Senators urge Obama to improve child nutrition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Forty senators including the No. 2 Democratic leader asked President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to expand federal child nutrition programs to help meet his goal of ending childhood hunger.

Richard Durbin, the assistant majority leader, Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and 38 others requested that the fiscal year 2010 budget contain new funding for child nutrition programs.

"Deteriorating economic conditions and rising food insecurity and child hunger make it imperative that additional steps be taken to increase access to these programs by eligible children," the lawmakers said in a letter. They did not request a specific amount of money.

The Agriculture Department spends about $15 billion a year on half a dozen child nutrition programs, including school breakfast and school lunch, and more than $6 billion on the Women, Infants and Children food program.

The senators said additional funding is needed to enroll more children, provide healthier meals and make the programs easier to administer.

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa told senators on Wednesday that child nutrition program would be one of his top priorities if he is confirmed as U.S. agriculture secretary.

During the presidential campaign, Obama pledged to eliminate childhood hunger by 2015.

(Reporting by Christopher Doering; Editing by Xavier Briand)