Wisconsin Legislative Session Ends with Mixed Record on Cancer Policy
Statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Wisconsin Government Relations Director Sara Sahli
Child Nutrition Bill Will Weaken the Quality of Foods Served in Schools æ
May 18, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 18, 2016 The U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee today passed a bill to reauthorize child school meal and nutrition programs and included language to undercut access to healthy foods for millions of children.
A statement from Chris Hansen, president for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network ACS CAN, follows:
The legislation passed today by the Education and Workforce Committee would weaken the nutritional quality of foods served and sold in schools and roll back progress made in recent years to improve school nutrition and children 's health by calling for significant changes to programs that provide school meals, snacks and beverages, and access of fresh fruits and vegetables.
More than 32 million students eat lunch provided by schools each day. Eating habits are often established at a young age and having access to healthy foods at school help start children on a path toward lifelong health. The bill passed today threatens significant advances made since the last reauthorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 took effect.
With one in five cancer diagnoses attributable to poor diet, physical inactivity, and overweight and obesity, it 's essential for Congress to focus on improving, not reducing, the nutritional quality of food available in schools to set our nation 's children on a healthy course.
We urge the House to maintain evidence-based nutrition standards for all foods sold and served in schools when lawmakers consider the legislation later this year. Maintaining strong nutrition standards is essential to address the national health crisis among our youth.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.æ ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jill Courtney or Alissa Crispino
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 585-3278 or (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
#Congress #nutrition #schoolmeals #schoollunches #schools #CNR
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