DeLauro Visits Middletown Summer Food Program

New Haven, CT –Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) visited the Middletown Summer Food Program, run by the Community Renewal Team (CRT), today and spoke with participating children and the volunteers who make the program possible.

The Middletown Summer Food Program provides a daily lunch and snack to local children, ages 5-16, who meet the income eligibility requirements, or live in an area that qualifies, and serves approximately 50 meals each day. The program also includes a craft activity, and trips to the local farmers' markets, where children are given $5 vouchers to spend on fresh, healthy foods of their choice. The program estimates that it will serve 50,000 meals to area children this year.

The Community Renewal Team (CRT) is an anti-poverty agency that serves individuals and families throughout the Connecticut River Valley. Started in 1963, the CRT has sought to help people become self-sufficient and to gain the skills they need to thrive through programs such as the Middletown Summer Food Program, Head Start, and Meals on Wheels. They now have major programs in 59 towns throughout the area.

Congresswoman DeLauro visited and spoke with the local children receiving lunch, the site coordinators, and the volunteers who make the Middletown Summer Food Program possible. As the Chairwoman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, Congresswoman DeLauro has oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds school and summer lunch programs throughout the country.

"When it comes to child nutrition, we are confronted with what at first appears to be a two-headed problem. On one hand, we face a problem of simple access—far too many children in this country are not getting enough to eat. But on the other hand, the combination of poor nutrition and unhealthy food options, as families struggle to afford healthier options, has resulted in an epidemic of childhood obesity that is a danger to the health and quality of life of our kids. So when we address the issue of child nutrition, we must ensure that the foods our children eat have the nutritional value they need to thrive—and here at the Middletown Summer Food Program, they are doing just that. From healthy, balanced meals and snacks to trips to the local farmers' markets for fresh produce, this program and others like it are working to ensure that astonishing 69 percent of children in this country who qualify for free or reduced school lunches are getting the critical food assistance and nutrition they need," said Congresswoman DeLauro. "I have long worked to ensure that programs such as these are able to help serve our neediest children, and will continue to do so as Congress works on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which determines school food policy and resources, later this year."