendment to strike the waiver authority in the bill that would exempt schools from meeting any school nutrition standards.

Learn more about the documented successes schools have had in implementing the improved nutrition standards in school meals programs here.

House Appropriations Committee members from California include Reps. Ken Calvert, David Valadao, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Sam Farr, Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, and Michael Honda.

Find your Representative: link

CONTACT INFO:

Representative	District	Email	Phone
Ken Calvert	CA-42	Alexandra.Berenter@mail.house.gov	202.225.1986
David Valadao	CA-21	Jessica.Butler@mail.house.gov	202.225.4695
Lucille Roybal-Allard	CA-40	Natalie.Price@mail.house.gov	202.225.1766
Sam Farr	CA-20	Troy.Phillips@mail.house.gov	202.225.2861
Barbara Lee	CA-13	Mariah.Johnson@mail.house.gov	202.225.2661
Adam B. Schiff	CA-28	Dao.Nguyen@mail.house.gov	202.225.4176
Michael M. Honda	CA-17	Shawn.Tiegs@mail.house.gov, Kelly.Honda@mail.house.gov	202.225.2631

THE MESSAGE:

Feel free to personalize and adapt the following script to use for an e-mail or a phone call:

My name is (name) and I live in (city), California. I am writing/calling to strongly urge you to not to roll back the great progress that most schools are making to improve child nutrition. I have two specific requests for you to consider before tomorrow’s House Appropriations Committee, when you will vote upon the agriculture spending bill for FY 2015:

Remove the school nutrition waiver provision and the potatoes in WIC provision, both of which would override scientifically-based decisions that support children’s health; and
Support Rep. Farr’s amendment to strike the waiver authority in the bill that would exempt schools from meeting any school nutrition standards.

Nearly 2.5 million children live in food-insecure households in California. For those children, meals served at school are a critical resource – and may be the only nutritious meals they receive all day. The nutritional standards for the federal child nutrition programs should be evidence-based and guided by the latest nutritional science. Nutritional specifics should not be established within the political process. Accordingly, I strongly urge you to oppose any efforts to intervene in science-based rules regarding the federal child nutrition programs.

Share this action alert on Twitter Share this action alert on Facebook

QUESTIONS?

Please contact Andrew Cheyne at andrew@cafoodbanks.org.

Get the News

Stay up to date in fight against hunger.

Please Login