The protection of life includes taking reasonable measures to maintain the gift of our physical health by proper nutrition and exercise.  In addition to these personal responsibilities, the community has an obligation to protect the common good through policies to support public health." -Bishop David Fellhauer, Diocese of Victoria

The Bishops of Texas are concerned about the health and welfare of all Texans, especially the poor and vulnerable. The Gospel is clear in calling us to feed the hungry, which is why we operate numerous food pantries and other food assistance programs throughout the state. Our assistance programs have recently become overwhelmed with the needs of the hungry We do not have the capacity to do more without the support of public-private partnerships like the summer meals program in SB 89.

We recognize the role of many federal programs in providing for the common good and assuring that our most vulnerable, especially our children, have a healthy start in life.  SB 89 assures that Texas’ most impoverished children have access to summer nutrition programs – children for whom this may be their only complete meal per day.  Meeting the needs of so many families who lack access to basic nutrition is an important investment that also provides a stimulating effect for agriculture and for local businesses and communities.

This bill is a targeted solution to help provide food to Texas' neediest children, and it is entirely funded by the USDA. Currently, school districts in which 60% or more of students are eligible to participate in the national free or reduced price lunch program are required to provide or arrange for the provision of a summer nutrition program.  Doing so protects our most vulnerable children.  SB 89 adjusts this threshold to 50%, thereby expanding this protection.

These programs are profoundly important to low-income children and communities struggling to combat childhood hunger and improve children’s health in Texas. Yet, less than 10% of Texas’ neediest children have access to this program, according to the Food Action Resource Center.

Now is the time to rise to the challenge of protecting Texas children who face the pangs of hunger. Now is the time to recognize that child nutrition is a crisis that is directly within our control. It is a problem that we have the tools to fix, and SB 89 presents the perfect opportunity to fix it.