WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to improve student nutrition. As the Top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee’s subcommittee on Education Reform, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA) worked with Republican Committee Chair John Boehner (OH), Ranking Member George Miller (CA) and Subcommittee Chair Michael Castle (DE) to craft the bill. The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act, H.R. 3873, was passed by 419-5 and will help improve the nutrition of America’s children by ensuring that all children have access to healthy foods and are better equipped to make informed food choices.

The bill improves access to school meal programs, expands health and nutrition education and reauthorizes programs that ensure all American children have access to healthy nutrition: the school lunch and breakfast programs; the WIC program (Women, Infants and Children); the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which subsidizes meals and snacks for low income children in child care and after school programs; and the Summer Food Program, which provides food to children during the summer.

"The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act is a good first step in ensuring that all American children are eating healthy, nutritious foods,” said Rep. Woolsey. “This legislation will make it easier for students and their families to be full participants in food programs that already exist. New technologies will make it easier for all kids to have an equal chance to choose healthy foods at school, and will reduce the stigma attached to schoolchildren who are participants in school food programs.”

“We all know that a good breakfast improves students’ academic performance, behavior and attendance,” said Rep. Woolsey. “I am particularly pleased that the bill will help schools start or expand school breakfast programs and identify ways to make it easier for schools to serve breakfast.”

Rep. Woolsey introduced a national school breakfast pilot project in 1998 that has successfully provided school breakfast to students in six school districts throughout the country regardless of family income. “I am not giving up on my mission to offer breakfast free at school for all students,” said Rep. Woolsey, “but I know that we don’t have the money right now and I agree that we must focus our efforts on the schools with the greatest need first.”

The bill also encourages and supports states and local school districts’ efforts to improve the health and nutrition of their students through the incorporation of Team Nutrition and other nutrition education projects.’

Team Nutrition is a comprehensive plan to increase students’ understanding and awareness of healthful eating patterns, including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and physical fitness guidelines. In addition, the bill creates the Team Nutrition Network, which provides assistance to states for the development of state-wide, comprehensive, and integrated nutrition education and physical fitness programs, and provides for assistance in instituting these efforts, as well as for developing and implementing science-based education programs.