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“RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S15114 on Oct. 12, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, October 9- to 13 has been recognized as National School Lunch Week. It is therefore appropriate to congratulate those who work to elevate child welfare and nutrition concerns on the national policy agenda, as it is increasingly apparent that investments in child nutrition programs today will pay rich dividends in terms of the future health and productivity of our Nation.
The National School Lunch Program was signed into law in 1946, not as an act of charity, but as a matter of national security. Shocking numbers of young men had failed their physicals in World War II as a result of preventable, nutrition-related illnesses. The National School Lunch Act was designed to provide access to necessary nutrition for some of our Nation's most vulnerable children.
Next June, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of this extremely successful program. Over the years I have enjoyed working with the members of the South Dakota School Food Service Association, and we agree on the importance of child nutrition and the value of the school meals program. I look forward to our continued work in this area.
Last year Congress passed legislation that reauthorized and improved several important nutrition programs under the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act. I was pleased to be a cosponsor of this legislation. At my urging, as part of that legislation, Congress directed the Department of Agriculture to bring schools into compliance with specified dietary guidelines by the 1996-97 school year rather than the 1998-99 school year, as originally stipulated by USDA. Among other recommendations, these guidelines establish a 30-percent limit on daily dietary fat, and a 10-percent limit on saturated fat.
In June 1995, USDA updated Federal regulations to require schools meals to meet the dietary guidelines and conform to the legislation. The school meals initiative for healthy children is a significant reform of the program's 49 year history. In support of this policy, USDA also launched Team Nutrition, which provides training and technical assistance, as well as nutrition education to schools as they strive to incorporate the new nutrition standards into their school meals. Team Nutrition's goal is to improve the health and education of children through innovative public and private partnerships.
I'm particularly pleased to recognize a South Dakota school which is leading the way in implementing healthier school meals. Rosholt Elementary School in Rosholt, SD, near my hometown of Aberdeen, is the first Team Nutrition school in South Dakota. Rosholt Elementary will serve as a model as they begin implementation of the healthy school meals policy. Compliance with the dietary guidelines will have a real impact on the health of children who participate in the school meals program, and I commend the Rosholt school and community on its commitment to the health status of its students.
I yield the floor.
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