Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010

Floor Speech

* Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. It's a well known fact that children in this country are not as healthy as they need to be. We have a responsibility to provide our children with the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle and this includes increasing their access to healthy foods. This bill makes historic strides toward providing nutritious lunches in schools and will ensure that we give children the opportunity to get a healthy start early in life.

* Obesity is a serious threat to the health of our nation's children. Nationally, more than 23 million children are obese or overweight. Over 24 percent of children ages 2 to 5 are already overweight or obese. With obesity beginning at such an early age, it is becoming ever more important to intervene early. Obese kids are increasingly likely to become obese adults and are more susceptible to the chronic diseases that are costing our health care system billions of dollars each year. Childhood obesity is also a national defense concern as more and more young adults are ineligible for military service.

* Kids that learn healthy eating habits early in life are likely to carry them into adulthood. Healthy eating also increases concentration during the school day. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will address the issue of childhood by applying nutritional standards to all food sold in schools, strengthen school-wellness policies and improve the overall health of school environments for the first time. It also streamlines the process for enrollment in the free and reduced lunch program, making it easier for low- income families to enroll and participate in this program, ensuring that a healthy meal is provided to the children who need it most.

* Not only does this bill increase access and improve the quality of foods in the school lunch program, it also reauthorizes the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and makes historic reforms to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The CACFP helps provide funding for meals and snacks served to children and adults receiving day care and youths participating in after-school care programs. The Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act includes provisions from my Healthy CHOICES Act that for the first time will increase healthy eating and wellness in child care through the establishment of higher nutrition standards for providers participating in CACFP.

* The bill will also expand after-school dinner programs for at-risk children nationwide by reimbursing states for providing meals. In total, this will provide an additional 21 million meals to at-risk children annually. CACFP program administration will be streamlined, reducing paperwork and increasing efficiency for providers. There are currently 4,435 CACFP sites in Wisconsin that serve over 22 million meals and snacks to children and adults each year. The reforms in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will allow CACFP in Wisconsin to provide healthier meals to a greater number of individuals.

* I urge all of my colleagues to come together to put our kids first by passing this bill today. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act contains the most significant improvements to child nutrition programs in more than 30 years and is fully paid for. We owe it to the health and well-being of our children to come together today and do what is right, pass this bill.

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