Release No. 0242.00

Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
American School Food Service Association
St. Louis, Mo - July 18, 2000

"Thank you Phyllis (Griffith, President). I want to reaffirm what Vice President Gore recently wrote to you: That child nutrition is and must remain a high priority for this nation. He is really committed to providing children all the tools they need to meet their full potential. I might add that he has a strong advocate for children right by his side in Tipper Gore, whom I was proud to introduce to your Legislative Action Conference when she announced the beginning of the school breakfast pilots.

"Thank you very much for this award. I'm tempted to say that I don't deserve this, but I'm reminded of what Jack Benny said when he got an award: "I don't deserve this, but then again, I have arthritis and I don't deserve that either."

"I'm deeply honored and proud to be here today. And I'm truly humbled by your gracious words and praise, almost to the point of being speechless...........I said almost.

"Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." And in that sense the pride in the achievements we've made in the past seven years in child nutrition certainly should be shared by many people. We begin of course with President Clinton and Vice President Gore whose leadership and commitment to the nation's children has paved the way for helping our most vulnerable citizens on many fronts -- from education to health care to child nutrition. And there are the many dedicated people at USDA and other federal and state agencies, non-profits and industry who've really stepped up to the plate and done their share.

"I particularly want to single out USDA's Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, Shirley Watkins. A few weeks ago I had the honor of presenting her with Good Housekeeping's Women in Government Award -- a well-earned seal of approval. Shirley is ASFSA's gift to USDA and she truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Also joining us today is our Deputy Administrator for Special Nutrition Programs, also a past President of ASFSA, Dorothy Caldwell.

"But most of all the pride in that thing well done is shared by every person in this room and all the people you represent. I've often mused about how what we do at the top levels of government affects people's lives. For our policies and programs to really have an effect and to really matter in the lives of millions of children, it depends on what happens at the grass roots level. You are the people on the front lines. You are the folks carrying the messages of food safety, better nutrition, better education and better health care to the nation's children. You are the ones working at the grass roots where public policy becomes make-or-break reality. One of the principle goals of government service is helping to empower people like yourselves to do what you do best. So I am truly humbled by your graciousness in presenting me with this award because it says to me that we're doing better at helping you do your jobs better.

"And I also want to commend you for your efforts on food recovery and gleaning to help the hungry. You have enthusiastically responded to my call for action and I want to thank you for your efforts. In fact today USDA is releasing a manual discussing some of the best practices for food recovery and gleaning in the school lunch program so that schools may learn from each other. I am also encouraged by your Community Kitchens project which USDA is proud to have helped fund. And I want to call your attention to our regional workshops designed to increase school purchases of food directly from farmers. This program is good for farmers, helps local economies and provides students with fresh, nutritious food.

"We've come a long way in seven years in improving our various nutrition programs - School Meals, WIC, Child and Adult Feeding Program, Food Stamps and more. But as proud as I am of what we've done, I am equally as proud of the foundation we've laid together to deal with new and growing challenges.

"We have learned that a well-fed child is better prepared to learn - which includes being better behaved. That's why I'm very proud that this year we were able to launch our school breakfast pilot program. And, judging by last week's vote on the hill to overwhelming reject an attempt to remove funding for our pilot program, Congress has come to understand the importance of school breakfasts as well. With that kind of momentum I look forward to proving once and for all that universal access to school meals improves the education of our children.

"Dealing with the high incidence of childhood obesity has become one of our most formidable challenges in recent years with 1 in 5 children overweight or obese. I'm encouraged by the fact that the school meals program now conforms to the dietary guidelines. But I do realize that it's not just a matter of if you cook it they will eat it.

"Our school meals program faces obstacles such as: What kind of eating environment do our kids have to eat in? Are we promoting a wolf-it-down type of behavior? Are we providing a good atmosphere in which to eat and socialize? Are we ensuring that vending machines or fast food outlets that compete for children's food choices meet the guidelines for healthy eating? Are we working to avoid stigmatizing children who are eligible for free and reduced price meals?

"We are just beginning to address these and other environmental factors that influence children's nutritional choices through programs like "Changing the Scene," USDA's Healthy School Nutrition Environment Project, our Food Distribution 2000 program which helps improve customer service to schools, and by using children instead of adults as taste testers which we did in May.

"We know that you have very tight budgets. That is why I am proud that we will be providing you with many more commodities this school year than last. Working with your association and the Congress, we've increased commodity entitlement by $34 million for this year and by more than $70 million for next year. Also, next year, we will purchase an additional $200 million of specialty fruits and vegetables for distribution to schools and other commodity programs.

"Of course, nutrition education has to be a priority in the coming years. Because, when all is said and done, what a child eats and how much kids exercise will depend on their ability to make informed choices. Considering the profound impact of advertising and popular culture on the choices our children make, we've got our work cut out for us. But we can succeed through our schools by teaching children that they can have control over their lives, and that by making decisions based on sound science rather than hype, they can influence their health and their quality of life.

"Another issue that we must all be vigilant on is the safety of our food. The United States has the safest food supply in the world and we want to keep it that way. The fact is that over the years, with growing population, concentration of production, new challenges from bacteria, new products and more processed foods our food safety challenges have grown. And we must adapt accordingly.

"In the last few years we've upgraded our meat and poultry inspection system to include science based testing to identify bacteria that can not be detected by sight or smell. And this program, called HACCP, has been quite successful - for example in some instances reducing the presence of salmonella by up to 50%.

"But we've also come to understand that while industry must carry the major responsibility for ensuring that our food is safe - food safety intervention doesn't end at the loading dock. It begins before the processing plants - on our farms and ranches - and continues through the transportation, marketing and retail phases - and finally rests with consumers. At every link in the chain, action must be taken to ensure that food is, and remains, safe. For transportation and retail outlets that means proper refrigeration and storage. For restaurants and meals cooked at home it means safe food handling and cooking techniques.

"This farm-to-table approach means spreading awareness and educating everyone on safe food handling. And it begins in the schools -- teaching children as well as food preparers what they need to know. You've done a fine job on this front and I want you to keep up the good work.

"But we also need to recognize that in our schools, the customers are children. So, when we buy food for millions of children we want to ensure that we maintain the most rigorous safety standards possible as well as enhance the quality of ground meat products. And because challenges to the safety of the nation's food supply are constantly shifting, our responses and the criteria we set must also evolve. That's why we've recently begun to strengthen our requirements for the ground beef we buy for our school meals. Although we've consistently ensured that the meat we've purchased for schools always met high standards of quality and safety, when I was made aware that many of the major fast food companies have even more stringent standards for ground beef than USDA has, I was determined that the disparity would exist no more. We at USDA want to have the highest standards. As we round out the details of our specifications, it will bring about change in requirements for other ground meats as well so that you may continue to prepare and serve school meals fully confident in the quality of the meat you are serving because it is backed by solid scientific testing. Providing reliable, scientific information and increasing awareness is one of the key functions of government - whether it's about auto safety, storm warnings, disease prevention, food safety and many more.