Advocating for Increased Access to Nutritious Food for Children and Families
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield submitted comments on two Federal proposed rules that, if finalized, would expand access to no-cost meals for children enrolled in school and increase equity and access to nutritious foods for people in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) through program modernization.
Improving access to nutritious food supports overall health, reduces chronic diseases and helps people avoid unnecessary healthcare. According to research published in Health Affairs, for children and adolescents, household food insecurity is associated with increased hospitalizations, poor health, iron deficiency, asthma diagnosis, tooth decay, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and behavioral problems. When schools provide students with access to no-cost meals, there is a demonstrated positive impact on grocery spending for households with children and an association with a decline in households classified as food insecure. There is no doubt that access to free meals reduces food insecurity and mitigates its known downstream negative consequences.
Having served our members for over 80 years, CareFirst has firsthand experience navigating new technological innovations to best serve our members. CareFirst applauds the United States Department of Agriculture for proposing changes to allow for online ordering, curbside pickup and delivery in the WIC program. The changes would make nutritious food more accessible and allow WIC program recipients to take advantage of the conveniences of modern technology just like everyone else. For single-parent households, in particular, with various demands on their time, delivery and pickup options would provide welcomed flexibility by avoiding the need to spend so much time at the physical store.
CareFirst believes health begins in our homes, schools, workplaces and neighborhoods. Medical care is estimated to account for only 10-20% of the modifiable contributors to healthy outcomes for a population, with social, economic and environmental factors accounting for the other 80-90%. These factors, commonly referred to as social determinants of health, must be addressed if we wish to improve the overall health of our nation and reduce disparities in health outcomes. CareFirst recognizes the impact unmet social needs, such as food security, have on the health of our communities and supports the Federal government in its efforts to increase access to nutritious food.
Supporting Materials - For More Information About the Proposed Rules, Read Below
The Community Eligibility Provision enables schools to offer two nutritious meals daily to their enrolled students at no charge if the school’s identified student percentage of low-income students is 40% or more. The proposed Community Eligibility Provision rule would lower the identified student percentage requirement from 40% to 25%, which would give states and schools greater flexibility to choose to invest non-federal funds to offer free meals to all enrolled students.
The WIC program provides means to purchase nutritious foods for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. Current regulatory barriers prevent online and other modern forms of shopping in the WIC program. The proposed rule would remove the regulatory barriers and allow WIC recipients to shop online for food using their WIC program benefits.