(1) proper nutrition is a key to childhood health and equal educational opportunities;
(2) each day, more than 30,000,000 children participate in Federal school meal programs;
(3) more than 1/2 of those children receive free or reduced price meals due to low household income;
(4) in 1968, Congress established the summer food service program for children under section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) because the nutrition needs of low income children do not subside when the school year ends;
(5) in 2001, Congress introduced a pilot program allowing 13 States and Puerto Rico to streamline administrative procedures;
(6) since 2001--
(A) the 13 original pilot States have increased their participation rates in the summer food service program by 43.3 percent; and
(B) non-participating States have decreased their participation rates in the program by 14.6 percent;
(7) in 2004, recognizing the success of the pilot States, Congress made the pilot program permanent and authorized an additional 6 States to participate in the program;
(8) since 2004, participation in the summer food service program among the additional 6 States has increased by 3.4 percent;
(9) in 2006, Congress authorized another 7 States to participate in the program; and
(10) increased efforts to meet the summer nutritional needs of all children in the United States should be employed.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.1740 as Introduced in House To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to permit the simplified summ...
