79R6099 KO-D

By:  Griggs                                                       H.R. No. 500



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Good nutrition is a vital factor in a child's 
ability to learn, and the food service professionals and workers of 
the Texas Association for School Nutrition are joining other 
education and health organizations and government agencies in a 
campaign to raise awareness of the many educational and health 
benefits of the Texas school lunch program; and
	WHEREAS, The National School Lunch Act was enacted by 
Congress in 1946 in an effort to safeguard the health and well-being 
of the nation's children; during the 2003-2004 school year, over 
2.4 million Texas schoolchildren on average ate a healthy lunch 
every day at one of the more than 7,600 schools participating in the 
Texas school lunch program; and
	WHEREAS, Operating under the supervision of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Agriculture, 
the Texas school lunch program brought over $700 million in federal 
funding to the State of Texas with the more than 447 million lunches 
served during the 2003-2004 academic year; and
	WHEREAS, A healthful, well-balanced diet not only helps a 
child to be alert and ready to learn in the classroom, but studies 
have shown that it also helps to prevent many chronic illnesses, 
such as Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease; and
	WHEREAS, Assuring that every child attending a Texas school 
has the opportunity to eat a nourishing lunch is an effective and 
economic means of improving the child's academic performance and 
health, and the individuals who contribute to our schoolchildren's 
daily nutrition are helping to ensure that future generations of 
Texans have a strong and healthy foundation on which to build; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby recognize the week of March 7-11, 2005, as Texas 
School Lunch Week and commend the Texas Association for School 
Nutrition and its members for their dedication and service in 
promoting the health and education of our schoolchildren through 
their implementation of the school lunch program in Texas; and, be 
it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for the association as an expression of high regard by the 
Texas House of Representatives.