Yesterday, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, unveiled the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This chairman's mark is a discussion draft for Child Nutrition Reauthorization scheduled to be marked-up by the full committee on Wednesday, March 24.

Lincoln's bill provides $4.5 billion in new child nutrition program funding over ten years, a significant increase over previous efforts.

"We are poised for a truly historic moment in the Senate Agriculture Committee with the unveiling of a bill that makes the largest investment in our child nutrition programs to date," said Sen. Lincoln. "This proposal is a monumental step forward as we work to end childhood hunger and address the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States."

The committee also released bill summaries for the hunger and nutrition aspects of the bill, as well as the bill's program management framework. 

Commenting on the chairman's mark, United Fresh Vice President of Nutrition and Health Dr. Lorelei DiSogra said, "Senator Lincoln's bill is a great start toward improving the quality of school meals. We support the policy priorities in the bill and we are especially pleased to see the performance-based $.06-per-meal increase in the federal reimbursement rate for school lunch. This will help schools improve the nutritional quality of school meals, including serving more fresh fruits and vegetables. United Fresh wants to see a very robust Child Nutrition Act and we will continue to advocate with congressional leadership for the $1 billion per year in additional funding that President Obama has requested.''

For more information, contact Dr. DiSogra at 202-303-3400, ext. 403.