>> indeed. >> mr. berger. >> i think isis is a harbinger of radical social change and we need to sort of be prepared to see what happens when people can communicate in these daily routine ways with people of similar interests around the world and you can travel to join somebody in a relatively easy way. i think we are going to see social networks and societies that are going to be sorting themselves out into groups clustered around these centrists and unfortunately we are seeing what i would hope would be the worst example and that is the first but i think there is potential for a lot of interesting evolutions on how we go each other as human beings. >> i fear that as a future reality. mr. shaikh. >> very quickly in the muslim side of things given things that have happened we really need to

pay attention to the marginalization narrative. i mean i think muslims are your best partners in this. i think muslims understand we can do without each other. it's a common enemy. they are not going to think twice. i'm there with my family. i will be killed along with everyone else so we are in this together. >> help us make those connections. mr. gartenstein-ross. >> i agree with what jm berger said that we are in a radical change. the question for us is are we up for this? i think we have grown content with a system in which a lot of things don't work where we tried to address problems and it gets lost somewhere in the bureaucracy and there's due process and everyone is waiting for someone else to do something and what we are getting in outputs is so suboptimal that of the u.s. government or corporation with loose their jobs. the questions are can we move

fast enough? are there too many bureaucratic obstacles and if so what can we do to stop those obstacles and are we transparent enough both internally in terms of getting bite in the government and external eight getting by in publicly and the broader world community. we have talked a number of times about how these u.s. is a bad brand and that's actually true. there's no question about that but also looking at the big picture we shouldn't be content with this. the u.s. is a good country. we shouldn't be content with the u.s. having a bad brand. that's also one of those big issues that we should try to change and we should make sure we have the right people in place to bring the right ideas and right now even having the right people in place is something that is hard for the government to do. that should change. >> again having come from a manufacturing background the process starts with laying out the reality. understanding exactly what it is

that setting achievable goals and having this hearing is laid out a reality here that i wish were true. i wish we didn't have to face it that we can't keep our heads buried in the sands again i want to thank the witnesses for your thoughtful testimonies and thoughtful answers to questions. mr. shaikh again thank you for doing what you are doing and thank you for all doing what you're doing. this hearing record will be held open for 15 days until may 27 at 5:00 p.m.. this hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations]

>> so this was really cultural florida so when they set up their villages along the way along the tamiami trail sometimes only lean to the hairs a tourist attraction. the seminoles camping by the road and so when they came into the tourist attractions they were getting food a weekly allotment of food and they were also getting some times the rental of sewing machines where they would let them use them when they came to a tourist attraction. they also sometimes got fabric because it boo-hoo to tourist attraction people to supply them with fabric. so they were sitting there sewing and make them things for the market. this is a little voice shirt from the 1920s. this was an experimental time of patchwork and you can see that on the bottom this is not a design of today.

this is an experimental design. these designs were big in the 20s and sometimes they weren't used any longer than during that particular decade. >> the thing about devil's triangle is there are all kinds of things that have happened. it was a regular navigation training mission. they would take off from the base and fly back it back east, david gillies towards the bahamas to an area area called hana check controls and they would drop on some mad and continue 70 miles or so and then they were supposed to make a turn north. then they could turn back west towards fort lauderdale. they never came back. later at night after they were sure they were out of view they would send out rescue planes looking for them. one of the rescue planes had 13 men aboard in the next day they started searching hundreds of

planes and ships and didn't find anything. >> she did say the portrait of washington which was one of the things that endeared her to the entire nation. whoever could find out where frances was staying in what she was wearing and what she was doing and what she looked like each evening it was going to help sell papers. >> she takes over radio station and print it. how do you do that? and she did it. >> she exerted enormous influence because she would make sure her husband was protected area current authorization for

child nutrition programs is set to expire at the end of september. the senate agriculture committee recently held a hearing to look at ways to strengthen and improve the programs. witnesses include federal and state officials testifying on the importance of early childhood nutrition and how someone becomes eligible for

certain programs. they also talk about what states and local districts can do to meet nutrition standards. this is two and a half hours. >> good morning. i call this meeting of the senate committee on agriculture to order. welcome to our first hearing on child nutrition. child nutrition reauthorization in this congress that i commend my colleague's senator stabenow for her leadership on this issue and especially the hearing she held last year. the richard b. russell national school lunch act and the child nutrition act of 1966 authorized critical programs of great importance work our nation are farmers, ranchers, our rowers our older bull populations including of course hungry children. the school lunch program was originally created as a major

national security to safeguard the health and well-being of the nation's children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities. coming out of world war ii congress saw the need to establish the school lunch program and no part to ensure military had a sufficient supply of eligible -- to defend our nation from global threats. additionally the current research regarding the need for adequate nutrition during a person's developmental stages provides further support for what congress knew even back then. hungry children do not learn. with threats to our national security and increasing economic competition it is imperative that our nation youth are physically fit for military service and are not now marist at key times in brain

development. furthermore the original twofold intent of the program still holds true today. first the programs provide a safety net for our most vulnerable populations mainly children that are at times without sufficient food. secondly khobar requires a portion of the assistance for the school meal program to be in a farmer farm of agriculture commodities produced here in america for our nation's farmers ranchers and growers. as we begin the reauthorization process is important to remember the purpose of these programs. these programs are not about anyone's legacy. they are about ensuring our nation's security ensuring that our children are well-educated and productive contributors to a competitive economy and about helping the vulnerable among us who cannot help them selves. i plan to conduct this

reauthorization with full cooperation with our distinguished ranking member and in the same way in which i am seeking to conduct all of our business here with the agriculture committee. first with the perspective of our constituents in mind we are here for farmers and ranchers small businesses rural communities and program participants and stakeholders. we are here to write there and just and they're willing to live not to impose the governments will and interest on them. second this reauthorization will include rigorous and thorough oversight of these programs. periodic inspiration and reauthorization of legislation does provide congress with the opportunity to review and evaluate programs and this opportunity should not be taken for granted. it is our responsibility to closely examine each program. not every program needs a major

overhaul but every federal program can benefit from increased efficiency improved integrity and reduction of waste. our committee will conduct its reauthorization and in an open and transparent manner that gives members an opportunity to pass good legislation for their constituents. i would like for this to be a bipartisan bill and am pleased that senator stabenow feels the same way. with the entire committee working together we can develop a well-rounded bill that will improve the operation of these important programs. it is also my intention to complete this reauthorization on time before the programs expire at the end of september. i understand there are some that may prefer that we not succeed in this endeavor. i caution those individuals that these programs are too important not to reauthorize. gambling, fortunetelling or using a crystal ball to predict

it that are rather station in the future is foolish and short-sighted. it is time for folks to come together and be part of crafting legislation not to stand outside the process. we have been in a listening mode in preparation for this reauthorization and that culminates in today's hearing. i have traveled throughout kansas visiting school food directors, talking with parents students school of ministers and others involved in these programs. we have had hearings last year and we have our experts here today. as we seek to put we have learned into legislative form several priorities have become clear. first, reauthorization provides an opportunity to review the programs and improve their efficiency and effectiveness. in the school meal programs there are significant error rates and improper payment levels. these have recently been highlighted in reports of the

department of agriculture's office of inspector general and the government accountability office. we will need to improve the administration of these programs to reduce errors but do so in a way that does not layer additional federal bureaucracy and overreach on those who are seeking to feed hungry schoolchildren. second, it is evident that evolving programs encounter different challenges as they try to adopt it changing times. each new challenge is met with additional modifications, guidance or regulation. these can unintentionally evolved into very complicated systems that are often outdated or needlessly cumbersome. we need to identify areas in which we can simplify, make things easier for those implementing and participating in the programs. third my travels in kansas and i'm sure this opinion is shared

by many in this committee have also indicated that we need some flexibility. many folks are worried about what flexibility means. but to me flexibility means we will still protect the tremendous gains already achieved by many and provides assistance to others so they too may achieve success. these programs can't help anyone if they aren't workable. the department of agriculture and others have worked very hard to help those who are not beating the current standards and have promoted statistics citing high rates of compliance yet we have schools that are currently struggling and i understand at least 46 states applied to the whole-grain wafer and we have additional sodium restrictions that are still on the way. lines in the sand and uncompromising positions will benefit nobody and especially

not the hungry, the hungry children in these programs serve. working together and confident we can find a way to reserve the nutritional quality of school meals without a one-size-fits-all approach that prevents local flexibility. these programs have historically had strong bipartisan support. amazingly in 2004 and 2010 reauthorization passed by unanimous consent but debate leading up to those bills also included significant controversy similar to the issues we face today yet republicans and democrats worked through the process together. they came up with legislation that everybody could support. finally it is vital to this legislation does not contain additional spending without an offset. we have received many bipartisan suggestions for ways to improve these programs that many of

those have considerable price have considerable price stakes. our budgetary constraints are real. our responsibility to our constituents includes not spending money that we don't have. i look forward to working with senator stabenow and each member of the committee throughout this reauthorization process. i'm also pretty pressured about the witnesses here today and a special thanks to ms. simmie jones who has been our shotgun rider that is the proper term and is traveled from olathe kansas to be on our second panel panel. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses regarding their experiences with these programs and i thank them so much further testimony before the committee and taking their valuable time to come here. i now turn to my colleague the chairperson emeritus of the committee senator stabenow for anywhere opening remarks he may have. >> thank you very much mr. chairman and i look forward to working with you on this important issue. we have been talking and looking

for ways that we can move forward together and i look forward to working with you on this as well as the entire committee as we continue the work we began last year to strengthen the child attrition program. and i want to thank the witnesses as well for testifying today. you bring very important perspectives from all sides of the issue. there are a lot of important pieces to this legislation and it's important to hear from you and work together to move forward. as we all know our children's health and well-being really are at a crossroads. obesity rates in children have tripled in the last 30 years. today one in three american children and teens are overweight or obese. we are now seeing how problems we been seen until adulthood high blood pressure, type ii

diabetes and their young people who should be focused on little league. this obesity epidemic requires a serious commitment on our part to continue moving forward with the nutrition policies we put in place five years ago in order to give our children a fair shot to be healthy and successful. last year the committee heard from retired military leaders desperate to help improve the health positions of our soldiers and young recruits and as the chairman said the school lunch program actually started as a result of our military leadership and the department of defense. in his testimony four-star air force general richard holly said that obesity is one of three main reasons why an estimated 70% of all young people who walk through a recruiter store at the age of 17 to 24 one of three

reasons why they don't qualify for military service and indicated that was the largest reason, those concerns are echoed by more than 150 retired generals and admirals who are trying to raise awareness about the impact that poor childhood nutrition has on our national security and its cost to taxpayers. this recruitment crisis also requires us to continue moving forward with the nutrition policies we put in place five years ago. in addition to childhood obesity issues we also have the second challenge of childhood -- as we approach the end of the school year more than 20 million young people it 20 million students who eat at school because they qualify for free and reduced price meals will struggle to eat

any meal let alone a healthy male. this hunger crisis for our children requires us as well to continue moving forward to strengthen our summer meals programs and other supports for children. we also have millions of pregnant moms and children in our communities who are nutritionally at risk which can lead to low birthweight increased childhood disease and impaired brain damage. that is why continuing to protect the program is so important. for all of these reasons and many more that we meet today. it's the reason we take this process of authorizing art child aggression program and i appreciate the chairman does. the good news is for the first time in years ... though we are

beginning to make some progress on this issue. obesity rates have begun to stabilize in some areas. more children are eating healthy breakfasts and lunches than ever before. children are eating 16% more vegetables, 23% more for it according to the school of public health and assess i have said many times it seems to me that our children are worth continuing the requirement for school meals for a half a cup. there is not a whole lot that goes in this actually, half a cup of fruit or vegetables as part of our commitment not the whole commitment that a very important commitment to our children's health. but we know there is much more to do. nutrition at its core is preventative medicine and child nutrition is about leveling the

playing field so that any baby any child and 18 whether they are in detroit or rural kansas or a suburb of atlanta or a farm in iowa has every opportunity to be healthy and successful. that is why it's crucial that this committee work together in a bipartisan way to ensure these nutritional programs continue to operate efficiently and effectively and that we continue to move forward for our children. our children and our families are counting on us to do just that. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank yous senator stabenow for an excellent statement. all members should be it guys we have devoted 1030:00. let's change that. the boat has been postponed until 2:00 this afternoon so we can finish.

>> i guess that's power. >> it's amazing what you can do with the new congress. sorry about that. [laughter] let the record show and objection was heard. >> let me introduce our first panel. stephen m. lord managing director general accounting office harvested and investigative service. mr. lord serves with the gao. he oversees a highly trained staff charged with conducting special audits and investigations on major federal programs prone to fraud waste and abuse. mr. lord has received many awards over his 30-year career including awards for meritorious and distinguished gao service.

mr. lord welcome and i look forward to your testimony and please go ahead and then i will introduce ms. neuberger for her statement. >> thank you chairman robert franqui member stabenow and members of the committee thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the findings and recommendations of our 2014 report on the school meals program. as you mentioned your opening remarks for school lunch programs play an important role providing for nutritional needs of schoolchildren across the nation. at the same time the national school lunch program is on omb's list of high programs due to its large estimated payment rank and this underscores to ensure some controls are in place to ensure that $15 billion of funds are

spent wisely. today i would like to discuss two things for some positive actions usda is making to strengthen oversight of the program as well as additional opportunities the gao has identified to enhance controls. first in terms of usda action the department has worked closely with congress to develop legislation that requires school districts to directly certify students in the program and according to usda officials direct clarification of any student reduces the ministry to burden on the school district and also reduces certification air that helps without adversely affecting access to the program. other positive -- conducts administrative review of school districts every three years as opposed to every five years as it was done formally. we think that's a really important part of the oversight process and an effort to help

assure correct eligibility determination. despite these positive actions we did identify some additional areas where they could enhance verification without compromising legitimate access to the program. fortunately the school district refused questionable applications could be strengthened. at the 25 school districts we examined 11 did conduct the so-called costs cost verifications but unfortunately nine school districts to not conduct any cost verifications. the remaining five districts said they would do it on an additional basis of opted to do so by outside stakeholders. that is why we recommended that you nca study this cost verification process figure out why the school districts were reluctant to do it and consider doing additional items that needed.

we also recommended usda consider using a computer matching to help identify households whose income exceeded eligibility thresholds. under the current standard verification process is difficult to detect all households that misreporting misreport income because of the so-called standard education process focused on a small beneficiary those with annual incomes within $1200 of the eligibility threshold. for example in our work we found that nine of 19 household applications were not eligible for free or reduced benefits yet only two of these households would have been subject to the standard verification process because in a way they could find error prone applications. thus we think verifying a broader window as well as using computer matching techniques we

think that could significantly strengthened the verification process and again without adversely impacting access to the program by those truly in need. finally our report also recommends usda explore expanding the verification process to include those who are deemed categorically eligible for a program by virtue of their participation and other public assistance programs such as snap back, tanf etc.. we found that those applications are generally not subject to verification. just a few examples and our report we found one household that was certified through this process because they stipulated they had a foster child get when we interview the household occupants we found they did not have any foster children. ..

>> previously she was with the office of management and budget. welcome, i look forward to your testimony and your insight. >> thank you for the insight and improving accuracy in this program. as you said i am a senior policy analyst. conducting research and analysis on budget and tax policy as well as poverty and social programs. we have roughly 50 million schoolchildren and 39 edt school lunch on a typical school day. that figure includes more than 21 million low income children whose school mills may be the healthiest and to liable meals

that they get. many do a remarkable job. to provide healthy meals and keep track of the eligibility of each student so they can claim federal reimbursement. their work means that we have fewer hungry children and that our students are better prepared to learn. and we also estimate that the net annual cost of lunch is a did not meet nutrition standards was $444 million and that is not acceptable. the programs must make sure that the federal funds are used for meals that meet federal criteria. fortunately we have some powerful tools to address the issue including a verification process place and a rigorous review process and the usda has instituted new oversight measures and we just have nationally representative study said not only measure this cost

but also identifies a great deal of information which allows for specifics and effective policy solutions. but there are also challenges to improving accuracy and a vast and complex system whose focus is to educate children and not the meal programs. as i mentioned, they operate in nearly 100,000 schools nationwide and there is a wide variation among them. the staffing and resources and technological capacities very and there's also a lot of variation in the way that children get meals in the lunchroom and classroom. small schools have very different operational administrative capacities in large districts that's serve hundreds of thousands of students. and this can range from state-of-the-art software. schools are not currently setup to do the kind of eligibility determinations of other public benefit programs through an many had teams of professional

eligibility workers who spend all day every day sorting out the details of incomes and circumstances. in school there could be a cafeteria worker or secretary to handle these applications for three weeks at the start of the year. so the question is given the tools of the program's disposal and the system we are dealing with, helping congress improve accuracy and meal programs. congress have a clear expectation of the rigorous determination made by other programs, primarily approving children for free mills automatically and that is the director of the process. because of this relying on an income assessment, this takes time and reduces error. in the past decade there has been striking improvement in nearly half of all children approved for free or reduced price meals are now approved without having to complete an application. that is an enormous supplication

and congress played an important role in setting expectations in providing tools and support. written testimony describes many other things that we have taken to the meal program and there's more room. it is important to have management oversight and provide more extensive help to districts that struggle with this and pursue innovations that could open up new ways to improve accuracy for example identifying applications that might have identifying information that is worth trying, usda plans to develop a model application for the first time that another promising innovation. as we improve accuracy, i urge you to consider these questions. first, does the proposal have a proven record of reducing error and some ideas that sound promising like submitting pay stubs of applications have not actually been effective.

and it nearly 16 million children and we certainly don't want to worsen the problem. third is it administratively feasible. including verification system that might prevent heirs and it could add to the process than also is it cost-effective. this can be very effective but might cost too much. but as i noted it is critical that error reduction strategy does not reduce access school mills to children who need them in the best way to improve integrity in school meals is not a punitive policies but to continue sending a clear message to nutrition officials and that it may be supported and federal officials will be implemented. thank you very much. >> thank you very much.

>> we would like to enhance the program and what affect this integrity? >> what it be that we have in our work, it is the review of this and will applications in some districts or not doing any verifications of questionable applications and it's definitely potential there to do that more consistently across school districts. and i should at that school districts are required to conduct these type of reviews and anytime we see that kind of a consistent the that gives us some concern.

>> i would like to know more about the point of the service from the child, cafeteria worker we can see what happens exactly at the point of service and i am not an expert that senator jones is and we have read a lot of points there. so if you could point that out for me please. >> absolutely. it sounds like you have a chance to visit school meals. if the rest of you haven't had the chance, there's nothing like seeing it firsthand. but let me describe the typical scenario, there's a lot of it variations and he may have a cafeteria with a 30 minute lunch time, sometimes there is choice about what they take and when they have done this they go to a

cashier at the end of the line in that cashier needs to check to make sure they are meeting nutrition standards and figure out who the child is to make sure that this is part of the right meal category. that's a process that has to have an equity when you have lots of students waiting in line and it's only when they get through that process and that does create opportunities for errors. there are also innovative models and for older students you can take it with you to reference or class and it also reduces errors related to what is in there because they're taking a prepackaged meal but that is a very fast transaction and we have to have a process with who is keeping track of that. and they can come in the process is decentralized and that means

that there are opportunities for error and we have to react accordingly. >> thank you for that application. the question for you both. electronic data as it matches additional verification, it was the least burdensome and two providers and which of the other methods did you recommend what cost to lease additional burden two. >> it's used at two different steps of the process, versus the approval point and in certain states they are allowed to use medicaid data to automatically enroll kids and the application process has been a source of error and the fewer families have to go through that in the morning can be automatically enrolled in the more you reduce opportunities for error. the program has been moving in that direction over the past

five years or so and many more students are certified as a result even though there are more children in this than there were because of the recession. schools have to process applications and that is much less paperwork for schools and it's a great step forward. the other place where data can be used is at the verification stage and that is where there is one to look at more as was recommended. i would caution against expanding because many don't respond to that request and they lose benefits whether or not they are eligible, but that can be a big way as to how they are pinpointing things. >> i am more than a little worried, but let me just say that i have a concern about holding states accountable and then we just got a report from

the inspector general of the food and nutrition service indicating and i think that the figures are accurate polling from the study which is just out, 1.9 billion, 770 million school breakfasts. but that is a considerable amount of money and i don't know if either one of you have access to that information or if you would like to make a comment on that but it should be of concern to the committee. it is the concern of the committee. see that i agree with you. the proper payment rate overall and 15.25% the good news is it's slightly from last year assuming that this is reliable and at the same time close to a billion dollars of the payments

were certification area. >> i apologize for interrupting and we have a lot of people waiting and basically 1.9 billion, it's my understanding that states are asked to audit every three years and i think by holding this and the federal component of us, which is now playing a stronger role to a different standard that is concerned. why can't you? >> a kind of record that you are talking about is the nationally representative study that is very in depth where they go out

and interview a household and they watch the accuracy and that kind of report is very important and takes a long time to do. it provides information that can be helpful to developing because we really get to the bottom of what is causing this error and a has a designed solution. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. in this area we juggle the desire and the need to make sure that we are those who qualify for lunch and breakfast and are getting it as opposed to those who should not be on the other hand and then we have situations that we don't want to add additional costs to administrative costs and actually providing quality meals and we have a number of issues to juggle and i know in the the

last bill that we did, having community eligibility put into place have made a huge difference and have more dollars going into feeding hungry children. but first it sounds like you are saying that the usda has accepted your recommendations and are moving forward to make changes. >> yes, absolutely, they agreed with all of our recommendations and recently provided an update which is frankly good news. >> that is great that is wonderful. when we talk about program integrity measures which are very important, they can have unintended consequences of removing children who actually should be getting food. can you give us an example of when this happens and what approaches we can take to actually improve this at the same time, protecting access for

children and what is the best way to do that two. >> as we highlighted we think that we can attack this from various angles, we think this can be strengthened in a way that is not going to adversely impact those in need. school districts are reluctant to do this due to the lack of training and expertise. >> are there extra cost to them with the kind of things are you are talking about? >> i believe that would impose some costs, but then that result is that you are freeing up additional funds and so from a cost-benefit standpoint i think that it would be effective and that is the usda's call and they would have to do more additional studies on the. >> talking about the verification steps in the additional administrative costs

and how we balance back obviously we want every penny to go to the children who need it and even the automated tools can be part of some schools were on a tight budget, do you believe that additional investments could come at the expense of improving meals and when you look at this reimbursement, what funding do they get to cover the administrative costs associated with the meal programs versus technology. because i think that we really need to understand this so we can do this right. >> that is a really important question. at the school district level, that's about $3 and that has to cover all the costs associated with running a program. it's all of the administrative processes.

and so it's really important to balance is here because of too much have to go to this summer they are not available. at the federal level there have been grants to improve their technology systems and those seems to have been contributing to this and that kind of error and that is a great investment that is paying off. >> the chairman and i have been talking about very small schools, i went to school in one of those in northern michigan that had become particularly difficult and so they are interested in working with you on recommendations as it relates to small schools as well. >> i have envisioned that we are getting there and there is a tremendous difference in other schools that are doing this and

they are doing a pretty darn good job. and i mean real small town america, they simply cannot keep pace with the paperwork and etc. and the training obviously would certainly help out, they are doing the best they can. so this is not a one-size-fits-all and another that is obvious to everyone here, but i wanted to underscore what was said. we have some real challenges out here. >> let's take one more question. and we know that simple errors on applications, and this goes to how the bureaucracy and how we do this not only for families but in terms of what we are adding in bureaucracy, simple errors on applications are often the cause of in proper

payment and it's not just intentional lack of reporting that someone makes a mistake. it creates that error that is being talked about. in some cases it ends up as those who are not paying for meals because of some simple error. so to help make the system efficient and make sure that all receive meals some of the ways that applications can be improved, i know that direct certification has been very successful and how can we better utilize the data matching to reduce so that we can from the families we're not penalizing a child because somebody didn't check a box. >> that's a great question. the first step to make sure that you are relying on data from other programs as often as oslo so that his view children go through this process.

but then there will always be children who are going through this process and so you need to have it be a simple and understandable form. the process can be like other programs where you're sitting in an off verse with a worker that can provide information and ask questions typically they sort it out on their own without assistance minimum of 82 multiply this to get your monthly income. and so it's very clear that people have trouble understanding the application and one indicator of that is a study that they found that out of the children who didn't get meals that they legitimately were eligible. three quarters of the time that was because the family had understated their income from these are families that wanted to applied, but they didn't get them because they misunderstood what was expected. the usda had just issued a revamped application that is

much simpler than the old version and they are just embarking on an electronic application which is very promising for making it easier for families and schools to get the right information. >> senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i guess the question that i would have would be do we have the districts, do we have those that you acknowledge that are doing a much better job than the average dutch are their districts we can learn from about other districts? >> they are confined to the 25 school districts we have examined in detail.

there are thousands of school districts across the nation and we didn't have the time or resources to visit all of them but we did get important insight is from visiting the few that we did it to examined in great detail. >> adding to that in regard to the certification and the data from other programs, there are states that are doing a fabulous job, west virginia and kansas are examples of that and we have those that can speak to that michigan is another example where they have made continuous improvement and are now directly certified 100% of the kids that they should be, so there are great examples of this date and district level and they are working on sharing the best practices so that others can learn. >> i would like to just acknowledge the importance of simplifying the application processes and i was on the school board for seven years in

the paperwork on these types of things, of course there are teachers that work so hard in the paperwork that they endured and the list goes on and on and again i would just like to throw my 2 cents in the that does not cost any money ultimately saves a lot of money. and there's just something about government and i'm part of government and we just add to that, whether it is the irs or this or that then again, that's a very important and hopefully we can work to remedy that. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator and we have senator gillibrand? thank you, mr. chairman this is a mission that we care deeply about. i'm really hoping that we can

get this implemented in every school in new york. for many parents we know this and i had a pack that was really good. we are talking about this issue of school meals and the one issue that i want this committee to remember because i think it is important is that we shouldn't cut to standard the chairman said the 46 states applied and those are just individual schools in 46 states that 96% of schools are complying. so we are doing quite well on this topic. so i want to make sure that we don't cut the requirements for the half cups of fruits and vegetables. what are we doing? we need to make sure that these kids understand that they should

be eating fruits and vegetables daily that it's an important part of how they grow and learn and the rate of obese adults is again your statement about our military and having access to the men and women that they need is of real concern. so i think it's important for us to look at the dynamics of the fruit and vegetable requirements. and i think that the kids get the biggest hit. who loses the most business and it's actually farmers and i want to talk about the farmers in other states on this committee. so in kansas they produce honey dew melons which i know that they love and it's a great school snack to have kentucky blackberries and at amami, one of the best vegetables are kids to eat, they love it sweet

potatoes, they are very good as well. and apple growers in new york, all of those represented by this committee would be harmed if we reduce the standards for that. and i really believe that the kids sufferer. and they love them they know how good it is to eat fresh fruits and vegetables during their meals. and so i'm hoping that as we debate these issues going forward we can focus specifically on these standards and i know both of you are testifying specifically about how we can change errors and i want to talk specifically about

that. and ms. newberger, you mentioned that heirs often result from is the lunchrooms. .. how -- what can we do to lower the barrier of

participation by eligible districts and schools? what are your top recommendations? >> it is a knew option working very well right now. the 1st year it is available nationwide building on options that have been available for a long time essentially available the high poverty schools so that they don't have to go to the standard application process. in essence the whole school qualifies. they don't take applications but rely exclusively on data from other programs which reduces errors and opportunity for error. in in usaid report they found, as expected, there were fewer errors and those schools. they are realizing what an advantage that can be and because they do not have to spend time on paperwork, the savings they get on the

administrative side can be reinvested. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. >> senator casey. >> thank you very much and i want to thank the ranking member for having a searing. it is good to have a gathering on these issues. i want to say 1st we have two major concerns when we talk about these programs and food insecurity. in pennsylvania we have not only a lot of children participating in both school lunch and breakfast fiscal year 14 over 1 million children in the school lunch program and a little more than 346,000 the school breakfast program. at the same time, almost a half million children in poverty.

this is a great urgency and concerned that we get this right. i i have been a believer that these programs, like a number of others can help us not only in sure more children have a measure of food security and get the nutrition they need, but it can help them learn, of course. if kids learn more now they will earn more later. not just a rhyme but backed up by evidence. the 2nd major concern we have is making sure these programs work for kids and are administered in a way consistent with the expectations of taxpayers and use taxpayer dollars efficiently. i appreciate the fact that your bringing to us not only a a diagnosis of where the problems are but also remedies for improving programs. i will get to you in a moment on a broader

question but i want to ask you a specific question about the wake program women infant and children program your firm released a report with regard to new research linking prenatal and early childhood participation in wic with improved cognitive development as well as academic achievement. so kids is moms are participating in the wic program while pregnant scored higher on assessment of medical development at age two than similar children whose mothers did not. so in light of this link between a program like that the wic program and the cognitive development of the child and the connection

can you walk through the benefits of wic and why we should focus on that as well? >> absolutely. wic provides nutrition assistance for pregnant women. there is a large body of research that shows that wic is successful in bringing participants important improvements in health health, nutrition, what they are eating, healthier food, improvement and breast-feeding rates but her connection to preventive care, higher care higher immunization rates, and new findings on the link to cognitive development. that is a panoply of ways in which participating can help low income families at a critical time. >> i appreciate that. it bears repeating speaking of things we should repeat could you walk through the four questions again? questions that we should consider when we are analyzing these programs. very important to have that guidance.

i want to have it repeated. >> okay. absolutely. does the proposal of a proven track record? will it maintain program access for the most vulnerable? you don't want the unintended consequence of making it harder for kids to qualify. and is it administratively feasible? need to think about what works. and is it cost effective? the error reduction be worth the cost involved in setting up the system and not make it such a cumbersome process >> we may put those on a chart. [laughter] >> and i want to ask you one question. i will submit more to both of you. this question of direct certification do you think

increasing participation in community eligibility and in direct certification would help reduce and proper payment? >> i believe it could have applied if applied properly. elected the direct certification for 23 households. in our discussions with usda officials that would greatly relieved the administrative burden at the school district level and has the potential for streamlining the entire process. i just want to make sure the initial certification at the program level is being done correctly, but i should.out the m problem payment rate is much smaller than the improper payment rate in the school lunch program. >> thank you.

>> anytime. well, maybe not anytime. thank you, senator. thank you so much. >> thank you, mr. chairman. down here a long ways. >> that's right. >> appreciate you and the ranking member holding this hearing today. as we prepare to reauthorize the child nutrition legislation we take the objective bipartisan critical assessment of the programs and make sure that they are working and an efficient, effective, and accountable manner for the people that they are intended to help.

i have serious concerns about the error rates in the national school lunch and breakfast programs which were 2013 and 14 school year were 15.8 percent and 23.1 percent respectively. improper payments total almost 2.7 billion for the 2013 to 2014 school year which is a staggering amount obviously no one in this room wants any child to go hungry. we have programs with error rates that are $2.7 billion just for one year that we simply have to figure out how to put the money to better use. there there is another thing that i think needs the attention of this committee eligibility. so just a couple of

questions, i would would love to hear from the 2nd panel about the rigidity in the program and the people out there on the frontlines. i would love to get a sense for the standards and just the lack of flexibility that exists today and doing a better job of balancing nutritional offerings. i would love to hear from the 2nd panel about that subject. the question i have is what would you change about the eligibility requirements of the current child nutrition assistance program as it exists today? >> i think the important thing when talking about reducing errors and improper payments which is an important endeavor is to create a culture of compliance.

i do not think the rules themselves of the problems. it is something people understand them. there are lots of different people involved, families filling out applications, schools when running programs states when administering. that kind of day in and day out work is what is most important to reduce errors and improper payments in the program. >> i would 2nd that and add it is important to, as a former president once famously stated it is important to trust but verify. i would add and say it is important to trust and verify in a meaningful manner. we found that the verification process could be strengthened. i think that will serve to reduce the improper payment rate and help drive that number down, although i should add on the accounting side of the equation over

$700 million of improper payment estimate is due to simple accounting errors at the school district level an area that could be adjusted as well technology better training. important ways that that number could be driven down to enhance the operations. >> so do you really that more state and/or local and put on establishing eligibility requirements could be helpful in cutting down on some of the incorrect reimbursement rates? >> personally, i think there are two ways to go out at. you must 1st explore the potential of data analytics and computer matching doubts and for the process and make it more efficient. you can do that at the state

agency level but at the school district level i think there needs to be greater awareness about how to fill out applications completely completely, the need to periodically do spotchecks on what people are reporting. i think it needs a multifaceted approach. the state agency level as well as school districts. they are not as well equipped to do rigorous verification. >> one of the things that makes the school meal program easier to understand is they have one set of rules that apply across the country which is an important simplification and source of fairness and it is important to consult with districts and states about what would work to help programs run more smoothly and accurately. but that is not the same considering changing eligibility rules or other program rules.

>> do you think categorical eligibility for school meal ought to be limited? >> that is basically the source of tremendous vacation. families who are already getting benefits a very rigorous eligibility determination. determination. their income level will be at or below the level already set. basically that is a tremendous simplification. >> if that is true, which should be utilized the most? >> right now any place in the country is allows -- allowed to use data from the snap program or cash assistance. homeless or foster care children can be automatically eligible. medicaid is only available for use in seven states. there is untapped potential there. >> all right. my time is expired. i thank the panel and we

look forward to the testimony from the next one. thanks. >> senator. >> thank you. a quick follow-up. you were talking about simplification and making sure we are rigorous in our oversight. you indicate that the program has a smaller error rate, which it does overall errors and that there is a larger error rate in the food program. if we are going more in the direction of tying it to snap to my community eligibility which i saved money in michigan, is that what you are suggesting looking at snap? more rigorous oversight, lower error rate and tying

it to that might accomplish both goals of simplification and tightening things up? >> that is what i was suggesting. that alone suggests even though there are some errors with the program when you rely on that method to enroll people in school meals -- >> it is below 3 percent if i remember right the lowest of anything. >> around 3 percent. the national school lunch program 15.25 percent. >> that is an interesting thing to highlight. >> one last -- in our report we noted if you are deemed categorically eligible for a program you are excluded completely from verification you may want to subject some

of those applications to scrutiny. >> thank you very much. >> senator. [laughter] >> we had a hearing. thank you, chairman, ranking member. i worked to reauthorize the program. i worked hard to strengthen local wellness policies to update the nutrition standards and also to ensure vending machines would not undercut the nutrition. i think we know how important schools are. i am proud of the work that we have done and i think that we know we have seen improvement but there are problems if we do not

continue this work to make sure kids get the most nutritious meals possible. the 2010 reauthorization specified that usda conduct a review of food items provided under the wic program at least every ten years. some some have argued that the process should be expedited in certain circumstances. what can be done. >> there is a review underway right now. that is working as planned. the review has the review has to happen at least every ten years, but it can happen more often. if there were important changes.

the rule in place makes sense. >> very good. it has been estimated that nearly 20 percent of annual medical spending is obesity related. how how does this factor into the decision about how we reauthorize this? >> both programs, school meals and wic have tremendous benefit in terms of helping children achieve development outcomes. they are a critical investment particularly for low income children to help them develop properly, stay healthy, and be ready to learn in school. >> thank you. could you comment?

>> broadly speaking we would be concerned about the consequences for low income families. not specific to these programs. >> one last thing, back to the wic program a critically important role in promoting the health of pregnant and postpartum mothers as well as young children the continued success is contingent on cost control and i understand states given flexibility based upon minimum standards and yet some states the lower cost products off the list of approved foods. how can we incentivize states to consider cost controls when determining approved food items?

>> just to be clear, wic is a federal program. there are areas with state flexibility. states have a built-in incentive. they get a limited amount. the more efficiently they use the money the more people they can serve. a very cost-effective program. costs have increased. a very sound investment. the way the program is structured contributes. >> thank you very much. >> no. thank you. >> very good. >> thank you. i am glad you are here. the last bill that the senator was involved in. now leading the community very important and we have made great strides in need to continue improvement in

the nutrition standards. thank you to both of you. >> thank you, mr. chair. i want to look back at the program. program. i am from north carolina, speaker of the house. and they seem to be both for and against this food nutrition program. they did not like other regulations require them to implement it. has there been any work done on trying to figure out how we can, if we are measuring outcomes which is a question i have for you. the gal is going through the verification process making sure people who are entitled to get it. what about the more

fundamental question of the baseline when this program started, the year-over-year improvement in outcome. are we measuring those in a scientific way and identifying best practices and intervening when they are compliant but not producing positive outcomes? >> ms. newberger is probably more well-versed on that. but that was one of our suggestions to usda recently started collecting a lot of good information on the verification process, but they mix it with other reporting so it is unclear the outcomes of their effort to conduct certifications. reviews of questionable applications. and that one area there is

broad agreement that they need to do a better job looking at outcome measures. that is verification related >> sure. quite a lot of research on the positive benefits of these programs, in particular children who eat breakfast at school have been shown to have fewer academic issues such as absence, tardiness, and better performance at school a clear area where there is a strong tie between participation and the educational outcomes that we would like to see. >> one question i do not know if it is anecdotal but you hear the stories let's just say a vegetable that for whatever reason kids don't like it. they are concerned that they are satisfying the letter of the regulation, but a lot of it goes into the trash do

we have any data to get that beyond anecdotal? make sure that the young person's belly is full and better using the things there putting on their plate? >> we have some programs. >> i just don't know if i will be here. >> there is research on the extent to which children are eating the meals. meals. this is not an area i focus on, not my expertise but it has been shown there is less waste under the knew rules than there was previously. there is certainly always room for improvement. >> that is one of the concerns expressed by a lot of people. i met with members of the school board association and superintendent. that seems to be a concern that they have expressed. i think it is an area that we need to look at. the next program, i hope i

am here so i can brag. we have been aggressive command i think it is beneficial and need to do more of it. brussels sprouts are actually pretty good. i we will allow us to move to the next panel members are my questions. thank you. >> senator i have been known to you brussels sprouts orchard, but always with cheese. [laughter] >> minus with bacon. >> bacon and cheese. i have problems with the cheese. we don't want to go there. senator. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for this important hearing. making sure our children have every option to succeed, and this is a good place to start.

giving them the opportunity to grow up healthy. nutrition standards set in the health and hungry free kids act is an important step to creating a healthier and more prepared next generation but we should make sure the schools have the tools they need to provide healthy meals. 100 percent of our schools are meeting the standard. a couple months ago only one school asked for a waiver. fairly high rate of problems however, the pew study found 74% of north dakota schools still need at least one piece of school kitchen equipment in order to meet the standard. senator collins and i have introduced a bill to help schools purchase knew equipment. just want to put a plug-in.

i think it will give the tools that many of our people who serve our children every day literally and figuratively the equipment and tools they need especially important and rural schools where the districts are strapped, a large population small population but a huge need for upgrading. i have said it many times. my mother was a lunch lady. especially partial to the school lunch program. i no what that meant and what she did every day. i also knew there were kids i went i went to school with where that may have been the only meal they got all they. she took that responsibility seriously. we have been talking a lot about program integrity and

making sure people who should not be participating are not. obviously if the news last year in a big way. it was noted one in four applications were denied. we are wondering as we close the loophole how can we make sure more kids get into this program need these nutritious meals need that backpack going home on the weekend. >> i think you may need to raise awareness and perhaps two additional outreach at the school district level. some pockets to not. part of your outreach campaign, you want to make sure those who are deserving are in the program. >> we have done outreach. i am looking for new solution. >> that is in my humble opinion something that is

going to be better addressed by the next panel. that has got to be part of this discussion. can you suggest any ideas? how we can expand awareness and participation? >> sure. it is an important part of it. we have focused quite a lot on the ways that you can improve accuracy and make sure programs are working as they should. it is important that every step of the way. that balance is an important way of making sure the programs remain available. some of the approaches we touched on earlier very

high poverty schools ways to make it easier. >> thank you. i yield the rest of my time. >> thank you, senator. questions for the next panel. i think unless i am mistaken this concludes the contributions from the 1st panel. thank you for coming. thank you for your testimony. [inaudible conversations]

>> i think in the interest of time we will introduce all of the witnesses. each one deserves there timely moment of fame before the community but we would like to welcome the gentleman who joins us today from louisville, kentucky executive director at dare to care for the bank. earlier in his career he also led a government and community affairs program

for the kfc corporation. everyone understands you that is. he served as legislative assistant for senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> i can't remember. >> all right. >> thank you for being here today. the office of child nutrition from west virginia and their department of education is next. he joins us on behalf of the west virginia department of education. pardon me 2005. twenty-six years of experience with the west virginia department of education for worked for the child and adult care food program. he oversees development of policies and program administration related to all child nutrition programs welcome. i look forward to your

testimony and insight. sandy jones i am especially happy to introduce this jones who serves as the business management coordinator for food service in kansas. she has worked for that entity for over 20 years. she currently serves as the public policy and legislation committee chair in the school nutrition association of kansas. doctor sandra. president of the american academy of pediatrics currently serves as president hails from wilmington, delaware. focus her career on preventing and treating obesity in children pediatrician where she

founded a weight management program serves as the director of the pediatric obesity initiative. she began her medical career at the vanderbilt school of medicine has one of only 12 women are graduating class. thank you for being here. he will start with you sir. >> thank you. i am honored to represent feeding america's network of 200 food banks. derrida care works with more than 300 agencies across 13 counties in kentucky and indiana. spanning nearly 4,000 square miles. i am here to tell you that child hunger israel.

it is particularly stark reality when children are not in school but i am also here to tell you that we can solve child hunger. we can ensure all children have access to enough food. i am here to ask you to help us make good programs better my food bank provides more than 1,000 not meals per day and not only receiving nutritious meal that will have a safe alternative to being on the streets. far too many children cannot reach afterschool programs. in fact, less than

10 percent of the low income kids and 18 percent nationally. why is that? well, our programs are concentrated in jefferson county were summer programming and services are available in many children can get to sites. the current summer feeding model works great in these instances where children have already congregated. however, we face challenges in reaching kids and rural communities. those communities simply lack facilities where kids can congregate and consumer meal. even schools in those counties that try to provide summer feeding report low participation rates because kids cannot travel to the site. there are several policies you can make to help. we believe it will require a two-part strategy. way to streamline federal

programs and make it easier for community providers to expand the number of sites available the children. second, know two communities are the same. we must continue to maintain strong national standards and accountability while providing new program models that can be tailored to make progress. we currently run privately funded programs. we provide children with nutritious foods on the weekends but limited

resources mean we cannot provide a backpack to every child who needs one. we have looked at the mobile feeding programs. the time requirement would limit the number of children we serve and therefore be cost prohibitive. waving the requirement to allow innovative models will address these barriers and significantly expand the number of children. finally there is another model effective at reducing food insecurity and increasing nutrition. in this model they are given an ebt card. we would like to see this program significantly expanded. i would like to close by saying i am convinced child hunger is a solvable problem

that will require collaboration and we are counting on you to make this a top priority and to give food banks like mine the tools we need. i thank you for the opportunity to testify and then happy to take questions. >> thank you for the opportunity to be here today i am state director in west virginia and would like to give you my perspective. how we implement at the state agency level. in april of 2007 are released a report. nine months later the standards were adopted. the the progressive standards were implemented in the cafeteria and outside the cafeteria. we required more fresh fruit

and vegetable and implemented the scam and 1 percent milk provision. sodium standard was 1100 milligrams. we also adopted the whole-grain bread standard back in 2008. children get a unitized meal nutritionally for the student and financially for school district. we removed suffering machines junk food machines vending machines had to make the nutrition standards. require that if an school fundraising managed to occur

on school property it had to meet the nutrition standards as well. we instituted the professional standards. whereby required continuing education hours and the certain level of degree. additionally we did something different as well. we did everything we could. we were turning a blind eye toward was coming in the back door. we have said to have instituted a provision. in 2010 in anticipation of the healthy hunger free kids act we redirected our focus and developed a statewide automated electronic system whereby every public school in west virginia utilizes the same point-of-sale software.

a lot of times they just put their finger on biometric scanning bed. enlarging categorizes. it has dispensed with the problems that other districts were seeing. the direct certification match is that the state agency level. we do the direct certification match as well as the determination for community eligibility. once schools figure a claim for reimbursement is loaded up to the district level and pushed to the state agency level. it goes both ways.

as needy families to move around were able to do is focus on ensuring the eligibility benefits were uninterrupted. eligibility follow them just like their name or student id. it also made it easier to monitor the system and improve efficiency. the three-year monitoring cycle was not a burden. 50 percent of the monitoring is completed and our office before we even enter the field. we have a great relationship to get that data electronically. uploaded on a weekly basis. they also power the the 2nd your community eligibility.

something called the west virginia universal free male pilot project. very alive and thriving. community eligible. i'm proud of that. the key to that was the feed to achieve act. i am about to run out of time. had built upon the programs we had in place and ventured all children would receive two reimbursable meals per day. >> i want to thank you for inviting me. school officials are working

hard to make sure children receive the nutrition required. henry -- hungry children cannot learn and thrive. the 2nd largest school district in kansas and i am responsible for all financial aspects. our department has 275 employees serving 24,000 meals per day i told a half million dollar budget. 27 percent receive free or reduced price meals. we are committed to delivering nutritious meals thanks to our universal free breakfast in the classroom program and five elementary schools where serving 850 more healthy breakfasts each day resulting in fewer attorneys and absentees and better behavior. we also participate in summer feeding. expanding access to critical services has helped provide

nutrition that is vital to students. even before school nutrition professionals have worked hard to improve school menus we have offered unlimited fruits and vegetables served whole grains command meet limits on calories and unhealthy fats. however, we face many challenges. many students are bringing meals home. elementary school participation has dropped more than 9 percent. representative -- revenue has dropped as many students have stopped participating. almost all the students leaving are paid students. the school cafeteria will no longer be a place where all students go to eat but where poor students go to get free meals. it is heartbreaking to see progress decline. leading the program for a

variety of reasons. paid lunch equity mandates for many schools to raise prices. many do not qualify but are struggling financially. as we continue as we continue to raise prices someone no longer be able to afford to eat with us and the financial losses they force our program to cut. where did huge declines with an estimated loss of $700,000 in revenue. items such as fresh to go salads had to be taken off the menu because they don't meet requirements. the sub sandwich was popular but we had to shrink the size remove the cheese and switch to whole-grain bread. now we sell very few. we have also serving diet

soda, sugar-free gum. it shows you how these regulations do not always make sense. despite our best efforts where struggling with student acceptance particularly challenged to find whole-grain rich tortillas, pizza crust and other specialty items. every student must now take a fruit or vegetable with their meal whether they intend to eat it or not. as a result there has been an increase in good food going to waste. forcing students to take fruit and vegetables turns a healthy choice and/or negative experience. encourage and edit -- educate instead of require is the best option. the meal program is self-supporting. after labor and supply cost

insurance utilities, and other expenses are left with just over a dollar for each lunch tray. imagine going to the grocery store with $5 to spend for a family of four. could you do that? my involvement has allowed me to witness the accomplishment and challenges of colleagues. some districts have overcome challenges, particularly those with high free and reduced price eligibility which provides higher reimbursement and access to grants and programs. however, many districts are struggling with reduced revenue declining participation command higher cost. we don't have access to many federal grants. that is why it is vital.

there is a lot of negative press. to me, this is hurtful. we're asking for flexibility to ensure they are successful. we know what is best for the children. they are our children and grandchildren to. i will not take any questions. >> yes. thank you and good morning. i would like to thank the chairman and ranking member. i am pres. i am president of the american academy of pediatrics, a nonprofit professional organization whose mission it is to obtain optimal physical mental, and social health and well-being.

it is an honor to be here speaking about a subject to which i have dedicated my life's work. the foundations of child health are built upon ensuring the basic needs of every child can the sound an appropriate nutrition stable, responsive nurturing relationships and safe and healthy environments. meeting these needs is fundamental to achieving optimal health and well-being into adulthood. early investments are crucial. the timeframe is one of rapid physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. because of this because of this it can set the stage for a lifetime of good health or it can be a time of toxic stress.

micronutrients have demonstrated effects on brain development that are commonly deficient in pregnant women and young children. these can lead to delays in detention motor development, short-term memory, and lower iq scores. scores. one of the most effective investments congress can make is to support the special supplemental nutrition program for women infants, and children in the event the community. wic helps give children a healthy start. they are improved outcomes, increased rates of immunization better access to health care and participation may help

reduce childhood obesity and is played an important role in breast-feeding. we recommend the community seek to find ways to promote breast-feeding, including by an increase in the authorization for the breast-feeding peer counseling program. kayfive is a targeted intervention with impacts that can be long-term in nature including improved health outcomes, educational prospects. as a pediatrician i have seen firsthand the importance of nutrition. when i started my practice i was seeing adolescents. i had a special clinic for children under five with obesity. these children were already showing the effects of increased body mass index.

we saw obesity related liver disease in four -year-olds and prediabetes at age six. today experiencing an unprecedented crisis resulting in the double burden. the connecting factor is poverty. and increasingly the picture of food insecurity and children is that of a child consuming a poor quality diet. good nutrition is not only an essential component of chronic disease treatment but, kinder. wic is just one intervention. families schools, and pediatricians play an important role. when you are in the middle of an epidemic you cannot keep doing what you have always done.

we have an obligation to enjoy the food we provide our children is healthy and nutritious and that we model healthy eating as adults. good nutrition sets the stage for lifelong health. just like we vaccinate, we can also vaccinate against chronic disease of providing pregnant women and children with nutritional assistance. as we celebrate mothers this weekend, i urge the community to put mothers and children's nutritional needs 1st. thank you. i am happy to take questions. >> thank you very much. we will proceed with questions. thank you to each of you for your comments. we appreciate it. thank you for reminding us that this is really about. i wanted to start with you

because when i think of west virginia all kinds of schools, rural, urban and yet you are state is 100 percent compliant with the new meal standards. it looks like you are ahead of the game. i want to congratulate you and the state for that and i am wondering how you are able to get to help her schools in the state to be able to achieve the goals and then when many schools new line on à la carte sales to supplement budgets the change to healthier items does not seem to have impacted. how do you help schools achieve and how is it you are able to do that in a way that the not hurt your

schools? >> thank you for your kind comment. we adopted the standards in 2008 and put together a comprehensive implementation plan. as far as bringing schools on board and will we went through the same thing everyone else is going through. we used quarterly workshops, creating a list of where we could communicate with the push of a button. we issued guidance memos. we met with principles groups, superintendent groups, did presentations to get the word out and let them know why the standards were changing in the science behind it. we created a website for parents to educate parents.

we have had a comprehensive implementation plan and we staff at the state agency level as far as grant writers and registered dietitians. and our automated system we have an electronic technology system point-of-sale system integrated throughout the state they just need to know one system. they have to monitor one system. many concerns we don't experience in west virginia because of the direct certification and community eligibility determination. we notify the schools. our free and reduced application is online so we have had a lot of problems that we experienced with the paper application which has basically become obsolete.

in west virginia when children come and our cafeteria they either get a unitized meal that is fully reimbursed by the federal government. we just feel that is in the child's best interest and work to have. [inaudible] not offering makes the point-of-sale a lot cleaner. that lends itself to increased accountability. the -- we have never had an issue as far as the revenue goes. you get a unitized meal than the full federal reimbursement. and à la carte