[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 61951-61952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22406]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 197 / Thursday, October 13, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 61951]]


                Proclamation 10470 of October 7, 2022

                
National School Lunch Week, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National School Lunch Week, we recommit to 
                supporting the National School Lunch Program that 
                provides tens of millions of children a year access to 
                nutrition, dignity, and a fairer shot at brighter 
                futures, and we celebrate its role supporting American 
                farmers and food producers, building a stronger America 
                for future generations.

                School meals remain a vital lifeline, supplying well-
                balanced, free or low-cost meals to kids across the 
                country since the program began in 1946. Studies show 
                these are often the most nutritious--and sometimes the 
                only--meals in a student's day. They improve student 
                health, making it easier for students to learn, and 
                erode inequity while also advancing our fight against 
                childhood obesity.

                My Administration is committed to ending hunger in the 
                United States by 2030, making healthy school meals 
                available to even more kids, and supporting schools 
                that pioneer new ways to improve nutritional quality, 
                whether for breakfast, lunch, or summer and afterschool 
                meals. To that end, this September, I convened the 
                first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and 
                Health in over 50 years, bringing together anti-hunger, 
                nutrition, and public health advocates; food companies; 
                health care providers; local, State, and Tribal 
                governments; and Federal agencies. We released a 
                national strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related 
                diseases while easing disparities across underserved 
                communities--starting by expanding free school meals to 
                9 million more kids by 2032. Providing healthy food is 
                central to children's ability to learn and thrive, and 
                no child's future should be determined by the zip code 
                they were born in or by the food their families can 
                afford.

                This strategy builds on my Administration's work to 
                provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to 
                those in need through our American Rescue Plan. It 
                builds on our $60 million investment in Farm-to-School 
                initiatives that benefit American farmers, connecting 
                them to local schools which become reliable markets. We 
                also made historic strides in slashing child poverty to 
                its lowest rate on record by expanding the Child Tax 
                Credit and through other actions.

                Parents across our country want the same things for 
                their kids: healthy food, clean water, good schools, 
                and opportunities to dream big and access all the 
                possibilities America offers. This week and always, my 
                Administration pledges to do everything in its power to 
                end child hunger and to put the promise of America in 
                every child's reach. We thank the farmers, farm 
                workers, and ranchers, as well as the educators and 
                school nutrition professionals, who have gone above and 
                beyond to keep our kids fed during the COVID-19 
                pandemic and who work so hard every day to make them 
                strong for the future.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 9 
                through October 15, 2022, as National School Lunch 
                Week. I call upon all Americans to recognize and 
                commemorate all those who operate the National School

[[Page 61952]]

                Lunch Program with activities that raise awareness of 
                the steadfast efforts in supporting the health and 
                well-being of our Nation's children.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2022-22406
Filed 10-12-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P