Many families do not qualify on the of assistance are struggling financially. As we continue to raise prices, some will no longer be able to afford to eat with us and the financial losses payfors our program to cut staff so they are impacting the community. Sparks that growth that led to huge declines in a la carte sales with an estimated loss of 700,000 in revenue. Items such as fresh to go south have to be taken off the menu because the small amounts of meat, cheese and salad dressing did not meet the sodium and fat requirements. Our sub sandwich was a very popular item but to me the rules would shrink their sites can remove the cheese and switch to whole grain bread. Now we sell very few. Weve also had opportunities to serve diet soda sugarfree gum and coffee. Weve chosen not to serve these items but it just shows you have these regulations do not always make sense. Despite our best efforts to make meals more appealing we are struggling with student acceptance. We are particularly c
We could reach even more kids in need. My food Bank Provides more hot meals a day or case throughout the year. Children who visit partner sites were not partner sites a model to receive a nutritious meal bubble have a safe alternative to being on the streets. They get tutoring mentoring and sports. Far too many children cant read afterschool programs particularly in the summer. My stay of less than 10 of the lowincome kids in and 18 nationally. Why is that . Our programs are concentrated in Jefferson County and urban county were programming and services are available at many children can get the sites. The current number of 3d model which requires real designated site works great in these instances were children have congregated for tutoring and mentoring. We face two challenges enriching kids in a warm rural community. Lack of sites and transportation. Those communities simply lack facilities were kids can congregate and consuming that which makes the onset eating requirement difficul
Never an issue. It is impressive what you have done. When you look at the automated pointofsale the schools do not have to focus on the. That is something that we need to look at. Still achieve things. Congratulations. We have a lot of bipartisan support over the years for summer meal programs and to continue. I am concerned we create more flexibility in michigan we submitted a request for a waiver for the car. Requirements and it was denied because of current restrictions. I wonder if you might speak more about the need for flexibility. It is where children me or grab and go for other kinds of models. Sure. Thank you for the question. In our case we serve both urban and Rural Counties. The vast majority are served in jefferson county. There are plenty of sites for kids together in the summer. They are there and its easy for us to get them to the kids command of them consume them onsite and allow us to comply with the requirement. We have we have our model is based on a 6000 squarefoot
About the eligibility requirements of the current child nutrition assistance cadre of programs as they exist today . I think the important thing when youre talking about reducing errors and improper payment which is i think we all agree is a very important endeavor is to create a culture where a culture of compliance with the rules. We want the rules to be followed. I dont think the rules themselves are the problem i think its helping people understand them and there are lots of different people involved in the system. Its families when theyre filling out applications, its schools when theyre running programs, its states when theyre administering them. So i think that kind of day in and day out work is whats most important to reduce errors and reduce improper payments in the program. I would second that and also add its important to as a former president once famously stated, its important to not only trust but verify. I would add to that and say its important to trust and verify in a
Early investments in child health and nutrition are crucial. The time period from pregnancy through Early Childhood is one of rapid physical, cognitive emotional and social development and because of this this time period in a childs life can set the stage for a lifetime of good health and success in learning and relationships or it can be a time of toxic stress when physical, mental, and social health and learning are compromised. Micronutrients such as iron and folate have demonstrated effects on Brain Development but are commonly deficient in pregnant women and Young Children in the united states. These deficiency cans lead to delays in attention motor development, poor shortterm memory and lower i. Q. Scores. One of the most Effective Investments congress can make during the prenatal to school age period is to support the special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants and children, or wic and i thank the committee for its strong bipartisan support for wic over the past f