On Wednesday, July 14, and Thursday July 15, the House Education and Labor Committee considered bipartisan legislation to expand access and improve the nutritional quality of meals in schools and child care. The committee examined H.R. 5504, the “Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act” earlier this month.

The legislation would help set American children on a path of healthy eating and healthy living at a time when approximately 22 percent of the nation’s children lack access to quality food and one in three children are overweight or obese. Today, over 32 million children rely on federal child nutrition programs.

H.R. 5504 would dramatically expand access for millions of children to healthy meals year-round in schools, child care, and community based settings, and for the first time, establish nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the cafeteria.