[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 131, 115th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9654 of October 6, 2017

National School Lunch Week, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The health and well-being of our children is vital to the success of our
Nation. When our Nation's youth have their basic needs fulfilled, they
can better focus on succeeding in school and in life. During National
School Lunch Week, we recognize the benefits that school lunch programs
offer to our communities and to our Nation's future.
The National School Lunch Program is a partnership between Federal,
State, and local governments working together to facilitate the health
and development of our Nation's children. Since its inception more than
70 years ago, millions of students have received low-cost or free meals
and learned life-long healthy eating habits. Today, the National School
Lunch Program serves more than 31 million students every school day, at
nearly 100,000 schools and residential child-care institutions across
our Nation.
For many children, school lunch may be their most substantial meal of
the day. Adequate nutrition is essential to a child's mental, physical,
and emotional well-being, and students who lack sufficient vitamins and
minerals, such as iron, vitamin E, vitamin B, thiamine, iodine, and
zinc, may suffer from inhibited cognitive functioning and a diminished
ability to concentrate. Poor nutrition, especially from excess sugar
consumption, may also lead to behavioral problems. School lunches, in

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addition to providing balanced nutrition, can teach students the
relationship between nutrition and classroom performance.
The Congress created the National School Lunch Act to, ``safeguard the
health and well-being of the Nation's children.'' More than seven
decades later, dedicated Americans continue to work to ensure the
nutritional health of our greatest treasure--our young people. During
National School Lunch Week, we recognize the food service professionals,
school administrators, community members, parents, and all those who
dedicate themselves to the health of our schoolchildren. To emphasize
the importance of the National School Lunch Program to our youth's
nutrition, the Congress, by joint resolution of October 9, 1962 (Public
Law 87-780), as amended, has designated the week beginning on the second
Sunday in October each year as ``National School Lunch Week'' and has
requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this
week.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 8 through
October 14, 2017, as National School Lunch Week. I call upon all
Americans to join the countless individuals who administer the National
School Lunch Program in activities that support and promote awareness of
the health and well-being of our Nation's children.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
second.
DONALD J. TRUMP