On October 7, the House Education and the Workforce Committee heard testimony on a number of federal child nutrition programs that are due to expire this year. These programs include the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Although a number of the witnesses discussed the issue of commodity distribution in the child nutrition programs, many examined how to provide schools with nutritious foods to help children lead healthier lives.
In his opening statement, Chair John Boehner (R-OH) explained that the programs authorized under the Child Nutrition Act and National School Lunch Act were conceived to “offer wholesome meals and snacks to children in need, and to support the health of lower-income pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and their children.” He lauded the success of these programs and said the purpose of the hearing was to explore “new ways to improve access to safe, healthy, and affordable meals and to better serve all program participants.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary Eric Bost described USDA’s efforts to encourage children to eat more fruits and vegetables by providing fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned products. “USDA has successfully teamed up with the Department of Defense (DoD) Supply Center of Philadelphia to deliver high quality fresh produce to school children and Indian tribes. Under this program, participating schools nationwide order fresh produce directly from DoD prime vendors. In FY2003, USDA purchased $50 million worth of fresh produce for schools, and the program has proven to be very popular in the 41 states that took part in it last year.”
Testifying on behalf of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association, Thomas Stenzel argued that the DoD fresh produce program has been highly successful and should be reauthorized at $100 million per year because “with the rapidly growing obesity epidemic, we need to commit to providing students with healthy options, nutritious education, and programs that work to make a difference in the eating patterns of school children and to encourage healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.” In October 2002, he participated in a conference with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and USDA to examine the results of the program, in which one participant said, “Kids are trying new fruits and vegetables [at school] and then asking their parents to buy them at home.”
A physician in the field of calcium and bone biology, Dr. Robert Heaney urged the committee to continue its support for milk in the child nutrition programs. “This country is in the midst of what several federal agencies and health professional organizations have termed a ‘calcium crisis’. After age 8 or 9, the typical American girl or woman gets half or less the recommended amount of calcium each day,” he lamented. “Low calcium intake has been convincingly shown to increase the risk or severity of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, colorectal cancer, and even obesity, in additional to its generally recognized role in osteoporosis.” Finally, Dr. Heaney disputed the validity of lactose intolerance, arguing that he “has been unable to find a single individual, of any race, whom he could not get to consume two to three servings of milk per day without difficulty.”
Robinson Joslin, President of the Ohio Soybean Association, asked the committee to modify current law to allow schools to provide soy milk to those students who are unable to drink milk for health, cultural, or religious reasons. A lively debate on the benefits of soy milk ensued between Mr. Joslin and Dr. Heaney during the question and answer session, but Mr. Joslin reiterated his previous statement that “providing an option to offer soy milk to meet the nutritional needs of children who do not drink milk and thus are not served by the current federal child nutrition programs, would complement, not replace cow’s milk in the program.”
Testifying on behalf of the Wheat Foods Council, Dr. Joanne Slavin highlighted the importance of grain foods, whole grains, and fiber in children’s diets and made a case for their inclusion in the child nutrition programs. “With all the myths surrounding protein and fat in popular weight-loss diets, carbohydrate-based foods appear to be unappreciated by the media and misdirected consumers.”
Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE) has introduced a bill (H.R. 3232) that would reauthorize programs under the Child Nutrition Act and the National School Lunch Act through 2004.
