81 FR 70911 - National School Lunch Week, 2016

Executive Office of the President

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 198 (October 13, 2016)

Page Range		70911-70912
FR Document		2016-24994

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 198 (Thursday, October 13, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 198 (Thursday, October 13, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 70911-70912]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24994]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 198 / Thursday, October 13, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 70911]]


                Proclamation 9518 of October 7, 2016

                
National School Lunch Week, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Seventy years ago, President Harry Truman signed the 
                National School Lunch Act, declaring ``Nothing is more 
                important in our national life than the welfare of our 
                children, and proper nourishment comes first in 
                attaining this welfare.'' This Act created the National 
                School Lunch Program and provided lunch to 7 million 
                children in its first year--today, more than 30 million 
                children depend on it each day. As we observe the 70th 
                anniversary of this program, we recommit to ensuring 
                access to proper nutrition throughout the school day 
                for all our young people so that they may pursue their 
                education and chase their dreams.

                Since the beginning of my Administration, I have worked 
                to build on the legacy of the National School Lunch 
                Program. In 2010, the Congress passed and I signed into 
                law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which increased 
                the number of students who could get subsidized or free 
                school meals and improved the quality of school meals. 
                For children from low-income households, meals provided 
                by the National School Lunch Program and the School 
                Breakfast Program may be their only reliable source of 
                nutrition throughout the day. We are working to 
                increase access for more children, including by using 
                Medicaid data to automatically connect eligible 
                students in need to free or reduced-priced meals.

                During the school year, nearly 22 million children 
                receive free and reduced-price school meals. When 
                school is out for the summer, well over 2 million 
                children rely on the Summer Food Service Program for 
                nourishment. However, too many kids still lack access 
                to adequate nutrition during the summer months, which 
                is why I proposed investing $12 billion in my latest 
                budget to provide supplemental summer food benefits to 
                children who receive free and subsidized school meals 
                during the academic year.

                We must also work to give children greater access to 
                nutritious foods and empower them to make healthy 
                choices. Too many young people are obese or overweight 
                and remain at risk for health problems like diabetes or 
                heart disease later in life. First Lady Michelle Obama 
                has championed efforts to build healthy futures for all 
                children, particularly through the Let's Move! 
                initiative, which has worked to provide healthier meals 
                in our schools and ensure every family has access to 
                healthy, affordable food. The Department of Agriculture 
                updated school nutrition standards to make sure all 
                school meals and snacks meet science-based nutrition 
                criteria, and almost all schools participating in the 
                National School Lunch Program are meeting these 
                standards.

                In order for our children to join the most prepared and 
                educated workforce in the world, we must remember the 
                connection between what our kids eat and how well they 
                perform in school. During National School Lunch Week, 
                let us reaffirm our dedication to helping America's 
                daughters and sons succeed by guaranteeing they have 
                access to the healthy meals they need. Let us express 
                our gratitude for the school nutrition professionals, 
                educators, and administrators who are helping deliver 
                the promise of a bright future to schoolchildren across 
                America each day.

[[Page 70912]]

                The Congress, by joint resolution of October 9, 1962 
                (Public Law 87-780), as amended, has designated the 
                week beginning on the second Sunday in October each 
                year as ``National School Lunch Week'' and has 
                requested the President to issue a proclamation in 
                observance of this week.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 9 
                through October 15, 2016, as National School Lunch 
                Week. I call upon all Americans to join the dedicated 
                individuals who administer the National School Lunch 
                Program in appropriate activities that support the 
                health and well-being of our Nation's children.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-24994
Filed 10-12-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P

$Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 198 / Thursday, October 13, 2016 / Presidential Documents 70911 Presidential Documents Proclamation 9518 of October 7, 2016 National School Lunch Week, 2016 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Seventy years ago, President Harry Truman signed the National School Lunch Act, declaring ‘‘Nothing is more important in our national life than the welfare of our children, and proper nourishment comes first in attaining this welfare.’’ This Act created the National School Lunch Program and provided lunch to 7 million children in its first year—today, more than 30 million children depend on it each day. As we observe the 70th anniver- sary of this program, we recommit to ensuring access to proper nutrition throughout the school day for all our young people so that they may pursue their education and chase their dreams. Since the beginning of my Administration, I have worked to build on the legacy of the National School Lunch Program. In 2010, the Congress passed and I signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which increased the number of students who could get subsidized or free school meals and improved the quality of school meals. For children from low-income households, meals provided by the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program may be their only reliable source of nutrition throughout the day. We are working to increase access for more children, including by using Medicaid data to automatically connect eligible students in need to free or reduced-priced meals. During the school year, nearly 22 million children receive free and reduced- price school meals. When school is out for the summer, well over 2 million children rely on the Summer Food Service Program for nourishment. How- ever, too many kids still lack access to adequate nutrition during the summer months, which is why I proposed investing $12 billion in my latest budget to provide supplemental summer food benefits to children who receive free and subsidized school meals during the academic year. We must also work to give children greater access to nutritious foods and empower them to make healthy choices. Too many young people are obese or overweight and remain at risk for health problems like diabetes or heart disease later in life. First Lady Michelle Obama has championed efforts to build healthy futures for all children, particularly through the Let’s Move! initiative, which has worked to provide healthier meals in our schools and ensure every family has access to healthy, affordable food. The Depart- ment of Agriculture updated school nutrition standards to make sure all school meals and snacks meet science-based nutrition criteria, and almost all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program are meeting these standards. In order for our children to join the most prepared and educated workforce in the world, we must remember the connection between what our kids asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with D1 eat and how well they perform in school. During National School Lunch Week, let us reaffirm our dedication to helping America’s daughters and sons succeed by guaranteeing they have access to the healthy meals they need. Let us express our gratitude for the school nutrition professionals, educators, and administrators who are helping deliver the promise of a bright future to schoolchildren across America each day. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:31 Oct 12, 2016 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4790 Sfmt 4790 E:\FR\FM\13OCD1.SGM 13OCD1$

Document Created: 2016-10-13 00:53:15
Document Modified: 2016-10-13 00:53:15

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Presidential Documents
FR Citation		81 FR 70911