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Senators push for child nutrition money
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Bush should put more money into child nutrition programs like school lunches to make sure that hungry children are fed and to combat child obesity, 19 Democratic senators said Monday. The senators, including Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, raised the issue in a letter to Bush a day ahead of the president's annual State of the Union speech. The speech usually highlights administration goals. "We request that you include in your (fiscal 2004) budget the funding needed to make progress" on assuring full access to public nutrition programs and to counteract an explosion in child obesity, the senators wrote without suggesting a figure. For eligible children, the federal government pays for school lunch, school breakfast, school milk and the Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, feeding program. "We believe that a relatively modest amount of money wisely spent now will significantly save health care dollars in the future." Four dozen anti-hunger groups recently called for an increase of $1 billion a year, or about 10 percent, to ensure year-round meals for all children and to help children learn healthy eating habits. Fifteen percent of U.S. children are overweight, researchers say, an increase of 4 to 5 percentage points over the past decade. Among the points listed for action by the senators were: • Eliminating the reduced-price category of school lunches in favor of free lunches. The senators said poor working families often cannot afford "even the 40 cents it costs to pay for a reduced price meal." • Increasing the availability of healthy foods and decreasing sales of foods that compete with school meals, often snacks and drinks from vending machines. • Promoting use of locally grown foods in school meals. About 27.5 million children are fed each school day through the federally subsidized school lunch program, 59 percent of them for free or at a reduced price. Bush will ask a record $4.77 billion for the popular WIC program that provides extra food to poor mothers and their children up to age 5, the administration said earlier this month. Nearly half of the children born in the United States each year benefit from WIC. About 8 million people would receive WIC benefits each month under the administration proposal. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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