 |
Sean Penn, Actor and Activist, Urges Congress to Pass Healthy School Meals Act, H.R. 4870
Sean Penn, two-time Academy Award winner for the films Mystic River and Milk, is also known for speaking out on behalf of the underprivileged. Now, he’s asking Congress to support the Healthy School Meals Act, H.R. 4870, to help the many students whose parents cannot afford to pack lunch for them—and a subsidized meal is their only option—have a healthy lunch with more fruits, vegetables, grains, and vegetarian options.
Read Sean Penn's letter to Congress:
June 14, 2010
Hello Chairman Miller,
I've recently established an NGO in Haiti (JP HRO). The work we do helps displaced children and families find the shelter, food, water, and medicine they need to stay healthy and prevent disease. But of course I am also concerned about the health of children in our own nation. Childhood obesity is widespread in every state, and an appalling number of young children are showing signs of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
I am writing to ask that you please support HR 4870, the Healthy School Meals Act, which would provide healthier options in school lunch lines to help fight the obesity epidemic. I'm joining the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and numerous others in endorsing this bill.
Millions of children in the United States eat lunches provided through the National School Lunch Program. Many parents cannot afford to pack lunches for their children, and a subsidized school meal is their only option. For some children, this meal is the best or the only one they eat all day. It is shocking that children in this country who eat lunch at school may be overweight or obese and also undernourished—like the children I work with in Haiti—because they do not have access to healthy, nutritious options.
The majority of lunches served through the National School Lunch Program contain too much saturated fat. Lunch lines are loaded with processed meat, pizza, and other unhealthy options. The American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association have both called for more vegetables, fruits, grains, and vegetarian meal options in school lunches to prevent obesity and fight disparities in health. The Healthy School Meals Act would help make this happen.
Children form their tastes early, so teaching young people to make good food choices can put them on the road to a lifetime of healthy eating. Please join me in supporting HR 4870, the Healthy School Meals Act, and include its provisions in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill.
Sincerely,
Sean Penn
|
|
