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[Page H1442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize
March as National Nutrition Month.
A well-balanced, nutritious diet is important for all Americans, and
access to fresh, quality ingredients and food shouldn't be a luxury.
Last Congress, I had the honor of serving as the chairman of the
Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department
Operations. During my time as chairman, and through all of my years on
the House Agriculture Committee, I have met with many advocates,
stakeholders, and other individuals who understand the role that
nutrition plays in the lives of all Americans at every stage of life.
Nutrition plays a particularly important role in the lives of our
Nation's children, however. During critical development years, children
are particularly dependent on foods that are packed with nutrients. In
some unfortunate cases, the meals that students receive at school may
be the only time they eat during the day.
It is important that we do what we can to ensure schools have the
resources that they need to provide students with delicious and
nutritious options.
In January, the USDA announced two new proposals to expand
nutritional options for our Nation's school children. The new rules
allow schools to offer a greater variety of vegetables, options to
customize school breakfasts, and the ability to purchase items a la
carte.
This added flexibility will not only bolster the consumption of
nutritious food in our schools, it will also help reduce food waste.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how nutritious school
lunches are, if students aren't eating them, they are not nutritious. I
am hopeful that this recent change will encourage more of our Nation's
young people to make increasingly healthy, well-rounded food choices.
In addition to a greater variety of fruits and vegetables, we can
help restore nutritious dairy options in schools. My bill, the Whole
Milk for Healthy Kids Act, would allow both flavored and nonflavored
milk back into our Nation's school cafeterias. Additionally, the School
Milk Nutrition Act would further expand milk options for students and
help reverse the decline of milk consumption in schools.
While we can all be advocates for healthy diets and good nutrition, I
would like to specifically recognize the registered dietitian
nutritionists who are one of our most valuable resources in the pursuit
of reliable food and nutrition information.
Next week, on March 11, we celebrate Registered Dietitian
Nutritionist Day and thank these individuals for their role in building
strong, healthy families and communities.
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