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January 31, 2012

To: Education Committee

From: Aubrey Mancuso, Policy Coordinator

RE:  Support for LB 1090 to provide one-time grant funding for Summer Food Programs

Voices for Children supports LB 1090 to provide one-time grant funding to facilitate the development of additional summer food programs.  In 2010, almost 13 percent of Nebraska households were food insecure, meaning they experience a regular lack of adequate food in the home.  The school lunch program has been highly successful in ensuring that many of these students eat at least one meal per day during the school year and the school breakfast program has also increased the number of children that is serves.  In contrast, the Summer Food Program serves only a fraction of the number of students who participate in these other programs.

The Summer Food Program is federally funded, but many of the programs that could be sites to distribute these meals lack adequate resources, such as food storage equipment or administrative tools, to initiate the program.  LB 1090 will provide these resources so that federal funds can be accessed to provide these meals.

LB 1090 provides an opportunity to ensure more Nebraska children receive daily meals during the times when they are not in school.  We urge you to advance this bill.  Thank you.

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