HR0802 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0802 LRB101 20863 LAW 70707 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The School Breakfast Program has served our nation admirably since it was permanently established in 1975; and

WHEREAS, The School Breakfast Program is dedicated to the health and well-being of our nation's children; and

WHEREAS, The School Breakfast Program joins and has been joined through the years by many other excellent child nutrition programs; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is dedicated to expanding access to and enhancing current School Breakfast Programs throughout the State to ensure that our children are provided with the means to succeed; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that school-age children who experience hunger have higher levels of absenteeism, make more visits to the school nurse, and have more challenges than children receiving a well-balanced diet; and

WHEREAS, Frequent studies have shown that meals provided at school not only contribute to the nutritional needs of students but also significantly increase and enhance their ability to learn; and

WHEREAS, Parents, teachers, and school food professionals are responsible for providing the children of Illinois with the basic resources needed to grow, learn, and discover their own potential in order to live happy, fulfilling lives; and

WHEREAS, Breakfast After the Bell programs, which make breakfast part of the school day, are desirable and effective ways of ensuring more students realize the benefits of breakfast; and

WHEREAS, Offering breakfast as part of the school day improves children's diets, builds healthy, lifelong eating habits, and allows students to begin their days focused and ready to learn; the benefits of these models are maximized when eligible schools offer free meals to all students at no cost; and

WHEREAS, The Community Eligibility Provision offers high-need Illinois schools the opportunity to serve breakfast to all students at no cost; this provision has the added benefits to schools of reducing administrative costs, eliminating the collection of paper applications, streamlining meal service operations, and increasing the reimbursements schools receive from federal child nutrition programs; and

WHEREAS, More than 74 million school breakfast are served yearly to students at more than 3,400 schools in Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we do hereby proclaim March 2-6, 2020 as School Breakfast Week in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we strongly encourage all citizens to recognize the efforts made by schools, their school food service professionals, and school administrators to ensure the health, safety, and success of our children.