[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1655 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1655

  Expressing support for designation of October as ``National Farm to 
                            School Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 23, 2010

Mr. Holt (for himself, Ms. McCollum, and Mr. Blumenauer) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                               and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing support for designation of October as ``National Farm to 
                            School Month''.

Whereas Farm to School programs of varying scale are currently operational in 
        over 8,900 schools in all 50 States;
Whereas Farm to School programs connect schools and local farms in order to 
        serve healthier meals in school cafeterias, improve student nutrition, 
        and provide agriculture, health, and nutrition education;
Whereas Farm to School programs often have experiential education components 
        that can lead to permanent improvements in children's diets both in 
        school and at home;
Whereas Farm to School programs facilitate the purchase of local food for school 
        meals, thus increasing local farm sales and stimulating local economies;
Whereas Farm to School programs can benefit small and mid-sized agricultural 
        producers by providing access to consistent markets and the planning and 
        organization skills to expand to other institutional customers;
Whereas Farm to School programs can be particularly important for beginning or 
        socially disadvantaged farmers as schools provide a consistent and 
        secure customer base;
Whereas Farm to School programs can benefit local economies, for every $1 spent 
        on local foods in schools, $1 to $3 circulate in the local economy;
Whereas one-third of children in the United States are now obese or overweight, 
        and over the past 3 decades, obesity rates have quadrupled in 6- to 11-
        year-olds and tripled in 12- to 19-year-olds according to the most 
        recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 
        National Health and Nutrition Examination survey;
Whereas more than 9,000,000 young adults (25 percent) are too overweight to join 
        the United States Armed Forces, making children's obesity rates a matter 
        of national security;
Whereas United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data shows that only 2 
        percent of children meet the Food Guide Pyramid serving recommendations;
Whereas communities with high levels of poverty have less access to fresh fruits 
        and vegetables than higher-income communities;
Whereas increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is 1 of 6 major 
        strategies to prevent and control obesity, according to the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention;
Whereas Farm to School programs can increase children's daily intake of fresh 
        fruits and vegetables and studies have demonstrated that children in 
        schools with an active Farm to School program increased their average 
        consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by 1 or more servings per 
        day;
Whereas 31,000,000 children eat school food 5 days a week, 180 days a year, and 
        for many of these children, school food programs provide more than half 
        of their daily calories;
Whereas approximately 60 percent of students in the United States are eligible 
        to receive free or reduced-price school lunches;
Whereas Farm to School programs are popular among children and can increase 
        school lunch participation ranging from 3 percent to 16 percent for all 
        meals;
Whereas the National School Lunch Program established under the Richard B. 
        Russell National School Lunch Act has potential to provide fresher and 
        healthier foods to millions of children in the United States;
Whereas Farm to School programs decrease the distance food travels to schools, 
        which can reduce the energy used in transportation; and
Whereas the month of October would be an appropriate month to designate as 
        ``National Farm to School Month'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
                    (A) Farm to School programs should be recognized as 
                a proven effective strategy that can provide immediate 
                and long-term benefits to child health, small and 
                medium-sized agricultural producer income, and 
                community economic development; and
                    (B) the Federal Government should partner in 
                assisting schools and local educational agencies with 
                planning, technical assistance, and implementation of 
                Farm to School programs; and
            (2) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) expresses support for designation of ``National 
                Farm to School Month'';
                    (B) encourages schools and local education agencies 
                to use local produce in meals; and
                    (C) encourages schools, farmers and farm groups, 
                local businesses, nonprofit institutions, churches, 
                cities, State governments, and other local groups to 
                raise awareness of Farm to School efforts in their 
                communities.
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