Heitkamp: Good Childhood Nutrition Critical to Next Generation of Leaders

Press Release

During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp highlighted the need to improve children's nutrition in North Dakota and across the country by making sure schools have the resources they need to serve healthy meals for students.

Heitkamp spoke about the importance of making sure kids across North Dakota have access to nutritious meals, particularly at school, where many children often spend up to seven hours per day and consume up to 50 percent of their daily calories. During the hearing, she reinforced that 74 percent of school districts in the state need new or improved kitchen equipment to better serve these healthy meals, which is critical to the cognitive and physical health and development of children. To help address this issue, Heitkamp reintroduced her bipartisan School Food Modernization Act in March with Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine. The bill would help schools meet federal standards -- of which 100 percent of North Dakota school districts are currently achieving -- and would improve training and technical assistance for school food personnel, providing them with the skills to prepare and serve fresh, healthy meals.

"Making sure our children have every opportunity to succeed is something all of us believe in, and a good place to start is providing them with the nutritious meals they need to grow up healthy and strong," said Heitkamp. "By passing my bipartisan bill and giving our school lunch personnel the training and resources they need to better serve healthy meals, we can truly make a difference in the lives of our future leaders all across North Dakota. All schools should have the equipment they need to prepare balanced, nutritious meals that not only continue to meet federal standards but also help set our kids on a productive path forward in their education and lives."

More than $28 million is needed in North Dakota alone to help schools across the state better serve nutritious meals to students. More than one in three children and adolescents in 2012 were overweight or obese, which can put them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, developing diabetes, several types of cancers, and osteoarthritis. Improving the nutritional quality of meals, particularly at schools, can help put children on a healthy path forward and reduce the risk of childhood obesity and its associated risks.

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