President proclaims National School Lunch Week amid School Nutrition Association concerns about funding
October 15, 2013 | 10:49 AM
President Barack Obama has proclaimed this National School Lunch Week, noting that the school lunch program began in 1946, and that Congress passed a resolution in 1962 that the second week of October would be national school lunch week.
Obama urged Americans to engage in activities supportive of school lunch. He also noted that for many children school meals are their only regular meals and that the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act has expanded access and improved the nutritional quality of the food to combat childhood obesity.
Meanwhile, the School Nutrition Association expressed concerns that the government shutdown could lead to a lack of government payments to the schools on November 1.
“School meal programs depend on federal reimbursements to operate,” said SNA President Leah Schmidt in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “If the federal government shutdown persists, millions of students who rely on school meals as a primary source of nutrition will suffer.”
The Agriculture Department issued a question-and-answer statement late Friday in response, telling state child nutrition directors that money is available for several months to pay for reimbursement of school meals and other programs. The SNA said the USDA guidance on the funding had alleviated its concerns.
Obama urged Americans to engage in activities supportive of school lunch. He also noted that for many children school meals are their only regular meals and that the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act has expanded access and improved the nutritional quality of the food to combat childhood obesity.
Meanwhile, the School Nutrition Association expressed concerns that the government shutdown could lead to a lack of government payments to the schools on November 1.
“School meal programs depend on federal reimbursements to operate,” said SNA President Leah Schmidt in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “If the federal government shutdown persists, millions of students who rely on school meals as a primary source of nutrition will suffer.”
The Agriculture Department issued a question-and-answer statement late Friday in response, telling state child nutrition directors that money is available for several months to pay for reimbursement of school meals and other programs. The SNA said the USDA guidance on the funding had alleviated its concerns.
