Mrs. Gore Announces New Welfare to Work Partnership, Efforts to Improve Access
to School Meals and Health Insurance
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0047.00
                                                               
                            Mary Beth Schultheis (202) 720-4623
                                   marybeth.schultheis@usda.gov


MRS. GORE ANNOUNCES NEW WELFARE TO WORK PARTNERSHIP, EFFORTS TO IMPROVE ACCESS
TO SCHOOL MEALS AND HEALTH INSURANCE

     WASHINGTON, February 14, 2000--Continuing the Administration's
aggressive efforts to encourage transitions from welfare to work, Tipper Gore
announced today a $370,000 USDA grant for school cafeterias and community
kitchens to assist food stamp recipients and low income families in obtaining
skills for employment in school food service or other food service industries.

     Mrs. Gore also announced that applications for free or reduced price
school lunches are now available in 13 different languages, and that efforts
continue to share information from school lunch applications to help low-
income children obtain health insurance.
          
     More than 26 million children participate in the school meals programs. 
When parents apply for free or reduced price school lunches, the application
includes a waiver allowing them to receive information on  Medicaid and state
Children Health Insurance Plan (CHIP).  Information and forms are available in
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Hmong,
Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian, Japanese, Thai and Haitian. 

     "School lunch or school breakfast is often the most nutritious meal a
child has during the day," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who joined
Mrs. Gore in addressing the American School Food Service Association.  "This
effort can reach children who also need medical insurance."

     The welfare-to-work grant resulted from a partnership between the USDA,
the School Food Service Foundation and the D.C. Central Kitchen.  The
initiative, called the Community Kitchen Project, will be funded over a two-
year period.

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