Res. No. 298

Resolution supporting the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006, a Congressional bill which would amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to improve the nutrition and health of schoolchildren by updating the definition of “food of minimal nutritional value” to conform to current nutrition science and protect the federal investment in the national school lunch and breakfast programs.

By Council Members Recchia Jr., Fidler, Brewer, Dickens, Gennaro, Gonzalez, James, Mark-Viverito, Nelson and Liu

Whereas, Our nation faces a public health crisis, with poor diet and physical inactivity contributing to growing rates of chronic disease in the U.S., not only in adults, but also in children as well; and

                     Whereas, According to the Congressional Record, research suggests that one-third of American children born today will develop type II diabetes at some point, with rates as high as 50 percent for some minority children; and

                     Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past three decades, the percentage of children who are overweight has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled; and

                     Whereas, The Congressional Record, also indicates that only 2 percent of children eat a healthy diet that is consistent with federal nutrition recommendations, and 3 out of 4 high school students do not eat the minimum recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables each day; and

                     Whereas, Some scientists fear that--because of obesity and preventable chronic diseases--the current generation of children could be the first in American history to live shorter lives than their parents; and

                     Whereas, One place where we can begin to address this public health crisis is in our schools; and

                     Whereas, A recent study from the Government Accountability Office found that 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle schools, and 83 percent of elementary schools nationwide sell foods having little or no positive nutritional value from vending machines, school stores, or a-la-carte lines in the cafeteria; and

Whereas, Since 1979, Congress has authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to establish nutritional standards for federally-reimbursed school meals and has prohibited the sale of food of minimal nutritional value, as defined by the Secretary, in areas where school meals are sold or eaten during certain defined periods of the school day; and

                     Whereas, Federal investment in school lunch and breakfast programs, as well as child nutrition and health, are undermined by the uneven authority of the Secretary to set nutritional standards throughout the school campus and over the course of the entire school day; and

                     Whereas, Since 1979, when the Secretary defined the term “food of minimal nutritional value” and promulgated regulations for the sale of those foods during meal times, nutrition science has evolved and expanded and the current definition of “food of minimal nutritional value” is inconsistent with current knowledge about nutrition and health; and

                     Whereas, S. 2592 and H.R. 5167, also known as The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006, would, among other things, amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require that 1) the Secretary of Agriculture initiate a process to update nutritional standards for foods sold in schools, and 2) the updated standards be applied everywhere on school grounds and throughout the school day; and

                     Whereas, The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006 is bipartisan legislation supported by key health and education groups, including the National PTA, the American Medical Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Heart Association, the American Dietetic Association, the American Diabetes Association, and others; and

                     Whereas, Protecting the health and well-being of our nation’s children, including New York City’s 1.1 million public schoolchildren, is of paramount importance; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York supports the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006, a Congressional bill which would amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to improve the nutrition and health of schoolchildren by updating the definition of “food of minimal nutritional value” to conform to current nutrition science and protect the federal investment in the national school lunch and breakfast programs.

LS#867

JA

5/3/06