Thousands of Middle Tennessee children will soon have greater access to healthier meal options. Monday, Dec. 13, President Barack Obama signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The new legislation will enhance the quality of school meals, set new safety guidelines for school food, and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all solid foods sold in schools.
In the White House’s online newsroom, U.S. Senator Bill Frist is quoted as saying:
“As Vice Chair of the Partnership for a Healthier America, I join President Obama and the First Lady in celebrating the signing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This bi-partisan legislation will significantly enhance the quality of food for our children for generations to come and is a dramatic step forward in reducing childhood obesity. As a physician, I know smart nutrition leads to healthy and productive lives. With 36.5% of our children in Tennessee being overweight, this act goes a long way in ensuring that kids in Tennessee and around the country will have the healthy nutrition they deserve.”
Other key law makers, as well as thousands of state and national agencies echoed support for the law and the perceived impact it will have on the health of our nation’s youth.
The legislation is three-fold:
It will improve access for students to school lunches through use of Medicaid and census data; by allowing reimbursements for Child and Adult Food Program providers; and by providing funding for innovative state and local projects aimed at promoting food security for low-income children.
It will increase the focus on nutrition quality and children’s health by increasing the reimbursement rate for school lunches; removing junk food from schools by applying nutritional standards; promoting nutrition and wellness in child care settings; connecting more children to healthy produce from local farms; strengthening school wellness policies; and supporting breast-feeding for low-income women.
Finally, it will improve program management and integrity by supporting schools’ food service budgets; providing professional standards training programs for school food service providers; streamlining administrative tasks; increasing the efficiency and modernizing the WIC program; and improving food safety requirements for school meals.
The legislation is full funded by existing grants and funding. Lawmakers say it will come at no additional cost to taxpayers, and in fact, will save $4.5 billion over the next 10 years by better management of existing funding.
source: examiner
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