The Child Nutrition Act - a major piece of federal legislation which determines school food policy and resources - will begin reauthorization in 2009.

This law, revisited every 5 years, determines what our schools are able to purchase, prepare, and serve for school meals. For many children, these meals are their most dependable source of nourishment which makes it imperative that we ensure real food is served that is healthy and sustaining. In these tenuous times of economic instability and increasing health disparities, the substance of those meals becomes even more precious for the health and well-being of our young people.

School programs that embrace the freshest, highest-quality food available also deliver a valuable educational opportunity for hands-on learning leading to lifelong healthy eating habits. This is a win-win for our students, educators, farmers, families and for the environment.

The 2004 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act made forward strides in requiring all school districts to adopt wellness policies. The 2009 reauthorization now offers the opportunity to strengthen this requirement by offering resources for implementation of the policies and increasing the funding available for fresh, healthy school food.

We need to let our legislators know that real food in schools is a down payment on the health of our children. School cafeterias which purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables could provide fresh, tasty and nutritionally dense food while supporting the local economy. We hope to see fresh, healthy whole food in every school lunchroom and an integrated curriculum including school gardens on every campus.

This Child Nutrition Act reauthorization offers a tremendous opportunity to create a future for school food in which fresh, healthy meals are the norm and all children have access to the type of comprehensive nutrition education that creates healthy habits for a lifetime.
Please join us in taking action for a healthy reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.

1. See more information and Sign the Time for Lunch petition at: http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch/

2. Contact: Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, Rep. James Sensenbrenner or Rep. Gwen Moore.

3. Organize an "Eat-In" as a neighborhood picnic, pot luck, back-to-school event for families, or a family reunion to send a message that we want better food for our school children.

Contact Martha Davis Kipcak This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in order to report your action and accurate numbers of your participants to our representatives.

For more information, contact Kathy Papineau, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Martha Davis Kipcak, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .