School Nutrition

Randall Weiseman General

Senator Saxby Chambliss
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, received testimony during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing focused on child nutrition and the school setting. Witnesses testified on behalf of school meal programs, the Summer Food Service Program, the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program.

“These programs have a proven track record of not only alleviating hunger in the United States, but also improving the nutritional intake of children and their families,” said Sen. Chambliss in his opening statement. “Given the current state of our nation’s economy, we are seeing increased demand for these programs. Many times the School Breakfast and Lunch Programs are the only source of food for many students. Today’s witnesses shed important light on the challenges that program operators face in providing healthy meals on a day to day basis.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service administers the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs which serves more than 30 million lunches and more than 9 million breakfasts each school day. According to the Georgia Department of Education, over 1.1 million lunches and 499,000 breakfasts are served each day in Georgia schools.

Sen. Chambliss said, “As the Agriculture Committee moves forward in the reauthorization process, my goal is to ensure that all eligible children can easily access these important nutrition programs. I know from the school teachers in my family the importance of good nutrition. I applaud the dedication of school nutrition providers in their efforts to feed kids healthy meals, and recognize the very early and significant influence they have in developing good nutrition habits in schoolchildren.”

This week, Sen. Chambliss cosponsored a bipartisan measure to highlight the positive impact the National School Breakfast Program has on children.