Wilmington, DE - Nemours, one of the nation’s largest children’s health systems, applauds the House Education and Labor Committee for passing a child nutrition reauthorization bill that would make key improvements to federal child nutrition programs. Importantly for Nemours, the bill would: authorize the USDA to implement nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools; strengthen school wellness policies; increase nutritional standards in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; and fund training and tools to help child care providers promote nutrition and wellness.
“On behalf of children and families, we thank Representative Mike Castle for his vote in favor of this reauthorization bill, which we believe establishes important policies for improving the health of our nation’s children,” said Debbie Chang, Vice President of Policy and Prevention, Nemours. “Representative Castle has long been a champion of child nutrition and we especially appreciate his strong support for recognizing the importance of health promotion in the early years.”
In order to “solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation,” we must start with our youngest children, including the 12 million who spend time in child care settings nationally. “Just as the school lunch program can promote health and reduce hunger in school-aged children, the subsidy program for meals in child care – the Child and Adult Care Food Program – can promote healthy habits in our youngest kids,” Ms. Chang asserted.
Nemours also thanks Senators Tom Carper, Ted Kaufman and Bill Nelson who joined with 50 colleagues in urging Senate leadership to pass the bipartisan bill that was approved by the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry in March. “We will continue to support the passage of bipartisan child nutrition bills without delay,” said Ms. Chang. “The health of our nation’s children depends on it.”