[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 41 (Monday, October 17, 1994)]
[Page 1986]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6738--National School Lunch Week, 1994

October 8, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Sound nutrition plays a vital role in ensuring that children reach 
their full potential physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Our 
commitment to the National School Lunch Program reflects the importance 
of nutrition in our daily lives.
    As we celebrate National School Lunch Week this year, we reaffirm 
our concern for the health of our Nation by continuing to press forward 
in our comprehensive initiative requiring that school meals meet the 
Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Through this initiative, we will 
update the standards for school meals to reflect the most recent 
scientific consensus calling for low fat, high fiber foods to help 
reduce the likelihood of such life-threatening illnesses as cancer and 
heart disease. We also will help to instill eating habits that promote 
lifelong health and well-being, and we will rededicate ourselves to 
delivering school meals that meet the highest possible standards for 
nutritional quality and appeal.
    The National School Lunch Program currently operates in more than 95 
percent of the Nation's public schools and serves about 25 million 
lunches daily. Many children receive their only nutritious meal of the 
day at school. These school means can increase a student's attention 
span and learning capability. They can improve overall health. And they 
can help to teach good dietary habits that will last a lifetime. These 
accomplishments are made possible by the joint efforts of principals, 
teachers, parents, Federal, State, and local officials, and especially 
the food service professionals working in more than 92,000 schools and 
residential child care institutions across the country. We commend all 
of these individuals for their concern and their dedication in making 
wholesome meals a reality for our Nation's children.
    In recognition of the contributions of the National School Lunch 
Program to the nutritional well-being of children, the Congress, by 
joint resolution of October 9, 1962 (Public Law No. 87-780), has 
designated the week beginning the second Sunday in October of each year 
as ``National School Lunch Week'' and has requested the President to 
issue a proclamation in observance of that week.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning October 9, 
1994, as National School Lunch Week. I call upon all Americans to 
recognize those individuals whose efforts contribute to the success of 
this valuable program.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:51 a.m., October 12, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 10, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
October 13.