Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Nutrition Opportunities and Considerations

Many children in the US are impacted by the nutrition and feeding programs authorized by Congress and carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During its process of periodically reauthorizing these programs, Congress reviews and updates the laws that govern the programs which include school lunch and breakfast, summer meals, after-school meals, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The reauthorization cycle is taking place now, and input to lawmakers from ASN and its members can help to shape the new provisions. ASN members conduct research targeting our nation’s youth which, in turn, can inform policies related to child nutrition, and provisions incorporated by the reauthorization process can support and guide these activities. This webinar will outline the process of Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and then address opportunities and issues for enhancing the programs from the perspective of nutrition and nutrition policy. Relevant considerations include research activities, data gathering, surveillance and meal standards. This webinar is part of the CASP Nutrition Policy Webinar series, designed to help ASN members better understand the interface between research and nutrition policy.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:​

(1) Increase knowledge of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization process and its relevance to nutrition policy.

(2) Identify pending issues within national child nutrition programs. 

(3) Contemplate possible new provisions for research, monitoring, evaluation, meal standards, and implementation of national child nutrition programs to be included in the new CNR.

Speakers

Nancy Chapman, MPH, RD, N. Chapman Associates

Juliana Cohen, ScM, ScD, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Angela Odoms-Young, PhD, Cornell University

Elizabeth Racine, DrPH, RD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Christine Taylor, PhD, ASN Committee on Advocacy and Science Policy (CASP) Chair