Bonamici, Herrera Beutler Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Access to Meals for Kids

Press Release

Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) introduced bipartisan legislation to make more nutritious meals and snacks available to children in care settings.

The Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act would strengthen and expand the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which currently serves 4.7 million low-income children in child care centers, Head Start and afterschool programs, homeless shelters, and other settings. It would allow an additional meal or snack to be served to children in care for a full day, and make it easier for early learning programs and child care providers to participate in the program. According to data from Feeding America, more than 15 million children in America experienced food insecurity in 2020. This legislation can help cover these gaps so more children and infants have the food that they need to thrive.

"It is unacceptable that millions of children across the U.S. are hungry, which affects their ability to learn and grow," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "Children are more likely to succeed when they have a healthy start to life. Access to affordable child care and nutritious meals are essential to the health and economic vitality of working families. The Child and Adult Care Food Program is a powerful tool to reduce food insecurity and lower the costs of care, and we can make it even more effective by implementing the updates included in the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act. This bipartisan legislation will help more kids access healthy meals by allowing for a third meal or snack to be served during the day and removing burdensome requirements for child care providers to participate."

"As rising inflation continues to increase the price of groceries and goods, it's important that children who already qualify for nutritious food programs can access them," said Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler. "That's why I'm pleased to introduce this bipartisan bill, the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act, which will simplify the paperwork and bureaucracy associated with this program to ensure more kids can access nutritious food in Southwest Washington and across the country."

Since the late 1990s, CACFP has seen a persistent decrease in the number of family day care homes that participate. This decline in participation jeopardizes access to nutritious meals for children who spend time with child care providers. At the same time, the program currently authorizes only two meals each day, even though many working families rely on full-day child care and children are hungry at the end of the day. Additionally, many young children consistently access their healthiest meal through CACFP-participating caregivers.

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