Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over the years, I have visited dozens of schools in Illinois, and I have learned more about the childhood obesity problem in this country by stepping into the lunch room than I have just about anywhere else. Particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods, school staff tell me that while students might pick up a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables, the first food choice for the majority of students is a large soda and a bag of flaming hot cheetos. But for the young people we are asking to perform at ever increasing academic levels, we should be able to provide better options for their meals. Last year, Congress took a big step including provisions to improve school lunches in the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. The U.S. Department of Agriculture deserves credit for taking the first significant steps in 15 years to make school lunches healthier. These proposed changes would provide children with a balanced diet that includes more green leafy vegetables, limiting starchy vegetables--like french fries--to two servings a week, limiting sodium, and boosting whole grains. USDA also proposed that tomato paste could only be counted as a vegetable if a half cup of tomato paste is used. Today, only two tablespoons of tomato paste is considered a serving of a vegetable which means schools can serve pizza to fulfill a vegetable requirement and receive Federal subsidies for doing so.…”