Brittany Robinson

717 Alvarado Avenue, Apt 150

Davis, CA 95616

Representative John Garamendi

412 G Street
Davis, CA 95616

Dear Representative Garamendi,

My name is Brittany Robinson, and I am writing today in regards to bill H.R. 5003: Improving
Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016. This bill contains a provision which details a shift in
the current threshold for community eligibility for Free Lunch through the National School
Lunch Program (NSLP) from 40% to 60% of the community needing to meet poverty
requirements in order for entire schools to receive free lunch.

As one of your constituents, I urge you to oppose this provision. I am an individual who is not
only a current member of the nutrition science community - studying clinical nutrition and
researching community nutrition at the University of California, Davis - but who also has in the
past been a recipient of the benefits of these programs. Shifting the community eligibility
threshold from 40% to 60% could bring undue stress to schools, in the form of added time
investment and paperwork for school administrators as well as parents, and also undue stress and
social stigma on the children who would remain recipients of free lunch from their schools.
According to the Food Research & Action Center, of the 30.5 million students who participate in
the NSLP daily, 21.5 million of those receive free or reduced-price lunch1. By providing these
meals, the NSLP helps aid households struggling with food security nearly 20% of American
households and it offers participants the ability to receive meals that are nutritionally sound,
and based on empirical scientific evidence2. By raising the community threshold, this provision
could impact potentially millions of children and their families nutritionally, socially, and
financially.

When I was in school, it was a great shame to be a recipient of free lunches when my peers did
not receive the benefit this marked me a poor person, and made me feel like an outsider. By
keeping the threshold at a more reasonable level, more children are protected from the
humiliations that follow living near or below the poverty threshold, because no one is identified
as a charity case, as I so often felt I was labeled. I believe that raising the community eligibility
threshold will have far-reaching negative effects for the children and families who will no longer

1 Food Research & Action Center: http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/national-school-

lunch-program/

2 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: http://www.eatrightpro.org/resource/advocacy/lifecycle-

nutrition/school-age-students/cnr-2015-talking-points
 717 Alvarado Avenue, Apartment 150

be able to benefit from this resource, and so once again I urge you to take action and oppose this
provision in H.R. 5003.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration,

Brittany Robinson
Major of Clinical Nutrition, B.S.
717 Alvarado Avenue, Apartment 150
Davis, CA 95616

Brittany Robinson 2