Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Obama Administration official talk about school lunch program

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree brought together a diverse group of child nutrition experts, teachers, parents and a top Obama Administration official in Buxton today to discuss child nutrition, obesity and school lunch programs.
 
“Every day in Maine tens of thousands of children eat a meal at school,” Pingree said.  “I think it’s important to take a step back and look at what we are feeding them.  We need to make sure those meals are nutritious, wholesome and made with as many locally produced ingredients as possible.”
 

The Child Nutrition Act is up for Reauthorization in Congress—something that happens only about once every five years.  First Lady Michelle Obama and the Obama Administration are using the opportunity to address child nutrition issues such as obesity.
 
Pingree brought USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon to participate in the forum this morning at Bonny Eagle Middle School. Concannon oversees the SNAP program (formerly known as Food Stamps) as well the National School Lunch, School Breakfast and Summer Food Service Program.  He is the former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
 
“Our conversation today reinforces the need for a strong reauthorization bill that will help provide our children the nutrition needed for good health and success in the classroom,” said Concannon. “The time is now to pass a bill that will strengthen our child nutrition programs, make them more accessible, and improve the quality of our school meals so that they meet the highest nutrition standards.”
 
Maryellen O’Toole is the school nurse for Portland Public High School and she told Pingree and Concannon she has seen first hand how improved nutrition leads to better performance in school. Several years ago, O’Toole noticed a trend.
 
“I could almost set my watch to it—at 9:30, one student after another would arrive complaining of headaches, dizziness and not feeling well,” O’Toole said. “Many of those students hadn’t eaten breakfast that day.”  The school began encouraging students to eat breakfast and started offering more healthy choices in the cafeteria, and O’Toole said she noticed a significant reduction in health complaints from students. 
 
Bill Hager, Executive Director of Child Care Services of York County, urged Pingree and Concannon to focus on early childhood nutrition as well, saying without proper nutrition brain development can be limited.
 
“Now we’re talking about a child who is not just having a hard time learning but their brain isn’t developing,” Hager said. “That will affect them for the entire school career.”
 
After the forum this morning, Pingree and Concannon toured a greenhouse that students maintain and had lunch with them in the school cafeteria.