[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 62 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Casey):
  S. 3292. A bill to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
to establish a weekend and holiday feeding program to provide 
nutritious food to at-risk school children on weekends and during 
extended school holidays during the school year; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to introduce 
legislation titled The Weekends Without Hunger Act. This legislation 
will ensure that children who rely on free and reduced-price school 
meals have access to nutritious meals on the weekends and during other 
periods in which they are away from school.
  Nearly 20 million school-age children, including more than one 
million in Pennsylvania, eat a free or reduced-price meal at school. 
Existing programs designed to ensure access to affordable meals for 
these disadvantaged children at home are inadequate. A Department of 
Agriculture survey released in November 2009 reported that 49 million 
Americans were unable to consistently get enough to eat during 2008; 17 
million of them were children. A recently conducted survey by Drexel 
University shows that the number of children under the age of 6 
experiencing very low food security has tripled since 2006.
  The legislation I am introducing today addresses the food insecurity 
experienced by our Nation's school children by providing them a weekend 
feeding option. My legislation establishes a 5-year pilot program 
during which time eligible institutions, such as schools and food 
banks, may provide a free backpack of child-friendly, non-perishable 
food for the weekend. It is my intention to seek inclusion of The 
Weekends Without Hunger Act in the upcoming reauthorization of the 
Child Nutrition Act.
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