**[House Education and Labor Committee Hearing: *The Rising Cost of Food
and Its Impact on Federal Child Nutrition Programs*]{.underline}**

**July 9, 2008**

Good morning, Mr./Madame Chairperson and Members of the Committee.

I am Jim Harnett, the President of Family and Children's Association, a
social service agency serving vulnerable and needy families and children
in Nassau County, New York. Family and Children's is a leading human
service agency on Long Island helping over 20,000 of our neighbors each
year. We work to protect and strengthen Long Island\'s most vulnerable
individuals especially children, seniors and families.\
\
The Agency serves people who often have no where else to turn;
particularly those who struggle with social, emotional and/or economic
challenges and lack adequate support systems. In addition to our
**[Afterschool and Summer Nutrition Programs]{.underline}** we offer 40
programs including the only shelter for runaway teens in Nassau County,
provide the PINS (Person in Need of Supervision) Diversion Service for
the County, family-focused programs to help parents and their children
avoid foster care or court-appointed supervision; high school
equivalency diploma & school enrichment programs to help young people
succeed; outreach and in-home service to senior citizens to protect our
most vulnerable neighbors; and many, many more programs. Our various
counseling and referral services not only strengthen our clients, they
often save families and individuals who are on the brink of disaster. We
operate a countywide program to assist children with mental illness to
remain with their families, two outpatient mental health clinics and two
chemical dependency programs and four transitional and mental health
residential programs.

Our Summer Camp is an extension of our Promise Project. The Promise
Project offers afterschool services to 6^th^, 7^th^ and 8^th^ graders
from a middle school in the Hempstead School District. The Promise
Scholars meet each school day to receive homework assistance, attend
workshops and participate in activities geared towards promoting
positive youth development, academic performance, and community
connections. The project will work with these children until they
complete high school. Upon graduation, each student will be awarded a
\$2,500 scholarship to the college or vocational school of his or her
choice.

The program began October, 2007 and the group's first community service
project was an inter-generational holiday party with the senior
residents of the Greenwich Street Apartments. The Promise Scholars
helped serve food to the seniors who attended the holiday event and
delivered dinners to the homebound who could not join in the
celebration.

Community volunteers and students from local colleges and universities
have shared their skills and talents with the program. The children have
received instruction in culinary arts, step dancing and physical
education. There is a group for young men and a Girls Empowerment group.
Plans for the upcoming year include a science club, additional
instruction in the performing and visual arts and the Positive Action ™
character education program. The Promise Project is staffed with
professional staff and six youth counselors who are students at
Hempstead High School.

The Summer Camp will use the Olympics as a theme, not only for its
obvious athletic activities, but as an opportunity for the children to
learn as much as possible about China's people, culture, language,
history, and current events.

I appreciate this opportunity to offer our recommendations about the
**[Afterschool and Summer Nutrition Programs]{.underline}** for your
consideration.

As Congresswoman McCarthy knows very well, while Nassau County is
perceived, understandably, as a well off suburb, in the Village of
Hempstead, where we operate our nutrition programs, every school meets
the 50% eligibility requirement for the school lunch program and, across
Long Island in the 2006/7 school year, 167,000 children were enrolled.
Need recognizes no political boundary.

My purpose today is to describe the impact that rising food costs will
have on our Summer Food Programs, and on the low-income children and
families who are struggling with rising food costs, but I want to remind
us of the obvious: the federal Child Nutrition Programs address the
basic nutritional needs of disadvantaged children who count on these
programs for their best, most nutritious meals of the day.

I have brought with me some photos of children who participate in our
Summer Feeding Programs in the Village of Hempstead. The first photo is
of a boy already in our day care program and sure to benefit from the
reauthorization. The second is a group of children in the Promise
Project Summer Camp taken last Monday, on the first day of camp. Lastly,
this is a group of our teenagers who are enjoying a well balanced meal.

These children represent the millions of children who today benefit from
the meals that for most of them will be their best meals of the day, and
for too many their **[ONLY]{.underline}** meals of the day! For years
Congress has commendably seen fit to protect these children and assure
they have at least a basic level of nutrition so they can go about their
important business of learning and playing.

Yes, ***playing*,** our programs place a special emphasis on play
because that is what we all know makes children creative, inquisitive,
and imaginative, the very qualities they -- and our country -- need to
compete in the future, if they and we are going to maintain our
leadership position in the world.

No nutrition means no **[energy]{.underline}**! No energy brings me to
**[fuel]{.underline}**.

Those speaking before me today have ably explained the interaction and
economics of food and fuel. What I want to talk about is the impact of
these rising costs have on my program. Many of the foods that are
staples in the Summer Food Program have increased at a disproportionate
rate, which makes it harder to provide meals without losing money. For
example, from April 2007 to 2008, the cost of milk increased by 13.5%.
The impact of this on meal costs is substantial since all Summer Food
meals must include milk. Bread increased by 14.1%, which significantly
increases our costs since many of our meals include sandwiches. And
cheese, a favorite with our kids, increased by 12%. These numbers are
much higher than the 5.9% percent average increase in the cost of food.

This summer, the Summer Food reimbursement rate will not cover the full
cost of the meals, but our County has made the decision to support
Summer Food with our very limited local public dollars. The County will
cover 21% of the cost of operating the Summer Food Program. We choose to
do this, because we are committed to providing nutritious meals to the
children who participate in our summer camps. We expect that 2,650
children will participate each day.

Obviously, the financial loss of operating the Summer Food Program makes
sustainability an issue, but we all realize that the rising food costs,
which are increasing the cost of summer meals, are hitting our
low-income families really hard. Too many families in our community are
struggling with rising food and transportation costs. These economic
conditions make the Summer Food Program even more important for our
community.

Imagine the impact of these rising costs on a family of four with [fewer
than]{.underline} \$1,000 to spend each month for everything they need
[except]{.underline} rent! These families were already struggling and
things are just getting harder for them. What happens if they live in a
community that is unable to subsidize the Summer Food Program or must
significantly reduce the quality of the meals in order to run the
program without losing money?

I worry for the Summer Food sponsors that do not have the capacity to
subsidize the Summer Food Program. I wonder what will happen to the
children who used to eat at these sites before the sponsors were forced
to close their doors. The children still need access to those meals to
get through their long summer vacation.

Our children cannot wait for these matters to right themselves. They
need good nutrition now. This past weekend, as we celebrated some of the
inalienable rights we hold sacred as a nation, I could not help but
think that for me -- thanks to the wisdom of Congress -- one of these
rights is that our country will not let our poorest and most vulnerable
children go hungry. We believe children must, at the very least, have
one (better two: breakfast and lunch) good, decent, nutritious meal a
day! Congress leads the way in this regard, and I hope and suspect I am
preaching to the choir when I implore you to make some much needed
adjustments in the budget for the afterschool and summer nutrition
programs, ensuring that our children can continue to learn and grow to
become the very people who will sit in your seats tomorrow!

Though I realize it is not the purpose of today's hearing**,** and it is
not within the Committee's jurisdiction**,** I would be remiss if I did
not use this opportunity to urge Congress to at least temporarily
increase food stamps at the earliest possible date. The low-income
families that participate in my feeding programs would benefit greatly
from immediate Congressional action designed to reverse the impact of
this recession.  Specifically, boosting the food stamp allotment by 20%
(as the Senate proposed in the last economic stimulus package) would
immediately increase the food purchasing power of the families we
serve.  Food Stamp benefits, which average \$1 per person per meal, have
not kept pace with the sky-rocketing cost of food, which is only going
to get more costly.  A boost in food stamp allotments would immediately
result in more food -- and more nutritious food - on the table of these
families.

Next year, the Committee will be able to make significant improvements
to the Afterschool and Summer Nutrition Programs through the Child
Nutrition Reauthorization. Improving these programs is crucial.
Nonprofit agencies like mine will not be able to bear these costs and
will begin to drop out of these critically needed programs.

Even over a busy holiday weekend, our New York State Association of
Family Service Agencies responded to my inquiry and endorsed the
following proposals for reauthorization to improve these programs. Of
course, we gladly support any improvements that can be made prior to
reauthorization, such as through the appropriations process:

-   The **Afterschool Snack Program** is an important resource, but it
    often does not provide children, especially teenagers, with enough
    food to get through the afternoon. If you have a teenager at home, I
    do not have to remind you how voracious an appetite they have after
    school and how important it is that they eat nutritionally balanced
    snacks - not just junk!

-   Many afterschool programs are operating longer hours to better serve
    working families, which makes providing adequate nutrition even more
    important. Programs need to have the option of providing an evening
    meal if the program stretches into the late afternoon or evening
    hours.

> The **Afterschool Supper Program** allows school-age children through
> age 19 to receive supper at an afterschool program located in a
> low-income area in **[ONLY eight states]{.underline}**. (Fortunately,
> my state is one of them.) In most states only children **[under age
> 13]{.underline}** may receive supper. The states which provide this
> option for older children are required to do significant
> administrative work for that privilege. I ask that you expand the
> Afterschool Supper Program with a minimum amount of paperwork for
> children through age 19 in all states and allow schools to provide
> suppers through the National School Lunch Program.

-   Many afterschool and summer programs serving low-income children
    cannot participate in the federal nutrition programs, because they
    are not located in an area where 50% or more of the children are
    eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. The 50% requirement is
    not consistent with eligibility requirements for other federal
    afterschool and summer programs, most notably, the 21^st^ Century
    Community Learning Center Program -- the largest federal funding
    source for afterschool and summer programs -- which requires 40%. It
    is especially difficult to meet the 50% requirement in rural
    communities, which do not have the same concentration of poverty
    found in metropolitan and suburban areas. I ask that you lower the
    threshold to 40% across the board.

-   Providing nutritious snacks for \$0.68 cents or a healthy lunch for
    \$2.98 is an enormous challenge in our area and elsewhere not close
    to the sources of food. Increasing fuel prices will drive up the
    cost of meals and snacks in the coming months. We would also love to
    serve our children fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and
    low-fat milk, but the current reimbursement rates for the
    afterschool and summer nutrition programs make that next to
    impossible. Please increase these rates, so that we can all provide
    our children more nutritious meals and snacks.

-   As I am sure you know, many schools, local government agencies, and
    nonprofit organizations operate both afterschool and summer
    programs. Schools can provide meals to children year-round through
    the National School Lunch Program, which is terrific. Unfortunately,
    local government agencies and many nonprofits must switch back and
    forth between the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer
    Food Service Program, if they want to feed children year round.
    Again, this greatly increases administrative work, because each
    program has different applications, eligibility rules, and
    requirements. Your last reauthorization created a pilot in
    California which allowed year round local government agencies (not
    including schools) and nonprofits to use the **Summer Food Service
    Program** to feed children 365 days a year. I urge that this pilot
    be extended to all the states.

> Colleagues tell me that the California pilot can and should also be
> improved. Currently, only snacks can be served during the school year.
> I recommend that children be eligible for suppers after school and
> meals on weekends and school holidays so that children will receive
> the nutrition their bodies need 365 days a year.

-   Lastly, I implore you to give additional support to the Summer Food
    Service Program, which reaches fewer than one in five children who
    rely on the National School Lunch Program during the school year.
    The **Summer Food Program** needs to be strengthened with additional
    funding for food, transportation, outreach, start-up and expansion.

The 2009 Reauthorization of these nutrition programs provides the
critical opportunity to improve the **Afterschool and Summer Nutrition
Programs** so our most vulnerable children can learn and play after
school and during the summer.

The nutritional value is obvious but must not be taken for granted.
Across our country, these food programs have the important, added
benefit of drawing children into quality programs like ours, which keep
them engaged, safe and out of trouble, while their parents work. They
boost student achievement and reduce juvenile crime and other at-risk
behaviors.

We need more afterschool and summer programs to participate in these
nutrition programs, so that more eligible children have access to
nutritious food as well as food for their minds. I believe if the
paperwork and administration are streamlined and the reimbursement for
real costs modified, more nonprofits and faith-based organizations will
step up to make these programs available to more children.

Please consider these recommendations and the others you are receiving
and use the 2009 Reauthorization to improve these vital federal child
nutrition programs. These programs need to be strengthened to better
serve our children and teens both after school and during the summer.

Thank you so much for your consideration.