Legislative Affairs

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Legislative Committee and Legislative Affairs .
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Good afternoon,

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is seeking organizations to support two school nutrition bills, both of which ASBO International has signed on in support of: the Summer Meals Act of 2015 (SMA) and the Stop Child Hunger Summer Act of 2015 (SCHSA).

If you would like to show your organization's support for one or both of these bills, please fill out FRAC's form online. (For organizations only. As soon as we have a list of signatories, we will post it on this thread.) The deadline to sign on is July 15.

 

1. The Summer Meals Act of 2015 would: (See one page summary.)

• Improve the area eligibility test to allow community-based organizations to participate in these programs if 40% of children served (instead of 50%) are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

• Allow local government agencies and private nonprofit organizations to feed children year-round through the Summer Food Service Program (and would remove duplicate processes and administrative burdens for sponsors).

• Provide funding for transportation grants to fund innovative approaches and mobile meal trucks. (Aims to increase rural low-income student access to summer meal programs.)

• Allow all eligible sites to serve a third meal (to provide nutritious meals to children who rely on these programs all throughout the day).
  
  
  

   

2. The Stop Child Hunger Act of 2015 would: (See one page summary.)

• Provide low-income families with children an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card to purchase food for children during the summer. This offers another summer food resource for low-income children in addition to (not in place of) Summer Nutrition Programs.
  
  
• The EBT card would work like a debit card for families to purchase food at grocery/retail stores, and is modeled after existing EBT systems used by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
  
  
• The program would offer benefits of $150 per summer to each eligible child. (Amount adjusted annually based on inflation).

If you have any questions about either bill, please contact Kate Sims, FRAC Child Nutrition Policy Analyst, at ksims@frac.org.

Thank you.

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Elleka Watts
Government Affairs & Communications Coordinator
ASBO International
ewatts@asbointl.org
Reston, VA
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Good morning,

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) just released the list of all organizational supporters of the two school nutrition bills, the Summer Meals Act of 2015 (SMA) and the Stop Child Hunger Summer Act of 2015 (SCHSA), which ASBO International is supporting. For more details about the legislation, see the previous post in this thread.

If you would like to sign on in support of any or both of these bills, please contact FRAC policy analyst Kate Sims at ksims@frac.org. (For organizations only.) While the deadline has already passed, they are accepting last-minute signatures ASAP.

Thank you.

------------------------------
Elleka Watts
Government Affairs & Communications Coordinator
ASBO International
ewatts@asbointl.org
Reston, VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-17-2015 14:54
From: Elleka Watts
Subject: ASBO International Supports Two New School Nutrition Bills

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Legislative Committee and Legislative Affairs .
-------------------------------------------

Good afternoon,

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is seeking organizations to support two school nutrition bills, both of which ASBO International has signed on in support of: the Summer Meals Act of 2015 (SMA) and the Stop Child Hunger Summer Act of 2015 (SCHSA).

If you would like to show your organization's support for one or both of these bills, please fill out FRAC's form online. (For organizations only. As soon as we have a list of signatories, we will post it on this thread.) The deadline to sign on is July 15.

1. The Summer Meals Act of 2015 would: (See one page summary.)

• 
  

  Improve the area eligibility test to allow community-based organizations to participate in these programs if 40% of children served (instead of 50%) are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

• 
  

  Allow local government agencies and private nonprofit organizations to feed children year-round through the Summer Food Service Program (and would remove duplicate processes and administrative burdens for sponsors).

• 
  

  Provide funding for transportation grants to fund innovative approaches and mobile meal trucks. (Aims to increase rural low-income student access to summer meal programs.)

• 
  

  Allow all eligible sites to serve a third meal (to provide nutritious meals to children who rely on these programs all throughout the day).
  
  
  

  
  
  

2. The Stop Child Hunger Act of 2015 would: (See one page summary.)

• Provide low-income families with children an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card to purchase food for children during the summer. This offers another summer food resource for low-income children in addition to (not in place of) Summer Nutrition Programs.
  
  

• The EBT card would work like a debit card for families to purchase food at grocery/retail stores, and is modeled after existing EBT systems used by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
  
  

• The program would offer benefits of $150 per summer to each eligible child. (Amount adjusted annually based on inflation).

If you have any questions about either bill, please contact Kate Sims, FRAC Child Nutrition Policy Analyst, at ksims@frac.org.

Thank you.

------------------------------
Elleka Watts
Government Affairs & Communications Coordinator
ASBO International
ewatts@asbointl.org
Reston, VA
------------------------------