child nutrition
Obama to seek $12 billion to expand summer food program for kids
President Obama will ask Congress for a long-term expansion of the summer food program so it reaches every child - roughly 22 million at latest count - who gets lunch for free or at reduced price during the school year, the White House announced. At present, only one in six of those low-income schoolchildren is covered by the summer food program.
Child obesity surges, report urges healthier diets and physical activity
Some 41 million children under the age of 5 are overweight or obese, a 33-percent increase worldwide in a generation, says a report to the UN World Health Organization that urges public and private groups to reverse the trend.
Child-nutrition bill has momentum after months of squabbling
Fresh from unanimous committee approval of their five-year child nutrition bill, leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee predicted the bill would rocket to Senate passage, and could influence House action as well.
Senate bill may quell child-nutrition squabbles
When the Senate Agriculture Committee votes this week to reauthorize child-nutrition programs costing $22 billion a year, the bipartisan, five-year bill will have the support of the anti-hunger community and school-food operators.
Senate Ag leaders agree on child nutrition update
Ending weeks of back-stage negotiations, Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts and the panel's senior Democrat, Debbie Stabenow, said they agreed on a bipartisan plan to re-authorize child nutrition programs that cost $22 billion a year. School lunch is the largest part of the programs and was one of the largest obstacles to renewal.
Child-nutrition bill leads ag calendar for 2016
Congress returns to work this year with two issues on the must-do list for the Agriculture Committees: reauthorization of child nutrition programs costing $22 billion a year and reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the overseer of the futures markets.
Stabenow, Roberts to move child nutrition bill in January
The leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee said they will ask committee approval of a bipartisan bill in January to reauthorize child nutrition programs costing $22 billion a year. School lunch is the largest of the programs.
GMO pre-emption out, COOL repeal in omnibus bill
The long fight over labeling GMO food will continue into the new year despite a last-ditch push by the food industry for Congress to pre-empt state label laws.
Congress has a barn-burner of a week ahead
Congress will try to wrap up every possible major issue this week in a sprint to adjournment for the year, scheduled for Friday. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told representatives "to keep their schedules flexible as we approach the end of the year." The heavy lifting would come in two bills - the catch-all appropriations bill to fund the government for the rest of fiscal 2016 and a tax "extenders" bill.
A link between chicken droppings and child stunting?
The chickens that roam freely at households in Zimbabwe and other developing nations may have a connection to stunting, which limits the physical and mental development in children.
“America needs a national sugar tax” – Washington Post
In an editorial, the Washington Post advocates a national tax on sugar as the best way to discourage consumption and improve the general health of Americans. Some 16 percent of the calories consumed by Americans daily comes from sugar added to foods during processing, says the Post.
Agreement on child-nutrition programs is near, senators say
Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts said "we're nearly at the finish line" on closed-door negotiations to reauthorize child-nutrition programs that cost $21 billion a year, said Agri-Pulse. At a news conference, Roberts said the legislation would not provide new funding for the nutrition programs, which are headlined by school lunch - "That's just the way it is."
Vilsack asks pediatricians for help on school meals
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack went to the national conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics to enlist its members as defenders of federal child nutrition programs against "a vocal minority" that would weaken them.
McDonald’s responds on film “540 Meals”
McDonald's says the film "540 Meals," criticized as an infomercial that the fast food giant is pushing in schools, is about "making informed and balanced choices no matter where you choose to eat and incorporating exercise into your daily routine." The 19-minute film follows a school teacher from central Iowa, John Cisna, who lost weight while eating every meal for 90 days at McDonald's.
Stabenow stands behind school-lunch reforms
The Democratic leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee won't compromise on school-food reforms as the price of an agreement within the committee on re-authorization of child-nutrition programs, said The Hagstrom Report.
USDA to award $8 million for nutrition training
The Agriculture Department said it will award $8 million "to help school nutrition professionals better prepare healthy meals for their students."
Time running out for school lunch, ag bills during fall session
At a news conference today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will kick off the drive for renewal of child-nutrition programs that almost certainly will miss the Sept. 30 deadline for reauthorization.
Vilsack to step up nutrition battle next week
The USDA announced today that Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will continue his campaign for reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, otherwise known as the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, with a speech at the National Press Club on September 8.
Four rural districts win USDA school food awards
Rural school districts in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and Ohio are winners of Healthy Meal Initiatives awards for improving the nutritional quality of meals served to students, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Vilsack announced the awards during a speech to school food directors in which he said healthy school meals could combat the rising U.S. child obesity rate.