From the Washington Afterschool Network:
This year, we see an increase in the need for meals for kids at the same time as a decrease in capacity for local nonprofit and government agencies to administer food programs. The federal “Ensuring All Students Year-round (EASY) Access to Meals and Snacks Act of 2009,” (H.R. 4274) would expand access to afterschool meals and snacks for low-income children and reduce paperwork for providers. The EASY Act:
• Makes it easier to get meals and snacks to kids who need them all through the year, not just during the school day.
• Allows local government agencies and private nonprofit organizations to feed children meals and snacks 365 days a year - after school, on weekends and school holidays, and during the summer - through the Summer Food Service Program. It allows agencies and organizations to operate one nutrition program throughout the year.
• Expands the year-round program that currently is being piloted in California to all states.
• Allows meals and snacks to be served after school, on weekends, and during school holidays through the year.
Federal support for meals and snacks for kids is especially critical now as the economic crisis plunges families into poverty and drains state and local resources. Please take action today.
Please send a message today and ask your U.S Congressperson to co-sponsor H.R. 4274.
