Bill Text: HI SCR126 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Vegetarian School Meals; Department of Education

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-25 - Report adopted, referred to WAM. [SCR126 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-SCR126-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	126
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Encouraging the Department of education, in collaboration with the department of health, to develop nutritionally sound public school menu plans that give students the option of low-fat, plant-based, and high-fiber entrees as part of a school lunch meal.

 

 

     WHEREAS, all students should be assured nutritionally balanced diets to help them become healthy adults who do not suffer from the effects of obesity or malnutrition; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Medical Journal reports that one-third of Hawaii's school children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight; and

 

     WHEREAS, many children consume too much saturated fat and sodium and do not get enough fiber, whole grains, fruits, or vegetables; and

 

     WHEREAS, as a result of their diets, children are increasingly affected by obesity and related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, all of which were previously considered adult diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, plant-based foods are cholesterol-free, generally low in fat, lower in calories, and higher in fiber; and

 

     WHEREAS, plant-based school meals are not just healthier than conventional school meals, they are some of the healthiest options schools can provide and have the potential to make the biggest impact on improving children's health; and

 

     WHEREAS, many children get more than half of their daily calories at school, and with each low-fat, plant-based, and high-fiber entree that a child chooses, that child is more likely to lower the risk of becoming overweight and developing diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers; and

     WHEREAS, across the country, schools that offer low-fat, plant-based, and high-fiber school meals have found these meals to be well accepted by their students; and

 

     WHEREAS, many schools have found it difficult to meet the nutritional requirements set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture; offering low-fat, plant-based, and high-fiber school meals will make it easier for schools to meet and even exceed these requirements; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Health, is encouraged to develop nutritionally sound public school menu plans that give students the option of low-fat, plant-based, and high-fiber entrees as part of a school lunch meal; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education, in cooperation with the Department of Health, is requested to report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015, on whether nutritionally sound public school menu plans have been developed and implemented to give students the option of low-fat, plant-based, and high-fiber entrees as part of a school lunch meal; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education and Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Vegetarian School Meals; Department of Education