Progress in Connecting Texas Kids with Meal Programs - Friday, March 12, 2010
Progress, both in the state's ability to provide food stamps to families who qualify for them and in discussions about federal reauthorization of programs that give kids affordable school and summer lunches, is on Texans' minds. As Voices for America's Children notes, the latter provides an opportunity to ensure sufficient funding for kids nationwide to get breakfasts and lunches they might otherwise go withouth.
A recent Washington Post column by Ann Cooper of TheLunchBox.org outlines why school lunches are so important, not only becuase of growing food insecurity among America's children but also because school lunches are an essential part of improving so many children's health and nutrition.
Several new developments in Texas also are occurring to connect more kids who are eligible with the meals they are eligible to receive:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that Texas would receive more than $177,000 in grants to improve enrollment in school meal programs.
The Texas Department of Agriculture continued to recruit sponsors for summer meal programs that connect children with meals outside the school year, as reported in the San Angelo Standard Times.
Meanwhile, new initiatives to address the state's food stamp crisis appear to be working. KERA, North Texas's public radio station, reports on food banks' successes connecting eligible Texans with food stamps through a new initiative.
Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs told the Austin American-Statesman this week that backlog in the state's food stamp program is clearing, with some parts of the state backlog free by the end of this month and the state as a whole on track sometime next month.
