Celebrate Hunger Awareness Month by telling local Representatives to Pass the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act

Jesus said, “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake?” — Matthew 7:9-10

The federal Child Nutrition Act [CNA], which authorizes funding and sets the rules for school meals and other child nutrition programs, is supposed to be reauthorized every five years. In fact, it has not been reauthorized since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Disagreements between Senate and

House versions of the bill kept the CNA from being reauthorized in 2016. Although the programs have continued to operate under the 2010 law, we missed an important chance to improve the programs that help ensure that our children are well-fed, healthy, and ready to learn. But now that chance has come around again, and we need to seize it.

The House Education and Labor Committee came out with its CNA reauthorization bill the Healthy

Meals, Healthy Kids Act in late July. The bill makes important improvements so we can help more children, raise the nutritional quality of the meals, protect the dignity of children from low-income households, and do much more to fight childhood hunger. Among many other changes, the bill would:

●  Cut school costs and increase efficiency by allowing more schools in high-need areas to offer free meals to all students at no charge, and allowing children on Medicaid to be automatically approved for free school meals so parents don’t have to submit even more paperwork;

●  Protect children from unfair and harmful “lunch-shaming” when their families struggle to keep up with school meal payments; and

●  Close the “summer hunger gap” for children who depend on school meals by expanding access to summer meals and making it possible for their families to buy food with a Summer EBT (electronic benefits transfer) card.

You can find out more about the bill from the Food Research and Action Center.

Please take a few minutes to send an email to your Senators and Representatives and tell them: hungry children can’t wait — pass the Heathy Meals, Healthy Kids Act now.

Protect yourself and your community: Get your Bivalent booster now

Bivalent COVID vaccines are now being distributed around the nation, and health authorities are encouraging people 12 and older to get a fall booster with the new shots.

Wait, slow down. What’s a “bivalent vaccine”?

Simply put, it’s a vaccine that protects against two forms of disease. We’ve long had bivalent vaccines for things like hepatitis, HPV, and polio. In this case, the protection is offered against the original strain of COVID and its Omicron variant.

Why is that important?

Again, simply put, two is better than one! The new boosters offer broader protection in fewer doses—the hope is one per year, in the same way that people get a flu shot every fall.

Should I get the new shot?

Oh my, yes! (You should get a flu shot too.)

Unless, that is, you haven’t received your primary series of shots. Boosters aren’t a replacement for a two-dose vaccine regimen.

If you’re just getting over a case of COVID, or if you’ve received a booster in the past two months, you also might want to wait a little while. Stretch the immunity you have for a couple of months. But for most people, a periodic booster now is the best way to protect themselves and loved ones from severe illness and hospitalization. That’s particularly important if you’re over 50 or immunocompromised.

Sounds great! Where can I get a bivalent COVID booster?

We’ve heard that availability can be a bit spotty, though that seems to be improving day by day. Call ahead to your local pharmacy to verify that they have bivalent doses available, or try your local public health department, who often receive new vaccines before commercial outlets. Let us know if you have trouble finding a bivalent dose, and we’ll see if we can help.

Some things to know

While the CDC recommends that you not mix-and-match primary doses, anyone over 18 can receive a different product than their primary vaccine. 12 and up can get a Pfizer booster if that’s not the same as their primary. Adults can only get bivalent boosters, and only from Pfizer or Moderna. Novavax is not authorized as a booster at the moment.