[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 708-709]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING LINDSEY HEWARD

 Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I want to thank a young Kansan for 
sharing her thoughts and opinions regarding the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's implementation of new school meal requirements.
  Ms. Lindsey Heward wrote to me last fall to express her and fellow 
Osage City High School students' frustrations with the amount of food 
they were getting to eat at lunch and their choices for food. She 
outlined several areas that the USDA could focus on to prevent obesity 
rather than solely school meal programs. Among her suggestions were to 
have the USDA encourage families to share meals together, develop 
budgeting skills for shoppers, and encourage nutritious meal planning. 
I would like to submit a copy of her letter into the Congressional 
Record.
  After hearing from parents, school administrators, and students like 
Lindsey, I shared the concerns I was receiving with USDA Secretary Tom 
Vilsack. These comments and concerns were heard by the USDA and the 
administration ultimately provided additional flexibility in 
implementing changes to school meals.
  I am still concerned USDA doesn't fully understand the estimated 
costs to schools and plate waste. I will continue to monitor the 
implementation of this rule, and its impact on schools in Kansas as 
well as the rest of the country. I look forward to working with 
Secretary Vilsack to continue to improve school nutrition while 
ensuring our students are adequately fed.
  I ask that Ms. Lindsey Heward's letter be printed in the Record.
  The letter follows.

                                               Lindsey Heward,

                             Osage City, Kansas, October 15, 2012.
     Pat Roberts,
     U.S. Senator for Kansas, Frank Carlson Federal Building, 
         Topeka, KS.
       Dear Senator Roberts: There is a lot of talk going on in 
     our community of Osage City, Kansas about all of the changes 
     in our school food service program due to the Healthy, 
     Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. When the changes in the 
     nutrition of the available vending machine items in our 
     school took out pop, any type of sugar drinks, candy bars, 
     cookies, most chips, pastries, etc., I could agree with that. 
     A lot of those items aren't going to help a student in their 
     day; it's not going to be what gives them the fuel they need. 
     I didn't have a problem with that because the lunches that we 
     were having always satisfied me for the day, it would 
     actually get me through after school practice until supper 
     time. But now that the school lunch program has been greatly 
     altered, the majority of the students, especially in the high 
     school, are not receiving enough calories to sustain them 
     through school, after school practices, and events.
       What really frustrates me is that the Healthy, Hunger-Free 
     Kids Act of 2010 is not correctly addressing the reduction of 
     our nation's obesity rate. What is not being addressed is 
     education of the parents who are the main consumers of the 
     family's grocery items or parents modeling healthy eating 
     habits. As an employee of Jerry's Thriftway, this is 
     something that I witness daily. I especially see the 
     purchasing of unhealthy food choices by welfare recipients 
     when using their Vision cards. For example, this last 
     Saturday, a customer was at my check-out line with a cart of 
     hot dogs, chips, pizza, pop, and a lot of frozen items loaded 
     with preservatives. These items were purchased with funds 
     provided by our tax payers. It is obvious that this parent 
     does not go home to prepare a healthy meal for her children 
     and she certainly doesn't model healthy eating habits. This 
     is something that occurs regularly throughout my six hour 
     shift. No matter what takes place at school, it is not 
     changing the way these parents are providing (through 
     somebody else's money) for their children's meals. I fear 
     that there isn't even a family meal time in those homes, but 
     rather a time to binge on junk food throughout the evenings 
     or on weekends. This is where nutrition needs to change to 
     reduce the obesity in our nation, not by unrealistically 
     restricting our school breakfast and lunch program.
       Instead of focusing on school meal programs, I strongly 
     feel that it's time to focus on the following:

       1. Creating a greater work ethic in all citizens

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       2. Developing budgeting skills for shoppers
       3. Nutritious meal planning
       4. Food preparation skills
       5. Valuing family togetherness at the dinner table
       6. Family physical fitness

       The family is the basic unit in every community. Let's 
     start with changes in the daily life of families . . . that's 
     the ground level. Once that happens, then we will see true, 
     positive changes in the health of our nation.
       I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on my suggestions 
     of how this change needs to start with each family instead of 
     through the restricted school meal service. Do you have any 
     ideas on how my concerns can be put into action to make real, 
     meaningful change happen?
       Sincerely yours,
                                                   Lindsey Heward,
     Osage City High School Senior.

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