Nearly 300,000 children in Washington live in families that struggle to put nutritious food on the table every day. The issues these children face can be complex; the solution to their hunger is not: Feed children three nutritious meals each and every day.
This is the simple foundation of our strategic plan to end childhood hunger in Washington.
One step in the plan is to feed hungry kids during the summer. Currently in Washington State only 11% of children who receive free and reduced cost meals during the school year are accessing free summer meal programs. A small investment of state resources to increase summer meal sites will bring millions in federal dollars to feed kids in local communities.
A week after the state Senate, the state House of Representatives passed its budget on Friday, April 5. Negotiations between budget leaders in the House, the Senate and the Governor’s office have begun.
What are the key ingredients of a good state budget for kids?
Hungry children gained the unprecedented support of a majority of the State Senate this week. As the News Tribune's Politics blog reported on Tuesday, 25 of 49 Senators co-signed a letter asking budget leaders to fully fund State Food Assistance.
As the Senators wrote:
Today, KIDS COUNT in Washington releases a new report, “The State of Washington’s Children 2013: Good Data for a Strong Future.”
“The State of Washington’s Children 2013” describes how Washington’s children fare in education, health care, and basic needs. It also shares the perspectives of leaders in communities of color to help us understand what this data means for families all across the state.
A majority of the Washington State Senate, 25 of 49 state senators, have voiced their support to restore food assistance to thousands of hungry children. Read our press release.
Traduccion de la carta a los legisladores – acción en pro de restaurar asistencia nutricional y cierren las lagunas legales de la norma tributaria.
Vea la pagina de acción: https://secure3.convio.net/voices/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=111008
Mayo, 2013
Estimados Legisladores del Estado de Washington:
U.S. Senator Patty Murray wrote to Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to lay out her priorities for the 2013 Farm Bill. She urged protection of the SNAP program (Food Stamps? and other programs that help fight hunger.
Washington State Legislators are faced with a choice: Kids, or outdated tax breaks.
