[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 362 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 362

 Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals 
            and ideals of the National School Lunch Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 23, 2009

Ms. Watson (for herself, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Cao, Ms. Castor of Florida, 
    Mr. Costa, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings of 
Florida, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Michaud, 
    Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Smith of 
    Washington, Mr. Sires, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mrs. 
Napolitano, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Waters, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Ellison, 
  Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Matsui, Mr. 
   Farr, Mr. Delahunt, Mrs. Tauscher, and Mr. Grayson) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                               and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals 
            and ideals of the National School Lunch Program.

Whereas the National School Lunch Program is declared to be the policy of the 
        United States Congress, as a measure of national security, to safeguard 
        the health and well-being of the Nation's children and to encourage the 
        domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other 
        food, by assisting the States, through grants-in-aid and other means, in 
        providing an adequate supply of food and other facilities for the 
        establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of nonprofit school 
        lunch programs;
Whereas Federal regulations further state that participating schools shall 
        ensure that children gain a full understanding of the relationship 
        between proper eating and good health;
Whereas child nutrition programs are responsible for collaborating with the 
        school community to implement comprehensive nutrition and wellness 
        policies in school districts;
Whereas all of America's more than 49,000,000 pupils deserve access to high-
        quality, safe, nutritious meals available in the school setting, 
        recognizing the link between adequate nourishment and educational 
        performance;
Whereas children that experience hunger have been shown to be more likely to 
        have lower math scores, decreased attentiveness, increased likelihood of 
        repeating a grade, increased absences and tardiness, and more referrals 
        to special education services;
Whereas in 2007, child nutrition programs in the United States provided over 
        30,000,000 meals to school children daily, and must comply with complex 
        State and Federal requirements, provide adequate food preparation and 
        dinning facilities, and meet budget requirements despite rapidly 
        escalating food, energy, transportation, labor, and other costs;
Whereas losses in school meal programs must be offset by other revenue sources 
        that would otherwise support classroom instruction;
Whereas based on an estimated average cost to prepare a school lunch (including 
        labor, food, and other inputs) of about $2.92, and revenue of between 
        $2.52 to $2.77 to offset that cost (from Federal reimbursements, 
        commodity entitlement, and the average price paid for a school lunch) 
        school nutrition programs are experiencing a potential loss of at least 
        $4.5 million per school day based on 30 million school lunches provided;
Whereas the difference between reimbursement and cost undermines the ability to 
        continue to provide nutritious meals to all pupils;
Whereas many families that qualify for reduced-price meals, prescribed by 
        Federal law using the Federal poverty level, find it difficult to pay 
        the reduced fee, and the fee for a paid meal is an insurmountable 
        barrier to participating for an increasing number of families;
Whereas the eligibility scale to qualify for reduced-price meals in the same 
        scale throughout the country does not consider regions with higher costs 
        of living;
Whereas a self-sufficiency index, which identifies the income levels at which 
        families can meet their most basic needs without public support, is 
        available in most regions to meal eligibility standards; and
Whereas a single-parent household with two children in San Mateo County, 
        California, needs $67,867 to be self-sufficient, while a similar family 
        in Hardeman County, Tennessee, is self-sufficient with only $21,657: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of the National School 
        Lunch Program; and
            (2) recognizes that America's pupils deserve access to 
        high-quality, safe, nutritious meals available in the school 
        setting.
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