Sen. Carper Highlights New Law Supporting Child Nutrition

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) commended Congress’s efforts to advance The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (S.3307), which the president signed into law earlier today. By a vote of 264-157, the House passed the bipartisan legislation earlier this month. The bill, which reauthorizes child nutrition programs that expired on Sept. 30, 2010, was passed unanimously by the Senate on Aug. 5, 2010.

"The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act provides funding for critical child nutrition programs that improve the accessibility and availability of nutritious meals for Delaware’s and America’s children," said Sen. Carper. "Through investing in crucial child nutrition programs, this law helps ensure that our kids are healthy and hunger-free and thus are able to better learn and perform at school. Building upon some of the important work that we started in our comprehensive healthcare reform legislation, the law also establishes key measures to combat the rise of childhood obesity in our country. It is imperative that we invest in the health of our younger generations, and I believe that the passage of The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is a big step in this direction."

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act makes the largest investment in child nutrition programs since the programs were founded. It authorizes $4.5 billion over the next decade for these programs that include school lunches, the supplemental nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and summer food services programs. The bill also takes critical steps to control our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic by providing parents, schools and communities with the necessary tools to address this severe problem.

For more information on the bill, please click HERE.