Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR1115
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Full Text of SR1115  98th General Assembly

SR1115 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, More than 15% of Illinoisans struggle to provide
3enough food for their families and more than 22% of
4Illinoisans' children are food insecure, meaning they do not
5have consistent access to adequate food; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 24th in the nation for childhood
7hunger and 21% of children live in poverty; and
 
8    WHEREAS, There are children in every county of the State of
9Illinois who experience food insecurity; and
 
10    WHEREAS, No child deserves to go without food, and children
11who are food insecure suffer from increased risk of chronic
12diseases, increased rates of behavioral problems, decreased
13academic achievement, and long-term social and economic
14impacts; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Federal nutrition programs play a pivotal role in
16helping low-income children access free, healthy meals,
17including the School Breakfast Program, the National School
18Lunch Program, Summer Meals Programs, Child and Adult Care Food
19Program Afterschool Meals Programs, and the Special
20Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
21Children; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, More than 825,000 children participate in free and
2reduced price school lunch; 376,000 children participate in
3free and reduced price school breakfast; and 95,000 children
4participate in the summer meals program; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Students who eat school breakfast achieve 17.5%
6higher scores on standardized math tests and attend 1.5 more
7days of school each year than those who do not; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Thirty-two percent of low-income families find
9themselves without enough food in the summer months and 43% of
10low-income families find it harder to make ends meet in the
11summer months; low-income families spend an additional $300 per
12month in the summer months to provide food for their families;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, 4,189,025 summer meals were provided through the
15Summer Food Service Program; these meals were distributed
16through 1,716 sites, of which only 882 were open to the
17community and did not require enrollment; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Summer Food Service Program sites are an ideal
19model for summer food delivery and provide on-site adult
20supervision and enrichment activities for children; however,
21more Summer Food Service Program sites are needed that are open

 

 

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1to the community; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage schools
4participating in the School Breakfast Program to utilize
5alternative delivery models, such as Breakfast in the
6Classroom, Grab n' Go, and Second Chance Breakfast, to provide
7breakfast after the bell to all students at no cost to
8students; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we encourage Summer Food Service Program
10sites to operate as open sites to the community so that all
11children can access healthy, nutritious meals during the
12summer; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we encourage eligible providers to
14participate in Child and Adult Care Food Program Afterschool
15Meals Programs; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to develop a 2015 Child
17Nutrition Reauthorization that protects and strengthens the
18federal food and nutrition safety net for children; and be it
19further
 
20    RESOLVED, That we are opposed to cuts in funding to federal
21food and nutrition programs for children and families through

 

 

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1the annual federal budget process or any other measures; and be
2it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
4delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional
5delegation, the President of the United States, and the United
6States Secretary of Agriculture.