Nemours Applauds Passage of Child Nutrition Legislation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nemours, a premier, integrated child health system, congratulates the United States House of Representatives for passing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, legislation that reauthorizes critical child nutrition programs. We applaud Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, and Chairman Miller for their leadership in working with the Senate to pass legislation that will protect and promote the health of children. House passage of the bill has cleared the way for the President to sign it into law.

This momentous child nutrition bill makes it possible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop improved nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools, and it strengthens school wellness policies. The bill raises nutritional standards for child care centers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and provides funding for training, technical assistance and tools to assist child care providers in complying with new standards and promoting wellness among young children.

"The House has seized this opportunity to prioritize the health of our nation's children, especially our nation's youngest children, who increasingly spend time in child care," said Debbie Chang, Vice President of Policy and Prevention at Nemours. "Providing opportunities for young children to develop healthy habits early in life will set the stage for later childhood and will help children grow up to be healthy adults." Nemours is pleased to have worked with both the House and Senate to secure provisions in the bill that promote the Delaware model for wellness in child care, where a successful pilot program evolved into statewide child care licensing regulations that now benefit 54,000 children annually. Passage of this bill will spread higher nutritional standards and other wellness policies on the national level, reaching more than 3.2 million children who are in child care settings. Nemours is proud to lead Healthy Kids, Healthy Future, a public and private collaboration to address obesity prevention for children from birth to age 5.  

"We know that good nutrition is vital to children's healthy development and that it contributes to their ability to learn and achieve in school," said Ms. Chang. "Federal nutrition programs play a particularly important role for needy families, contributing to children's nutrition, overall health and growth, and school readiness."

Nemours commends the House and Senate for developing, passing and putting child nutrition legislation on the President's desk.

About Nemours

Nemours is an integrated children's health system with operations in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida. The organization's hub is the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, a 200-bed full service pediatric medical center in Wilmington, DE.  The duPont Hospital is the academic partner of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. Nemours operates 14 outpatient specialty sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and eight primary care sites in Delaware. In Florida, the Nemours Children's Hospital is under construction near Orlando and expected to open in 2012. Nemours offers outpatient pediatric specialty care at seven locations, including Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola.

Nemours provides health education through KidsHealth, the world's most visited web site dedicated to the health of children; health promotion and obesity prevention programs through Nemours Health and Prevention Services, and adjunct programs in detection and intervention such as the Nemours BrightStart! dyslexia initiative. The Office of Child Health Policy and Advocacy in Washington, DC, allows Nemours to advocate for improved health outcomes for all children, not just the patients it serves. Online at www.Nemours.org.

SOURCE Nemours