Chefs for a Strong Child Nutrition Act
Posted by Chef Mary Sue Milliken on Thursday, June 10, 2010
My involvement in the fight to end childhood hunger began over 20 years ago, the way most chefs start–cooking to raise hunger-fighting dollars for Share Our Strength. I’ve always felt extremely fortunate to have a career that continues to delight me, while paying all the bills, and even allows me to give back.
While I support numerous important charities, creating a hunger-free generation with the Share Our Strength community remains my deepest passion. And through my involvement with Share Our Strength, I have grown in ways I could never have imagined back in 1987. By now it’s impossible to say “no” when hungry kids call.
I wouldn’t call myself an activist and wouldn’t have seen myself lobbying lawmakers. Yet here I am, flying across the country (despite my overflowing schedule) to convince politicians that investing heavily in the Child Nutrition Act is imperative and anything less is scandalous.
Why? Because healthy children are the most important investment we can make. When almost 1 in 4 children in the U.S. is struggling with hunger and can’t properly grow or learn—much less thrive—something is terribly wrong.
This is an important moment for hungry kids. First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to over 1,000 chefs on the White House lawn last week, shining a spotlight on the issue of nutritious school meals. This summer, Congress is considering legislation to renew the Child Nutrition Act before it expires Sept. 30. The Senate passed a bill in March, and today a bipartisan group of lawmakers will introduce the house version of reauthorizing legislation.
President Obama has asked for a substantial increase in funding for child nutrition programs because ending childhood hunger by 2015 is his goal. But less than half of what he asked for is in the Senate version—and I’m concerned. Meanwhile, the number of hungry kids has been growing.
I know this problem is solvable. We don’t have to discover a cure to keep kids from going hungry or undernourished. We need the political will.
So, I’ve dragged my overcommitted self (and a cooler of food) to Washington, DC, to meet with lawmakers and to help host a reception tonight on Capitol Hill. More than a dozen other chefs will join me. I want our lawmakers to understand how deeply this affects so many of their constituents.
Thankfully, Share Our Strength has laid the groundwork for me and other chefs to be heard on this issue. If my Yucatan Tostaditas don’t convince them, I hope the sheer number of chefs committed to the issue will.
June 10, 2010 | 2 comment(s) | Tags: chefs, child nutrition act, No Kid Hungry, school lunch
Comments
2 reader comments so far.
Great job, Mary Sue. Your remarks here and at the event itself so articulately expressed why all of us--and particularly those of us in the food business--should have a passion toward this issue. Thanks for all you do. And thanks to Share Our Strength for committed, strategic leadership on ending child hunger. Oh, and though I didn't need convincing, had that been the case, your Yucatan Tostaditas woulda done it by themselves. ;-)
Posted by Ed Nicholson on June 11, 2010
I sometimes wonder, when we lament and fret over the "job" our schools are doing, if maybe grades would improve if our children were just well nourished. Who can think and perform on an empty stomach?
Posted by Nancy Chapman on November 15, 2010
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