NEW YORK—New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, announced plans to increase healthy and affordable food options in New York schools and across the nation at a press conference on Wednesday.

“Two of the biggest challenges facing our city [are] hunger and obesity, many people don’t realize that these are two sides of the very same coin,” said Quinn, “nearly half of elementary students in New York City are overweight or obese.”

In New York, 1.3 million households do not have secure access to food.

Sen. Gillibrand said that currently 17 percent of children, and 18 percent of teenagers in the US are obese. She said that obese children “don’t have a chance to achieve their potential” they don’t test, sleep or focus well and often have low self-esteem. She added that the US spends $100 million a year on obesity.

“If our children are going to have the opportunity to reach their potential, they need a healthy start,” said Gillibrand.

To improve nutrition in New York, Gillibrand is initiating the LUNCHES Act, (Lowering Urban Nutrition Costs for Healthy Eating at Schools). The act would allow more New York children in high-cost living situations to be eligible for food assistance. It would give children whose parents earn up to $40,000 per year, free or reduced cost meals. The current the cut-off is $28,000.

This Fall, Congress will reauthorize the Child Nutrition, and Women, Infant and Child (WIC) Act, which expires in 2009.

Gillibrand, Quinn and elected officials in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, have outlined five legislative reforms to strengthen the 2009 Child Nutrition and WIC acts.

The five reforms are:
1. Increase Federal meal funding for kids in regions with high living costs.
2. Increase reimbursements for school meals
3. Ban trans fat and up nutrition requirements in school meals.
4. Encourage consumption of local foods.
5. Improve WIC by repealing the hematology (blood test) requirements, which have become a burden, and allowing women and children to be eligible for WIC benefits for a year instead of six months after birth.

Gillibrand said that the typical school lunch of chicken nuggets, Doritos, canned peas and fruit, would be replaced with chicken breasts, a whole wheat bun, steamed broccoli and fresh fruit.

Better Nutrition Planned for NY, U.S. Children