Government intrusion into what our kids can and cannot eat for the sake of preventing obesity, such as heavily taxing snack foods to prevent their purchase, is not the route we want government to take. Those are decisions best left for parents.
But millions of schoolchildren are fed breakfast and lunch in our schools, and those meals should be the most nutritious possible and encompass a policy of No Child Left Hungry.
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday approved the Healthy, Hungry-Free Act of 2010 which is designed to do just that, providing an additional $4.5 billion to child nutrition programs over the next 10 years.
"With childhood hunger and obesity on the rise we owe it to our child to ensure our nutrition programs address these challenges," says U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The president and first lady have asked the American people to join in this effort not only for our children, but for the future of our country. And this year presents an unprecedented opportunity to improve the health and well being of our children when Congress considers legislation to improve the Child Nutrition Act."
Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids overhauls the major domestic food assistance programs that serve the nutritional needs of 29 million American children each day. In the face of alarming statistics and a national decline in children's health, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, DFL-Minn., has been an ardent supporter of the legislation as member of the Agriculture Committee.
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"A significant number of kids rely on these programs for meals everyday and ensuring that they have access to nutritious food is important not only for their own well-being, but for the well-being of our nation," said Klobuchar. "By promoting healthy lifestyles early, this bill represents a new opportunity to combat childhood obesity and improve children's health across our country."
The bill includes financial incentives for schools that develop new standards, based on yet-to-be developed standards by USDA with the aid of the Institute of Medicine. A recent study found that up to a third of children age 7 to 24 months were found to consume no fruits or vegetables for a whole day and the most commonly eaten vegetable was french fries. Additionally, the bill will simplify the administration of the program to ensure greater access for families and reduced administrative cost.
The measure falls short of the $10 billion the Obama administration sought, but providing more funding would mean cutting other agriculture program funding.
Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids provides a starting point for turning around the poor health of our children today by ensuring that the are fed nutritious meals while in school, and hopefully instill eating habits that follow them home.
BEMIDJI PIONEER
