Today, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke at the National Press Club where he laid out the administration's priorities when it comes to the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and the national school lunch and breakfast programs as a whole. Secretary Vilsack spoke about the need for a strong reauthorization of the act to address the health and nutrition needs of the nation's children, and how these needs relate to other areas of concern, according to a USDA news release.Secretary Vilsack states in the release that '"The health of our nation – of our economy, our national security, and our communities – depends on the health of our children. We will not succeed if any of our children aren't learning as they should because they are hungry, and cannot achieve their potential because they aren't healthy . . . This reauthorization is a critically important opportunity to improve the health of our children and reduce hunger in this country."'
As has been widely reported, First Lady Michelle Obama's top legislative priority is addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity. The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act is a key foundation to dealing with the epidemic. The First Lady's campaign on this issue is called Let's Move.
The administration wants to pass the reauthorization quickly, but they also have priorities for the bill. According to the USDA news release, these priorities include: improving nutrition standards for school meals; increase access to meals; more education about healthy eating; improve access to healthy foods in school; increase physical activities; and enhance food safety--among others.
Also announced today was USDA's support for a "'Race to the Top'" concept whereby states would tackle hunger issues in their communities and would be eligible for competitive grants from the USDA "to implement creative and innovative approaches to eliminating hunger."
To read the USDA news release on the reauthorization click here.
To learn more about the Let's Move campaign click here.
Posted: 02/23/10
