HOUSE MEMORIAL 54

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Roberto "Bobby" J. Gonzales and Brian Egolf

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 20, 2017 "SCHOOL NUTRITION DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, school nutrition programs provided through the national school lunch program and school breakfast program have provided millions of healthy and nutritious meals to schoolchildren throughout New Mexico for more than seventy years; and

     WHEREAS, school nutrition programs serve healthy meals, free or at low cost, to students in New Mexico schools; and

     WHEREAS, school nutrition programs not only feed hungry children and support family well-being, they also act as "economic stabilizers" during economic downturns; and

     WHEREAS, many children consume at least one-half of their daily calories at school, and for many children, food served at school may be the only nutritious food they regularly eat; and

     WHEREAS, school nutrition programs play an important role in helping to ensure that every student in New Mexico starts school ready to learn, since studies show that a well-fed and well-nourished child is a more eager and attentive student; and

     WHEREAS, school nutrition programs have demonstrated a commitment in New Mexico to promote children's health, well- being and educational excellence as primary goals for student success; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has ranked first or second nationally in students participating in school breakfast programs in recent years and has been among the top ten states in numbers of students participating in school breakfast programs in the last ten years; and

     WHEREAS, nearly three hundred forty-seven thousand students across New Mexico are eligible to participate in school meal programs; and

     WHEREAS, the public education department's fresh fruit and vegetable program brings healthy, farm-grown food to tens of thousands of schoolchildren in the state, a measure that contributes to a healthy diet and mitigates childhood obesity; and

     WHEREAS, as recently as 2011, nearly one-third of New Mexico children were overweight or obese, and experts project that a healthier population could save the state more than one billion five hundred million dollars ($1,500,000,000) annually in health care expenses related to obesity and diabetes;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state recognize that funding for school nutrition programs to promote healthier lifestyles and academic achievement is a wise investment in the health of its people and its future workforce; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Monday, February 20, 2017, be declared "School Nutrition Day" in the house of representatives.

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