Posted on 10/12/2013 4:01:43 PM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
SNA Urges Congress to End Shutdown to Protect School Meals NATIONAL HARBOR, MD (October 11, 2013) – The School Nutrition Association (SNA), a national non-profit representing 55,000 school nutrition professionals nationwide, sent a letter to congressional leaders today urging them to end the Federal Government shutdown to ensure the availability of school meals for America’s students.
Starting on November 1, school meal programs will request federal reimbursements for meals served during October, but the US Department of Agriculture has not guaranteed the availability of sufficient funds to reimburse states for all meals served in October. In fact, one state agency TEXAS has already notified local school districts that funding is only sufficient to reimburse meals served through October 4, 2013.
“School meal programs depend on federal reimbursements to operate,” said SNA President Leah Schmidt, SNS. “If the Federal Government shutdown persists, millions of students who rely on school meals as a primary source of nutrition will suffer.”
School meal programs operate on extremely tight budgets with limited financial reserves. Programs rely on monthly federal reimbursements to pay wages, local vendors and farmers and reimburse their school districts for their share of utilities, custodial and other expenses.
To read SNA’s letter to congressional leaders click here.
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing 55,000 school nutrition professionals across the country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy school meals and nutrition education available to all students.
October 11, 2013The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
The Capitol, Room H-232
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. Leader:
On behalf of the School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) 55,000 members nationwide, I am writing to urge you to take immediate steps to end the Federal Government shutdown.
Every school day, over 31 million students across our country depend on the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs to provide the nutrition they need to succeed in school. The protracted government shutdown leaves many school administrators uncertain of their ability to sustain these school meal programs after November 1, 2013, when programs begin to file federal reimbursement claims for meals served through the month of October. The US Department of Agriculture has not guaranteed that adequate Fiscal Year 2013 carryover funding is available in the midst of the shutdown to reimburse all states for all meals served in October.
School meal programs operate on extremely tight budgets and are permitted to carry no more than a three-month operating fund balance. However, many school meal programs struggle to maintain a positive fund balance. These programs depend on the timely delivery of their federal reimbursements to cover staff wages; reimburse school districts for utilities and custodial services; and pay local businesses, farmers and distributors who provide food, supplies and equipment.
A failure by the Federal Government to provide states with prompt funding to make complete, on-time reimbursements for school meals could threaten the stability of school meal programs, impacting millions of students, many of whom rely on school meals as their primary source of sustenance. The lapse in funding could result in significant economic ripple effects throughout communities nationwide.
Every Monday morning, school nutrition professionals across the country open their cafeteria doors to find children eagerly in line for school breakfast after a weekend with not enough food to eat at home. On behalf of those children, I strongly urge you to end the government shutdown as soon as possible to ensure the continued quality and service of school meals.
Sincerely,
Leah Schmidt, SNS
SNA President
120 Waterfront St. | Suite 300 | National Harbor, MD 20745 | phone: 301.686.3100 • 800.877.8822 | fax: 301.686.3115 | www.schoolnutrition.org
Anyone not attached to the federal nipple doesn’t have to worry about such things.
Yeah, we don’t want any kids to starve to death just because their incompetent parent can’t make them breakfast or lunch.
Public schools are child abuse.
SNA: eat THIS.
Until then, the kids can bring their lunch, which will probably be tastire and more nutritious than anything the schools serve from Mooshelle the Wookie's menu.
Moochelle meals?
Why? The kids don’t eat them because they don’t like them. So, they end up in the trash dumpster out behind the school building.
So we’re asking them to be responsible parents and feed their own kids, the loved ones they brought into the world? The horrors. The humanity!
Why? The kids don’t eat them because they don’t like them. So, they end up in the trash dumpster out behind the school building.
How so very true. One school district (>10,300 students) that I know of...with the start of the first 6 weeks of this school year, lunches were down >127,000 from a comparable time of last year.
Students are actively rejecting Michelle's nutrition dictates. YET free lunches are UP by enormous numbers, BUT the trash bills for food waste have increased tremendously at this time. A severe wasteful cycle.
What a fraud, waste, abuse this program has become!!!
How about if Momma just packs a PB&J or bologna sandwich with a banana and a cookie like my Mom used to do?
But maybe that is just too much to expect ghetto parasites and Gibsmedats to do for the "free" lunches the taxpayers provide to their legions of little bastards - courtesy of our slimy, vote buying politicians?
Is it just me, or am I the only one who doesn't give a sh!t if they get fed with my tax dollars?
The Third Amendment to the US Constitution places restrictions on the government quartering soldiers in private homes, but welfare, foodstamps, and the countless programs funded by the taxpayer to keep an army of dependents clothed, fed, and just a phone call away is precisely that... the illegal quartering of bambi’s private shock troops. They don’t have to physically be in your living room to suck you dry.
because that is a no-no.
Somebody in that school might have a cousin in another town who knows a kid who has a sister that is allergic to nuts
Corrupt Congress is actually using such programs as an excuse to justify constitutionally indefensible federal taxes, imo, an excuse that actually works really well when taxpayers are not being taught the federal government's constituitonally limited powers. Congress is essentially stealing state revenues which could be used to subsidize such programs.
And then Congress has the audaticy to use the possible loss of such funding as a threat to blackmail the states to continue the unconstitutional expansion of its powers.
Finally, somebody please ping me if Boehner or Reid actually respond to the SNA letter in the context of the information provided above.
The School Nutrition Association (SNA), a national non-profit representing 55,000 school nutrition professionals nationwide...IOW, a labor union.
LOL! Yes, I agree a union.
Tax-free "organization" with a CEO making 300K/yr, that HAPPENS to donate to democrats.
The stench of liberalism permeates that name. Usually they change it to something like "Working families for school nutrition and children's futures"
Homeschool.
The shutdown should be ade permanent. End all Federal money to schools.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.