The Fitness Integrated with Teaching Act (FIT), a federal bill attached to No Child Left Behind legislation, could quickly ensure that both children’s mind and bodies are developing at school. The FIT Act encourages 225 minutes a week of physical activity for high school and middle school classes and 150 minutes a week for elementary school students. The bill would seek accountability through reporting requirements and would encourage professional development as well as research and support for teachers and students in order to battle childhood obesity.

The FIT Act is endorsed by fourteen national associations already, including the American Hearth Association and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation.

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With a 7% increase in food assistance requests and a 4% increase in food assistance donations, local food pantries and food banks are failing to meet the needs of hungry Ohioans this season. The greater need this year is related to rising food, energy and housing costs which leave make it difficult for working families’ to stretch their paychecks to accommodate their lifestyles. Further, an influx in unemployment in the state is placing additional drain on area assistance agencies.

The Foodbank, part of America’s Second Harvest, distributes food through 95 agencies to 48,000 individuals.

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Higher rent, food and energy bills are making it increasingly more difficult for Americans to live paycheck to paycheck without making any compromises to their needs.  Having to choose to pay bills, eat, or pay for insurance used to be a problem primarily for the poor, but now is affecting even the middle class.  Economists are currently debating whether the nation is headed for a recession while financial stress continues to plague American working families.  High heating bills this winter are expected to make budgeting for food and other necessities even more difficult.  Food banks are already unable to meet the heightened demands and are already reporting more customers and emptier shelves.  Rising costs show no sign of abating in the near future. 

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While the national participation average rose significantly in 2005, nearly one in three eligible Americans was still not receiving benefits.  The Food Stamp Participation Rates in 2005  report, released this week by the Food Action and Research Council, highlights USDA Food Stamp Program participation across the country as well as showing the difference in accessibility in varying states and living environments (urban vs. rural, etc.).  The report also ranks the states in participation and progress and highlights the states that have consistently higher participation rates than others. 

The full report is available for download at the FRAC website and can be accessed through the Press Release linked here.

Hunger not just a holiday problem

The recently released USDA annual study shows that the average number of hungry people in the United States in 2006 was 35.5 million and that 11.1 million Americans lived in homes with “very low food security”. These numbers do not illustrate a large growth in hungry individuals, but they do illustrate that little progress has been made and that hunger remains a prevalent problem in our society. Hunger is especially prevalent among the working poor- a problem recognized in Ohio as many food pantries and other assistance agencies often deal with individuals stopping in for resources during their office lunch hours.

The continued cost of hunger has even limited several organizations’ abilities to provide food baskets for the holidays as food costs have risen.

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On Tuesday, President Bush vetoed the $606 billion appropriations bill funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services on the grounds that it was too expensive and laden with “pork” projects. Democrats claim that the President is out of touch with American family values to veto this bill for being too expensive while asking for additional funding for the unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This veto, following Bush’s recent veto of the SCHIP children’s health insurance reauthorization, is bound to set up a budget showdown between Congress and the President.

An earmark for Children’s Hunger Alliance, sponsored by Representative Deborah Pryce, was tagged on the bill. The earmark would have awarded CHA $200,000 for programs to prevent childhood obesity.

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