Home >> Research >> Public Benefits

More Information

Related Topics

• Your County and the ACA
• Testimony on Texas HHSC LAR
• Choices and Challenges: How Texas County Uninsured Rates Will Drop Under Health Care Reform

Also by Celia Cole

• Cuts to SNAP Will Hurt Texas Families Struggling to Afford Food
• Access to Healthy and Affordable Food is Critical to Good Nutrition
• We Must Maintain Our Investment in SNAP: An Efficient, Effective Way to Prevent Hunger and Reduce Food Insecurity

HB 643 Will Help Kids Eat Right During the Summer

  

Author:
Celia Cole /(512) 320-0222 x110

April 7, 2011

Summer Food Program Data by County >>  
Full Policy Page >>  

House Bill (HB) 643 would ensure more children in low-income neighborhoods have access to nutritious meals during the summer. This legislation by State Representative Eddie Rodriguez would increase the number of school districts subject to a state law requiring districts in low-income communities to operate the program. The Summer Food Program provides over $52 million in federal funds each year to low-income communities in Texas to help serve nutritious meals to children in safe, enriching environments. The Summer Food Program is critical in a state like Texas, where too many children are in poor nutritional health.

Texas has one of the largest School Lunch Programs in the nation, serving meals to over 2.8 million low-income children every day. The Summer Food Program is intended to serve the same population, yet it reaches only a fraction of the low-income children who eat lunch during the school year. The primary barrier is a lack of sponsors.