JOHN GARAMENDI 3 DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA satecerne sme UNITED States CONGRESS February 8, 2017 Karina Almanza 421 Russell Park Apt. #2 Davis, CA 95616 Dear Karina, ‘Thank you for contacting me to express your support for robust nutrition standards and, more specifically, H.R. 5215, the Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2016. Hearing from constituents like you is vital to the work I do in Congress and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. Introduced last Congress, H.R. 5212 would have made significant improvements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As you may know, SNAP is the nation’s largest child nutrition program, with one in three children depending upon it to receive a healthy, balanced diet. If signed into law, this bill would have raised the minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $25 per month and required benefits to be calculated using a low-cost food plan, which is the diet required to feed a family of four. While H.R. 5215 did not come to the House floor for a vote last Congress, I will certainly keep your comments in mind should it be reintroduced this Congress. ‘You may also be interested in a bill I authored last Congress and plan on reintroducing soon, the American Food for American Schools Act. If signed into law, this piece of legislation would enforce the existing “Buy American” provisions of the National School Lunch Act. With over one- third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts grown in California, strengthening these Buy American provisions is one of the best ways to ensure our kids are getting the fresh, local produce that is so important for their development, ‘Thank you again for contacting me and please rest assured that I will continue fighting for scientifically-based nutrition standards that help our children do well in school and be productive members of society. Please fee! free to visit htip://earamendi.house.gov/contact-me/newsletter to sign up for periodic updates about the issues that are important to you or follow me on social media at huip://www.facebook.com/repgaramendi and http://www.twitter.com/repgaramendi. Have a great rest of the school year and best of luck in your future endeavors! Sincerely, Wd iARAMENDI Member of Congress