Norton Scores in Agriculture Bill Again- for Kids This Time (7/9/09)

Norton Scores in Agriculture Bill Again - for Kids this Time

July 9, 2009

Washington, D.C. -The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that the District of Columbia will join a small list of states that can benefit from the Afterschool Meal Program, thanks to a provision included in the House FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which passed today in the House. The After School Meal Program provides reimbursements for full meals for children age 18 and in afterschool programs located in low-income areas in ten states, which all other states receive funding for afterschool snacks, but not meals, for children over age 13. Norton is seeking the same language in the Senate bill. In a letter to Sen. Herb Kohl in May, Norton wrote, "to prevent hunger and obesity, more funding is essential to serve a more substantial, nutritionally adequate meal in our nation's capital, where nearly one out of eight families struggles with hunger....We write to respectfully request that you submit a request to the Agriculture Appropriations Committee to add Washington, D.C. to the other states in the Afterschool Meal Program."