13-R355
2013 -- H 6244
Enacted 06/18/13
H O U S E R E S
O L U T I O N
RESPECTFULLY
REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF
ELEMENTARY AND
SECONDARY EDUCATION TO REVIEW STATE REGULATIONS RELATED TO THE NUTRITIONAL
CONTENT OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PROGRAMS
Introduced By: Representatives Handy, and Cimini
Date Introduced: June 18, 2013
WHEREAS, Children’s
learning cannot occur in the absence of a well-balanced diet. For
too many children in
lives. According to Rhode Island Kids Count, between 2007
and 2012, the number of Rhode
Islanders receiving emergency food assistance from
food pantries and soup kitchens each month
doubled, with children representing one-third of those who
receive emergency food assistance.
Also troubling is the continued uptick
in the rate of childhood obesity in
condition that points to a lack of balance in the consumption
of whole grains, fruits, vegetables,
and sugars, and that undermines many children’s chance
for a healthy path to adulthood; and
WHEREAS, Education
leaders at the state level and in every community in Rhode Island
have stepped in to ensure that the children who enter
their buildings have access to nutritious
meals. These low cost or free breakfasts and lunches
provide young learners with the energy they
need to engage in their school activities, inside the
classroom as well as on the playground; and
WHEREAS,
participation of multiple entities at the federal, state, and local
levels. The
Agriculture (USDA) oversees and funds Child Nutrition
Programs, the Rhode Island Department
of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDE) develops
regulations along with the Department
of Health and administers the programs at the state
level, and school districts develop local meal
programs that comply with USDA Requirements for Federal School
Meals Programs; and
WHEREAS, The building blocks of
balance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and sugars.
These essential nutrition requirements
have been highlighted by the USDA under the Healthy,
Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Pub.L.
111–296), and changes to school meals that result from
this Act are now being phased in by local
districts throughout the state; and
WHEREAS, The changes in nutrition requirements at the federal level
present an
opportunity for
discussed in state regulations and how they appear in school
meals at the local level; and
WHEREAS, The current nutrition criteria for Rhode Island School Food
Service
Programs, last updated by RIDE in 2009, allow for
whole grain products, which are defined as a
food in which one hundred percent (100%) of the flour or
grain ingredient is whole grain, to have
no more than 7 grams of total sugar per ounce. The same
criteria allow whole grain products with
added dried fruits, such as Raisin Bran, to have more than
7 grams of sugar per serving, without
stipulating a maximum allowed. The lack of a limit on the sugar
content contained in school
meals is at odds with the rising rate of childhood obesity
and appears to run counter to children’s
nutritional requirements; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this House of Representatives of the State of
Providence Plantations
hereby respectfully requests that the Rhode Island Department of
Elementary and Secondary
Education, working with any other relevant partner agency or
organization, review its regulations regarding the nutritional
content of whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, and sugars in School Meal Programs to ensure that
the state’s programs and local
district policies and practices reflect the best understanding
of children’s nutritional needs; and be
it further
RESOLVED,
That the department shall report its findings and
conclusions to the Speaker
of the
Welfare Committee on or
before February 11, 2014.
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LC02811
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