[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9646-9647]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING KATHLEEN MILLETT ON HER CAREER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. KATHERINE M. CLARK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 15, 2015

  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege today to 
congratulate Ms. Kathleen Millett on more than three decades of service 
to the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  For more than 37 years, ``Katie'' has played a vital role in 
overseeing and administering the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 
(USDA) nutrition programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  As the Executive Director for the Office of Nutrition, Health and 
Safety Programs at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and 
Secondary Education, Katie oversaw the policy and training development, 
fiscal and operational work of the office for all federal child 
nutrition programs including the National School Lunch Program, NSLP, 
USDA Foods, Child and Adult Care Food Program, CACFP, and the Summer 
Food Service Program, SFSP. Collectively, these programs annually 
totaled more than $300 million in federal nutrition funding.
  To ensure that Massachusetts held its spot as a leader in child 
nutrition programming and outreach, Katie served on many national and 
state committees. She was State Agency Representative for the national 
School Nutrition Association's Board of Directors and an advisor to the 
Massachusetts School Nutrition Association. She was also founding co-
chair of the Massachusetts' Action for Healthy Kids State Team, Mass 
AFHK. Katie also served in numerous leadership positions with national 
child nutrition groups such as the National Food Service Management 
Institute, NFSMI, and the Food Research and Action Center, FRAC.
  With Katie's help, Massachusetts has always been on the cutting edge 
of new funding opportunities and practices, including USDA pilot grant 
programming. Katie has funded and supported The Child Nutrition 
Outreach Program, CNOP, since 1994, which works to increase 
participation in NSLP and SFSP. Katie has also funded and supported the 
John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition at Framingham State 
University since May of 1988 when it was dedicated as a source of 
education for food service directors, managers, and workers. Since 1988 
a variety of workshops have been provided for both educators and food 
service staff
  Under Katie's leadership, Massachusetts has received multiple Direct 
Certification Performance Awards from USDA for improving direct 
certification rates. Massachusetts now has almost 95% of their eligible 
children living in households receiving benefits under the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, directly certified for free school 
meals.
  With Katie's help, Massachusetts school districts have also 
dramatically increased school breakfast participation, which is proven 
to positively impact students' academic success. For example, Katie 
spearheaded an initiative to increase statewide breakfast participation 
by 35% and was instrumental in the recent state regulation change, 
February 2015, allowing Breakfast in the Classroom to count towards 
instructional time.
  Ahead of the USDA Smart Snacks regulations, Katie also helped lead 
Massachusetts' implementation of nutrition standards for all foods and 
drinks sold or provided during the school day.
  As you can see from these accomplishments, Katie's tireless efforts 
have significantly advanced the quality of and access to healthy meals 
for infants, toddlers, adolescents and seniors across the Commonwealth.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I salute my constituent 
Katie Millett, on a job well done.

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