Release No.  0190.00
                                                               
                            Mary Beth Schultheis (202) 720-4623
                                  mary_beth.schultheis@usda.gov
                              Contact: Jean Daniel 703-305-2286
                                       jean.daniel@fns.usda.gov


GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP TO PROMOTE HEALTHY EATING IN
SCHOOLS

     WASHINGTON, June 7, 2000  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced that the U. S. Department of Agriculture is joining a new national
partnership to promote healthy eating by children in schools.

     "The link between good nutrition and good education is clearly
demonstrated by higher test scores, better attendance and fewer behavior
problems in school," said Glickman. 

     The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Dietetic Association, the National Medical
Association and the National Hispanic Medical Association  have committed
their memberships to work with schools and communities to recognize the health
and educational benefits of balanced eating and the importance of making it a
priority in every school.  

     Ten key principles are outlined to assist each school community in
writing its own prescription for change.  The "Ten Keys" address the
challenges that children increasingly face in school such as not having enough
time to eat; meals that are not scheduled in the middle of the school day;
and, food choices that do not meet nutritional standards.

     Recent research indicates that students across the country are flunking
healthy eating. Some of the most troubling indicators reveal that:

          Only 2% of youth meet all the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid;
     16% do not meet any recommendations.
          Less than 15% of school children eat the recommended servings of fruit,
     less than 20% eat the recommended servings of vegetables; about 25% eat
     the recommended servings of grains and only 30% consume the recommended
     milk group servings on any given day.
          Only 16% of school children meet the guideline for saturated fat on any
     given day.
          Teenagers today drink twice as much carbonated soda as milk and only 19%
     of girls ages 9-19 meet the recommended intakes for calcium. 

                                
     The partnership, signed today by Shirley Watkins, Under Secretary for
Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at USDA, is one of the steps USDA is
undertaking to promote nutrition and good health, following last week's
release of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans at the National Nutrition
Summit.

     Additional information can be found on website: www.fns.usda.gov/fns/


                                #