[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today marks the 50th anniversary of one 
of the smartest investments this Nation has ever made, the National 
School Lunch Program.
  In 1943, Winston Churchill said that ``there is no finer investment 
for any community than putting milk into babies.'' That sort of 
inspired investment is what the School Lunch Program is about. The only 
nutritious meal some children eat in a day, a school lunch can help to 
lengthen attention span, increase learning capacity and dramatically 
improve overall health.
  The School Lunch Program currently operates in 95 percent of our 
Nation's schools and serves 26 million children each school day. It is 
a remarkable success, and I urge my colleagues to join me in commending 
the people who make that success possible, from the people at the USDA 
who run the program, to the State and local nutritionists who plan the 
meals and the school food service workers who serve them to our 
children. Each of them is helping to make our country stronger and 
healthier, and we thank them for it.
  The School Lunch Act was passed not as an act of charity, not even as 
a matter of educational efficacy, but as a matter of national security 
after shocking numbers of young men failed their physicals in World War 
II because of preventable, nutrition-related illnesses.
  Last year, Department of Agriculture updated Federal regulations to 
require school meals to meet the Federal dietary guidelines for 
Americans. The resulting Schools Meals Initiative for Healthy Children 
will make a good program even better.
  Recognizing that simply adopting policies does not always guarantee 
change, the Clinton administration launched Team Nutrition in June 1995 
to unite public and private organizations in promoting healthful 
dietary habits through schools, community organizations and the media. 
This groundbreaking measure also provides the training, technical 
assistance, and nutrition education that are critical to the School 
Meals Initiative's successful implementation.
  Last fall marked the introduction of the Team Nutrition Schools 
Program, which brings together teachers and principals, schools and 
families, community leaders and school food service professionals to 
work for healthier school meals.
  This fall, the USDA will build on the success of Team Nutrition by 
providing every school district with the help they may need to make 
sure the meals they serve their students meet the Federal dietary 
guidelines. I'm proud to have sponsored the amendment that will enable 
the USDA to get that information and assistance out to schools ahead of 
their original target date.
  Our Nation has done much to alleviate childhood hunger and 
malnutrition in the 50 years since President Truman signed the National 
School Lunch Act. Rickets and other nutrition-related illnesses that 
once were common among poor children in this Nation are now mercifully 
rare because we channelled the will and resources of this great Nation 
against them.
  But the challenge is not ended. Every month, 5 million children go 
hungry in this country. One out of every eight children under the age 
of 12. So today, as we celebrate 50 years of success with the School 
Lunch Program, let us remember these children and recommit ourselves to 
seeing that they, too, are able to share in the abundant blessings of 
our land.

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