Washington, DC –\u00a0During National School Lunch Week, we celebrate our Nation\u2019s commitment to providing nutritious food to millions of\u00a0students, and we recognize the many dedicated food service professionals and administrators who help carry out this mission.\u00a0 In a typical year, the National School Lunch Program provides meals to nearly 30\u00a0million schoolchildren every day across the country.\u00a0 These meals enable students in need to eat nutritious meals, which helps them achieve academic success and reach their full potential.<\/p>\n
The National School Lunch Program succeeds because of the strong partnerships between the Federal Government and State governments, food service professionals, and local school leaders.\u00a0 Our Nation\u2019s farmers, ranchers, and producers are also essential to providing the food our children eat.\u00a0 Since this program was established in 1946, the collaboration between these key players has been vital to its success, and their cooperation has never been more crucial than during this pivotal time in our Nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
In recent months, it has become increasingly evident just\u00a0how many families depend on the meals provided at school.\u00a0 As thousands of schools transitioned to remote learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic, I signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to ensure schools could\u00a0continue serving children the meals they need.\u00a0 My Administration also launched the innovative public-private partnership \u201cMeals to You,\u201d which delivered more than 40\u00a0million nutritious meals to children in rural areas while schools were closed.\u00a0 In the battle with this invisible enemy, resilience and flexibility have been critical to keeping our children safe and fed, and we are thankful for the extra efforts that have been made to achieve this goal.<\/p>\n
Throughout the last few months, my Administration has recognized that our children\u2019s well-being depends so much on their access to schools.\u00a0 I have encouraged all schools to safely reopen, and we want to ensure that they are as prepared as ever to provide healthy meals to all students.\u00a0 In June, my Administration invested in the health of students by awarding more than $12.1\u00a0million\u00a0\u2014 a record amount\u00a0\u2014 in Farm to School\u00a0Grants.\u00a0 These funds will help bring clean, fresh, and locally\u2011grown foods into schools and communities as they reopen, and will help foster economic opportunity for America\u2019s farmers as we continue our economic comeback.\u00a0 Additionally, on October\u00a09, my Administration extended flexibilities and waived requirements to continue operating the summer meals program and\u00a0the seamless summer option at no cost until the end of the school year.\u00a0 This program allows any child under 18 to get a free meal at a meal distribution site, and allows parents and guardians to pick up meals for their children.\u00a0 We are proud of these measures and others that we have taken to help ensure that all students have access to nutritious food.<\/p>\n
To emphasize the importance of the National School Lunch Program, the Congress, by joint resolution of October\u00a09, 1962 (Public Law\u00a087\u2013780), has designated the week beginning on the second Sunday in October each year as \u201cNational School Lunch Week,\u201d and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in\u00a0observance of this week.<\/p>\n
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United\u00a0States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United\u00a0States, do hereby proclaim October\u00a011 through October\u00a017, 2020, as National School Lunch Week.\u00a0 I call upon all Americans to join the countless individuals who administer the National School Lunch Program in activities that support and promote awareness of the health and well-being of our Nation\u2019s children.<\/p>\n
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord two\u00a0thousand\u00a0twenty, and of the Independence of the United\u00a0States of\u00a0America the two\u00a0hundred and forty-fifth.<\/p>\n
THE WHITE HOUSE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington, DC –\u00a0During National School Lunch Week, we celebrate our Nation\u2019s commitment to providing nutritious food to millions of\u00a0students, and we recognize the many dedicated food service professionals and administrators who help carry out this mission.\u00a0 In a typical year, the National School Lunch Program…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":9542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[119,96],"class_list":["post-9541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-lunch-news-from-around-the-usa","tag-national-school-lunch-week","tag-school-lunch-news"],"yoast_head":"\n