WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. child nutrition programs need at least $1 billion a year in new funding as a step toward elimination of childhood hunger by 2015, an anti-hunger coalition said on Friday.
Congress delayed a renewal of the nutrition programs until this year because it could not find the additional money last year. The programs, centered around school lunch programs, were given $24 billion this fiscal year.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the antihunger coalition pointed to President Barack Obama's proposal a year ago for a $1 billion increase for child nutrition. Obama has a goal of ending child hunger by 2015.
"Given the recent (Agriculture Department) report showing that one in every four children live in households struggling against hunger, the child nutrition programs will need at least that amount of funding, if not a significantly higher investment, to respond to the current crisis," they wrote.
Signing the letter were 53 farm, education, health, religious and food groups.
Backers say more money is needed because of the surge in food prices in 2007 and 2008, higher enrollment due to the recession and the cost of putting fresher and healthier foods into school meals.