Congressmen Sam Farr (D-CA) and Adam Putnam (R-FL) yesterday (Wednesday 16 December) introduced the Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Act of 2009 which aims to increase children’s access to healthy fruits and vegetables at schools across the US.
United Fresh Produce Association President and CEO Tom Stenzel thanked the congressmen for their leadership on the bill, which now becomes a priority component of overall Child Nutrition legislation in 2010 reauthorizing the school lunch and breakfast programs.
“The introduction of this legislation is an important step calling attention to the simple, but powerful role fruit and vegetable bars in schools can have in improving kids' health,” said Mr Stenzel in a statement.
“Research has shown that school children significantly increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when given a variety of choices in a school salad bar.When offered multiple fresh fruit and vegetable choices, children respond by trying new items, incorporating greater variety into their diets, and increasing their daily consumption of fruits and vegetables.”
The Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Act is the latest chapter in a partnership between Congressman Farr and United Fresh, who teamed up last fall to showcase a school salad bar to lawmakers during United’s Fresh Festival on Capitol Hill, which was later donated to a Washington-area elementary school.
Now, together with Rep. Putnam and 14 other original co-sponsors, Rep. Farr is working to make salad bars a reality for schoolchildren across the country.
The new legislation is intended to provide policy direction to USDA to work with schools to promote the adoption of fruit and vegetable salad bars and other strategies to increase access to fruits and vegetables in school meals.
Additional funding for school lunch programs will be considered in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
“The benefits of fruit and vegetable salad bars also extend beyond just the produce consumed during the breakfast or lunch hour at school,” said Dr. Lorelei DiSogra, United Fresh vice-president for nutrition and health.
“Increased daily access to a variety of fresh produce items provides a personal experience about choices that can shape behavior far beyond the school lunch line. Children learn to make decisions that carry over outside of school, providing a platform for a lifetime of healthy snack and meal choices.”
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