Help Feed Hungry Kids through USDA's Summer Food Service Program 

By Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services

In the midst of winter/spring, it can be easy to forget those long, hot days of June, July, and August.  Even so, now is the time to start applying and planning to feed hungry children when the school year ends.

More than 21 million children in the country receive free and reduced price meals during the school year, but when summer rolls around, only about 1 in 10 of those kids (3 million) get free meals through federal summer feeding programs.  Clearly, there is a gap that needs filling.

Enter USDA's Summer Food Service Program.  Kids are at higher risk of going hungry during the summer months, and we are working to fill that void.  USDA alone, however, cannot accomplish the important work of feeding our low-income kids.  You and your organizations have an important role to play. 

Faith-based, community and private non-profit organizations are pivotal in the lives of needy children.  And schools, churches, recreation centers, playgrounds, parks, and camps are all eligible and encouraged to serve summer meals in neighborhoods with a high percentage of low-income families.  These locations, by their very nature, offer safe and familiar environments and are places children gather when school is out.

But feeding hungry young people requires commitment.  Sponsors must provide a capable staff, managerial skills and food service capabilities.   Sponsors may provide their own meals, purchase meals through an agreement with an area school, or contract for meals with a food vendor.

If you don't want to be a sponsor but still want to be involved, your organization can be a summer feeding site. There are sponsors in your area who can work with you to feed the children in your community.  And don't forget to register your summer feeding sites for the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-Hungry or 1-877-8-HAMBRE.

The most successful summer programs offer activities for kids. Children are much more likely to come out for a meal when there is an activity to keep them there. It can include anything from sports, tutoring and arts and crafts, to other creative activities with community partners. Developing partnerships with other community organizations is often the key to being able to offer great activities.

To learn more about the Summer Food Service Program or to participate in one of USDA's free webinar sessions on opportunities to provide summer meals, please visit www.summerfood.usda.gov.  These helpful webinars will highlight the program, offer an understanding of how SFSP works, detail sponsor and site roles and responsibilities, and provide outreach tips and other resources to get started.

Together we can continue to tackle childhood hunger and ensure kids receive the nutritious meals they need in summer, and throughout the year.  We look forward to working with you to meet that goal.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the comment below about today's launch of the official website for the National Physician Payment Transparency Program.

Grassley comment:

"The posting of pharmaceutical company payments is still a year away, but getting this public website up and running is a good sign that sunshine in this area can be achieved with online postings.  The goal is to help inform consumers and patients in all medical fields about financial relationships between drug makers and doctors, with uniform disclosure.  The public deserves a much better picture of the drug industry's financial presence in medicine than it has today."

Background information:

The National Physician Payment Transparency Program was created by legislation Grassley co-authored with former Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.  It became law in 2010.

The legislative reform was based upon Grassley's investigative and oversight work that exposed a number of questionable financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and leading medical research doctors.  Examples include :

• At Stanford University, the chairman of psychiatry received a federal grant to study a drug, while partially owning as much as $6 million in stock in a company that was seeking federal approval of that drug.  After exposure, the federal government removed the individual from the grant.
• At Emory University, the chairman of psychiatry failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from a pharmaceutical company while researching that same company's drugs with a federal grant from the National Institutes of Health.  He earned $2.8 million in drug industry fees from 2000 to 2007 and had at one point consulted for 21 drug and device companies simultaneously.  The professor resigned his chairmanship after this became public information.
• At Harvard University, three professors failed to report almost a million dollars each in outside income while heading up several National Institutes of Health grants.  In response to Grassley oversight, Harvard revised its conflict of interest policies and conducted an internal investigation.

Since enactment the Grassley-Kohl Physician Payments Sunshine Act, Grassley has worked to ensure implementation of the law by the Department of Health and Human Services, after delays and missed deadlines at the health-care agency and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Here is a link to the new website:

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/National-Physician-Payment-Transparency-Program/index.html

Integrative Health Group in Bettendorf will be having a Grand Opening in May.  Services include Integrative Life and Business Coaching, Chiropractic Care, Acupuncture, Reiki, Ear Candling, Kinesiology, Hypnotherapy, vision boards, and more.

Our Grand Opening is going to be Thursday May 16th from 5-8pm.  We will have wine, cheese, other appetizers, and even prize(s). We are going to offer--bring a friend(s) you can have your name put in drawing more than once for the main prize which will include some integrative health modalities we offer!

We are located on 2884 AAA Court in Bettendorf.  The phone number is 563-332-7043.  Please call for an appointment or for more information.

April 10, 2013 - Bettendorf, IA

The Quad Cities welcomes Midwest Therapy Centers' Pediatric Therapy Services Clinic opening May 1, offering physical, occupational, and speech therapy services to children in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas. Midwest Therapy Centers is owned by Braaten Health.

Midwest Therapy Centers, a division of Braaten Health LLC., is announcing the opening of a new pediatric therapy clinic in the Quad Cities. Services will include occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy for children up to 18 years of age. This new clinic will be open and ready to see patients starting Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at the Midwest Therapy Centers Bettendorf Outpatient Clinic, 3740 Utica Ridge Road, Suite 4, Bettendorf, Iowa 52722. Calls to schedule appointments are being taken at 563-326-1400.

Aaron Braaten, Founder and CEO, says, "Helping children achieve their physical, functional, and communicative potential fills a void that our team of professionals, including Laura Adamson, SLP, Mary Gordon, OT, Sarah Manthey, OT, Teal Olson, SLP, and Curtis Witt, PT are anxious to meet. Our licensed professionals believe in a holistic approach to pediatric therapy using inter-disciplinary approaches and family involvement."

The new pediatric clinic is designed to create a welcoming, safe and healing environment for young patients and their families. The center includes a spacious therapy gym with state-of-the-art equipment and toys facilitating movement in space, teaching developmentally appropriate daily living skills, developing fine motor skills, and improving balance, coordination, and motor planning. Individual therapy rooms for personalized attention in a quiet environment are also available. Our skilled professionals will utilize the most up-to-date versions of assessment tools during the evaluation process.

About Braaten Health

Braaten Health is an independently owned and operated organization created in 2001 to provide Compassionate and Complete Patient Care. Based on Measurable Best-in-Class services that result in an improved quality of life, Braaten Health and all subsidiary companies including Midwest Therapy Centers, Quad City & Clinton Occupational Health and The Moline REM Center believe that it is Your Health, Your Life and Your Choice. For more information about their services please visit www.braatenhealth.com and www.midwest-therapy.com.

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