[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
March as National Nutrition Month.
  A well-balanced, nutritious diet is important for all Americans, and 
access to fresh, quality ingredients and food shouldn't be a luxury.
  Last Congress, I had the honor of serving as the chairman of the 
Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department 
Operations. During my time as chairman, and through all of my years on 
the House Agriculture Committee, I have met with many advocates, 
stakeholders, and other individuals who understand the role that 
nutrition plays in the lives of all Americans at every stage of life.
  Nutrition plays a particularly important role in the lives of our 
Nation's children, however. During critical development years, children 
are particularly dependent on foods that are packed with nutrients. In 
some unfortunate cases, the meals that students receive at school may 
be the only time they eat during the day.
  It is important that we do what we can to ensure schools have the 
resources that they need to provide students with delicious and 
nutritious options.

  In January, the USDA announced two new proposals to expand 
nutritional options for our Nation's school children. The new rules 
allow schools to offer a greater variety of vegetables, options to 
customize school breakfasts, and the ability to purchase items a la 
carte.
  This added flexibility will not only bolster the consumption of 
nutritious food in our schools, it will also help reduce food waste.
  At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how nutritious school 
lunches are, if students aren't eating them, they are not nutritious. I 
am hopeful that this recent change will encourage more of our Nation's 
young people to make increasingly healthy, well-rounded food choices.
  In addition to a greater variety of fruits and vegetables, we can 
help restore nutritious dairy options in schools. My bill, the Whole 
Milk for Healthy Kids Act, would allow both flavored and nonflavored 
milk back into our Nation's school cafeterias. Additionally, the School 
Milk Nutrition Act would further expand milk options for students and 
help reverse the decline of milk consumption in schools.
  While we can all be advocates for healthy diets and good nutrition, I 
would like to specifically recognize the registered dietitian 
nutritionists who are one of our most valuable resources in the pursuit 
of reliable food and nutrition information.
  Next week, on March 11, we celebrate Registered Dietitian 
Nutritionist Day and thank these individuals for their role in building 
strong, healthy families and communities.

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