U.S. House of Representative seal U.S. Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz
Representing the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2009
 CONTACT:  Rachel Magnuson, 202-225-6111
 
U.S. Rep. Schwartz: “USDA Extension of Philadelphia School Lunch Program is a Major Win for Philadelphia’s Children”
 
Washington, D.C. - Earlier today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will continue the highly successful Philadelphia Universal Feeding Program, which ensures that school lunch money is spent on nutritious food for students, and not on administrative expenses , through the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. The Child Nutrition Act, which was last reauthorized in 2004, is expected to be taken up later this year by the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee.

For more than the past six months, U.S. Rep. Schwartz has worked with her colleagues, including U.S. Senator Casey and U.S. Rep. Fattah, to find a way to ensure that this program would continue to operate.

“This is a major win for Philadelphia’s children. USDA made the right decision in recognizing how vital this effort is to keeping children healthy, prepared for school and nourished, without having to have layers of bureaucracy. Hungry kids can’t focus on learning, and I will continue to work in Congress to support not just this effort here in Philadelphia, but to push in the upcoming Child Nutrition Act for efforts furthering universal feeding through the United States,” said U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz.

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