Senate Committee Approves Child Nutrition Bill

On January 20, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry approved the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act, (ICNIAA). The bipartisan, comprehensive child nutrition bill would provide greater flexibility to states and service providers, delay or modify recent changes to school meal nutrition standards, and increase the accessibility of most programs. The bill would also reauthorize through fiscal year (FY) 2020 those programs that require periodic extensions (most nutrition programs are permanently authorized), and maintain the current rate at which states are reimbursed for providing school meals.