VCC Magazine Fall 2017

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Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2017 5
Over the past four years, we have been
successful in expanding opportunities for
all Virginians to access nutritious food and
serve their communities through national
service. We have also helped ensure that
children in military families have the
support and resources they need through
their frequent school transitions. Below
are a few of the accomplishments we have
achieved in collaboration with public and
private partners. With your advocacy, we
can continue our progress on these issues in
the years ahead.
School Breakfast for Educational Success
With the School NutritionAssociation ofVirginia, we successfully
advocated for General Assembly approval for $2.7 million dollars
in the Governor’s budget, over three years, to help school divisions
increase student access to school breakfast. This pool of funding
has unlocked an additional $22 million
in annual federal reimbursement coming
back to Virginia. 54% of schools receiving
state funding in the first year increased the
number of breakfasts served and improved
in one or more SOL subjects. Virginia
schools served 10 million more school
breakfasts last school year compared
to 2013.
No Kid Hungry
Virginia Campaign
We established a unique public-
private partnership with the No Kid
Hungry Virginia campaign, resulting in
2 million more afterschool meals and
snacks per year and 297% growth in the
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)
over three years. The CEP provides meals
at no cost to every student in high need
communities, reducing stigma, lightening
the administrative burdens for school
divisions, and building robust nutrition
programs to support student education,
health and well-being.
Connecting Virginia’s
Food System
Serving as Chair of the Commonwealth
Council on Bridging the Nutritional
Divide, I worked with 43 stakeholders
across the food system to create the
Virginia Food Access Network (www.
), an interactive online resource
designed to support organizations working
on food issues with more than 30 data
sets, geospatial mapping capabilities,
and dozens of best-practice toolkits. The
Council also achieved passage of a state
income tax credit for farmers who donate
excess crops to Virginia food banks, and
launched an advocacy campaign for an
investment fund to encourage grocery store
expansion in Virginia’s food deserts.
Expanding Opportunity Together
By Dorothy McAuliffe, First Lady of Virginia Promoting National Service
In 2016, the Governor and I established Virginia as the nation’s
first state Employer of National Service, and in just two years,
the number of national service alumni serving in Virginia state
government has tripled. Additionally, we worked with Presidents
Revely (William & Mary) and Alger (JMU) over the course of three
higher education summits to inspire over 50 institutions to sign on
to the “Compact on National Service,” which will integrate service
opportunities on college campuses.
Military Child Identifier
As the Governor’s designee to the Interstate Compact on
Educational Opportunity for Military Children in Virginia, I worked
with stakeholders to ensure that military-connected children have
smooth transitions in and out of Virginia schools. In 2015, we won
approval for legislation to ensure school districts are aware of the
number of uniformed services-connected students enrolled in their
schools. This tracking helps inform policy and program decisions for
this unique student population, and provides critical data for public
and private grant funding to local school districts.V