Full Text of HR0615 102nd General Assembly
HR0615 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Regular access to healthy and affordable meals | 3 | | has been proven to be one of the strongest means of improved | 4 | | school performance, improved health, and sound childhood | 5 | | development; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, According to 2020 census data, Black households | 7 | | reported food insecurity rates that were more than twice as | 8 | | high as white households; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Research shows that childhood hunger and food | 10 | | insecurity have a range of negative impacts on the health, | 11 | | academic performance, and overall well-being of children; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Research suggests that older Black students may | 13 | | be more likely to skip meals during the week than white | 14 | | students; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, School nutrition programs offer the opportunity | 16 | | to provide healthy food and improve dietary quality for | 17 | | students who may otherwise not eat; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, School meals can also have a positive impact on | 19 | | grades, absences, and tardiness among students; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Students from Black families are more likely to | 2 | | receive free or reduced-price lunches during the school year, | 3 | | and research shows students who receive these meals during the | 4 | | school year are more likely to face food insufficiency in the | 5 | | summer; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic spike in | 7 | | the rate of children experiencing hunger and food insecurity, | 8 | | peaking at 18% of families with children reporting their | 9 | | household did not have enough to eat in December 2020 | 10 | | according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and | 11 | | also created challenges to safely accessing child nutrition | 12 | | programs; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Substantial racial and ethnic disparities in food | 14 | | insecurity exist among parents of school-age children, and | 15 | | Black families experienced significant hardship as a result of | 16 | | the pandemic; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Approximately four in 10 families with parents | 18 | | who are Black (40.8%) reported food insecurity in the prior 30 | 19 | | days, almost triple the rate of families with white parents | 20 | | (15.1%); and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an ongoing | 22 | | increase in the scope and scale of children experiencing |
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| 1 | | hunger and food insecurity, with the most recent estimates | 2 | | from Feeding America showing that 13 million may face hunger | 3 | | in 2021 compared with the all-time low of 11 million in 2019, | 4 | | according to USDA; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Non-congregate meal delivery options were | 6 | | especially critical in distributing meals to children in rural | 7 | | and hard to reach communities or where transportation | 8 | | challenges make it
difficult for programs to distribute meals | 9 | | at a localized site; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Child nutrition programs are the front line of | 11 | | defense against childhood hunger and food insecurity, | 12 | | promoting healthy eating and providing healthy, nutritious | 13 | | food for the nation's children through the National School | 14 | | Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Summer | 15 | | EBT for Children (SEBTC), Pandemic-EBT, the Community | 16 | | Eligibility Provision (CEP), and Special Supplemental | 17 | | Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and | 18 | | WHEREAS, The SEBTC Program reaches children who most need | 19 | | additional food support over summer and school breaks and is | 20 | | proven to reduce food insecurity among children; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, P-EBT, a temporary program providing a grocery | 22 | | benefit to children who have lost access to free and reduced |
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| 1 | | priced meals at school due to COVID-19, has been highly | 2 | | effective at reducing food insecurity; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The CEP program promotes equity and reduces | 4 | | stigma for families and has been proven to reduce hunger and | 5 | | improve student outcomes; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, A proven barrier to continued participation in | 7 | | the WIC Program is unavailability of remote appointments, | 8 | | short certification periods, and lack of flexibility in food | 9 | | purchasing, ordering, and delivery; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Millions of children benefit from these programs, | 11 | | including the 21.5 million low-income children who | 12 | | participated in the school lunch program and the 12.4 million | 13 | | who participated in the school breakfast program in the | 14 | | 2018-2019 school year, as well as the 6.3 million mothers and | 15 | | children who received food and nutrition education through WIC | 16 | | and 2.8 million children who ate summer meals in 2019; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 has | 18 | | improved the nutritional standards for school nutrition | 19 | | programs, and as a result, kids have access to increased | 20 | | fruits, vegetables, and whole grains but less sugars, fats, | 21 | | and sodium; Congress has the opportunity to ensure that | 22 | | children continue to have access to nutritious and quality |
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| 1 | | meals to help prevent childhood hunger and obesity; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Congress has an opportunity to improve and | 3 | | strengthen access to nutrition through the 2021 Child | 4 | | Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) bill by making permanent the | 5 | | COVID-19 waiver flexibilities that help to better reach | 6 | | children and by including provisions that would increase | 7 | | access and reach more kids through streamlining, reducing | 8 | | administrative burdens, and providing program flexibility, | 9 | | giving them the access to quality meals that they have during | 10 | | the school year; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, An adequately funded and evidence-based | 12 | | reauthorization bill can reduce childhood hunger and food | 13 | | insecurity in America, help reduce childhood obesity, improve | 14 | | child nutrition and health, and enhance healthy child | 15 | | development and school readiness, allowing children to reach | 16 | | their full potential; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Congress has a unique opportunity in the upcoming | 18 | | reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act to improve and | 19 | | promote equitable access and nutrition for millions of | 20 | | children, particularly low-income children; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 22 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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| 1 | | we urge Congress to protect, strengthen, and improve the child | 2 | | nutrition programs through a Child Nutrition and WIC | 3 | | Reauthorization Act that builds on the Healthy, Hunger Free | 4 | | Kids Act of 2010 to ensure that low-income children continue | 5 | | to have access to nutritious meals throughout the year; and be | 6 | | it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to streamline and simplify | 8 | | provisions governing the summer meals program in order to | 9 | | reduce administrative burdens, bureaucracies, and duplications | 10 | | in program administration and operation during the | 11 | | reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to allow for more | 13 | | flexibility around where children are able to access and eat | 14 | | summer meals, by allowing for non-congregate models in | 15 | | communities where summer meals sites are not available and by | 16 | | lowering the threshold required to operate sites open to all | 17 | | children; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to permanently authorize | 19 | | the operation of the SEBTC program, make program funding | 20 | | mandatory, and expand the reach of the program to kids | 21 | | eligible for free or reduced-price school meals in all states, | 22 | | tribal nations, and localities in order to close the summer | 23 | | meals gap; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to permanently authorize | 2 | | the PEBT system beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing | 3 | | authorities to quickly deliver increased nutritional aid | 4 | | during times of crisis; and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to expand the | 6 | | well-documented benefits of CEP, which allows schools to serve | 7 | | meals at no charge to all students if enough are identified as | 8 | | qualifying for other assistance programs, by lowering the | 9 | | minimum identified student percentage (ISP), by increasing the | 10 | | ISP multiplier, by expanding direct certification with | 11 | | Medicaid data nationwide, and by supporting the improvement of | 12 | | direct certification systems; and be it further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to increase the | 14 | | flexibility of WIC appointments through increased access to | 15 | | remote appointments and extended certification periods as well | 16 | | as to support equitable access to the WIC food package through | 17 | | modernization efforts that increase access to online ordering, | 18 | | online purchasing, and delivery; and be it further | 19 | | RESOLVED, That we support the enactment of a Child | 20 | | Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act that ensures low-income | 21 | | children's improved and equitable access to and participation | 22 | | in the child nutrition programs and includes the policy goals |
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| 1 | | stated above; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 3 | | delivered to the President of the United States, the Vice | 4 | | President of the United States, and other federal and state | 5 | | government officials and agencies as appropriate.
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