WASHINGTON, DC -  U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma), the top Democrat on the U.S. House Education subcommittee that handles federal school nutrition programs, issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement earlier today that the nation’s largest beverage distributors have agreed to halt most sales of soda in schools:

“I commend the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the beverage industry for taking steps in the right direction towards improving the health of American school children,” said Rep. Woolsey.  “But we can’t just stop at sodas and drinks.  I will continue working to enact the “Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act” so that all food on school campuses is nutritious as well.  Children spend much of their waking hours in class, so schools must be on the front line in reducing obesity and diet-related disease.”

Last month Congresswoman Woolsey introduced bipartisan legislation with Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) to require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update its nutrition standards for foods sold on school grounds and ensure that all foods sold in schools during the school day meet those standards.

The legislation, the “Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act,” is supported by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the National PTA, the School Nutrition Association, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and others.

Rep. Woolsey is a leader in promoting school nutrition programs.  She enacted a national school breakfast pilot project and continues to fight for legislation that will improve school food options.  In the 108th Congress, she was a key player in the bipartisan reauthorization of the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts and she authored H.R. 2987 with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) that included grants to promote healthy school nutrition environments.  Woolsey also passed legislation encouraging local products to be included in school meals.   As part of her “Balancing Act” legislation, H.R.1589, to help working families balance work and family responsibilities, she has included a provision for universal school breakfast so that all of the nation’s children start the school day ready to learn.