[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 41 (Monday, October 16, 2000)]
[Pages 2372-2373]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7355--National School Lunch Week, 2000

October 6, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    One of the best ways we can move forward as a society is to meet our 
obligations to our children. President Harry Truman recognized this 
profound responsibility when he signed the National School Lunch Act 
into law in 1946. The significance of this legislation went beyond the 
daily meal that children would receive; the National School Lunch 
Program firmly established the Federal Government's commitment to work 
in partnership with States, schools, and the agricultural community to 
administer a major program designed to improve children's diets and, in 
turn, their overall health and well-being.
    Today, more than 96,000 schools serve lunches to over 27 million 
children every day--more than half of them for free or at a reduced 
price, so that no schoolchild in America, regardless of family income, 
need go hungry at lunchtime. We have also built on the program's success 
by establishing a number of child nutrition initiatives administered by 
the Department of Agriculture--from the School Breakfast Program, which 
helps ensure eligible children are ready to learn; to the Summer Food 
Service Program, which serves healthy meals and snacks to low-income 
children during long school vacations; to the Child and Adult Care Food 
Program, which provides nutritious meals and snacks to infants and young 
children in day care and to adults with physical or mental disabilities 
who are enrolled in adult day

[[Page 2373]]

care. Most recently, we authorized funding through the Child Nutrition 
Reauthorization Act of 1998 to make snacks available to children and 
teenagers enrolled in after-school programs.
    We can be proud that these school meal programs promote the well-
being of some of our Nation's most vulnerable children by providing them 
with the nourishment they need to develop healthy bodies and sound 
minds. Nutritious meals help students reach their full potential by 
keeping them alert and attentive in the classroom. As both common sense 
and extensive scientific research confirm, a hungry child cannot focus 
on schoolwork as well as one who has been fed a nutritious meal.
    The National School Lunch Program also offers us a valuable tool for 
identifying children who are eligible for health insurance under 
Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Since 60 
percent of children who lack adequate health coverage participate in the 
school lunch program, sharing eligibility information can improve our 
outreach efforts and bring us closer to our goal of universal health 
care for all of America's children. My proposed budget for fiscal 2001 
sets aside $345 million over 10 years to help schools share information 
with Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program so that 
we can enhance our efforts to reach eligible children and their 
families. In addition, this summer I announced an initiative to expand 
the school lunch program to the developing world. This initiative will 
make school lunches and breakfasts available in the poorest countries 
for the poorest children, helping students whose deficiencies in 
nutrition affect their cognitive development and attracting children who 
otherwise might never attend school.
    As we observe National School Lunch Week this year, let us pay 
tribute to the thousands of State and local school food service 
professionals across America whose hard work and dedication make these 
programs a reality for our children; and let us acknowledge the 
important role school lunches play in the healthy development of so many 
students.
    In recognition of the contributions of the National School Lunch 
Program to the health, education, and well-being of our Nation's 
children, the Congress, by joint resolution of October 9, 1962 (Public 
Law 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 this week.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 8 through October 14, 
2000, as National School Lunch Week. I call upon all Americans to 
recognize those individuals whose efforts contribute so much to the 
success of our national child nutrition programs, whether at the 
Federal, State, or local level.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence 
of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 11, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 7, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
October 12.