"As a nation," President Bush said on National Children's Day in October 1989, "we have no greater obligation than to help provide every child with the opportunity to grow up healthy, safe, and well-educated."

Throughout his Administration, President Bush has called for wise and carefully developed measures that strengthen the family and protect, educate, and nourish children.

The food assistance programs-- and the people they serve--are an important part of federal, state, and local efforts to help children, particularly low-income children, and give them a better chance for a bright future.

"In describing our programs," Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administrator Betty Jo Nelsen said at special Congressional hearings on children, "we often speak in terms of rules and budgets and spending... Those things are measurable.

"But behind those dry statistics will be the reality of the infants who thrive because of USDA food supplements, of children who are alert in school because of breakfast and lunch programs, of adults who are better parents and more productive citizens because of food stamps. The true measure of our food policies is how they change people's lives...

"The Bush Administration is committed to working with all levels and branches of government, advocacy groups, the private sector, community organizations, and individuals in a partnership to improve services to at-risk children."

Programs rest on solid foundation

The Food and Nutrition Service, the USDA agency Nelsen heads, was set up in 1969 specifically to administer domestic food assistance programs.

The programs rest on a solid foundation. This year's funding for FNS programs totals more than $32.6 billion, representing more than half of USDA's total budget.

President Bush's budget proposal for 1993, announced the same week as his State of the Union address in January, calls for $39 billion for FNS programs.

From their start, the food programs have relied on a partnership with state and local agencies. While authorized by national legislation, they are operated by people in state and local governments together with schools, day care centers, health agencies, charitable organizations, and other sponsors.

The programs couldn't exist without the cooperation of the private sector--food stores, for example, to accept food stamps and WIC coupons--and without the support of the American people.