Congress gave final approval on Thursday for to a bill set to expand school lunch programs and provide for healthier, better quality fair for our kids. Michelle Obama lobbied for the bill, touting it as a way to fight both obesity and hunger. The first lady has long been a proponent of teaching children to eat fresh, healthfully balanced diets and this bill, which she calls ” a groundbreaking piece of legislation” according to the New York Times, will put an emphasis on adding fresh fruits and vegetables to school provided meals.
Though the new bill may seem like a clear win for kids, and for the health of the nation, it comes with a serious catch. About half of the $4.5 billion dollar cost of the bill will be paid for by cutting the food stamps program starting a few years from now. Some House Democrats and advocates for the poor fought the bill in September, pointing out that expanding child nutrition programs by cutting money out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program simply takes important resources from one group of needy people and gives them to another.
However, with Republicans taking over the House next year, the Democratic caucus seems to have concluded that this is the best they’re going to get. The President, who intends to sign the bill into law, has told Democrats that he plans to help them find other ways to pay for the bill before the food stamp cuts take effect.
“The president will do everything he can to restore these unconscionable cuts,” Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus assured the Times.
Democrats and a few Republicans praised Mrs. Obama. “She has been an incredible champion for our children, particularly in the areas of nutrition and obesity,” Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts told the New York Times.
School lunch programs feed 31 million children a day, and teaching healthy eating habits early has been proven to affect children’s nutrition and health for the rest of their lives.
