On the recordMarch 18, 2010
as we prepare to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, it is critical that we address the need to invest in commonsense ways to improve the health and well being of our nation's most precious resource--our children. Childhood obesity threatens the healthy future of one-third of American children. Every year we spend $150 billion to treat obesity-related conditions, and that cost is growing. Obesity rates tripled in the past 30 years, a trend that means, for the first time in our history, American children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents. Right now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, spends more than $10 billion a year on school meal programs, but only a small fraction of that funding goes to fruits and vegetables. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine entitled School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children, found that increasing the amount and variety of vegetables and fruits in schools is one of the best ways to make school meals healthier, and recommends that schools increase their offering of fruits and vegetables to help keep kids healthy. That is why I am introducing the Healthy Food in Schools Act, which would improve school nutrition by providing more fresh fruits and vegetables in school breakfasts and lunches starting in elementary school, when children are developing healthy eating habits.
