Sidra Ansari

164 Orchard Park Dr Apt. 232

Davis, California 95616

October 14, 2016

To the Honorable John Garamendi

412 G Street
Davis, California 95616

Dear Representative Garamendi,

As a constituent studying Clinical Nutrition at UC Davis and interested in public health, I urge
you to oppose certain provisions within H.R. 5003, Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act
of 2016, as it would hinder rather than advance childrens health.

The first provision I ask you to oppose is the increase in threshold for community eligibility from
40% to 60%. This provision would only serve to make free lunches less attainable for those who
need it, thus causing a large number of children to miss lunch. No Kids Hungry reports that one
in five children, or 16 million children, do not have a steady access to food. In addition, their
website says that three in four teachers see children come to school hungry and 81% report that
this happens at least once a week. Furthermore, there will be extensive paperwork for parents,
teachers and school nutrition administrators. Seeing as these people play a part in providing
children with healthy meals, they should be relieved of hardships that may interfere with their
ability to serve the children.

Finally, I strongly believe you should oppose the provision in H.R. 5003 that would eliminate the
word fresh from the fresh fruit and vegetable program. After I interned in a summer cooking
camp, I witnessed first hand how impressionable children are when it comes to food and
nutrition. They would excitedly tell their parents what they learned and then actually used their
newfound knowledge to help prepare meals at home. Even I was taken aback by how attentive
children are to what is going on around them. So even though removing the word fresh seems
like an insignificant change, it would actually deprive children of valuable introductions to a
healthy diet and healthy habits in general. Our children are our future and it is important that we
provide them with all the care we can. Thank you for your time and consideration of my request.

Sincerely,
Sidra Ansari