National School Lunch Week, 2019

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9948 of October 11, 2019

National School Lunch Week, 2019

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National School Lunch Week, we recognize the
school lunch programs across our country that nourish
our children with nutritious, American-grown food that
they need to learn in the classroom and work toward
bright futures. By ensuring all students have access to
well-balanced meals, we can help our Nation's youth
maintain healthy lifestyles and help them achieve
success in the classroom and beyond.

Established in 1946, the National School Lunch Program
provides low-cost or free lunches to more than 29
million children in nearly 100,000 public and
residential child-care institutions across our country.
Since its creation, the number of students served by
the program has quadrupled, and school cafeterias now
serve nearly 5 billion lunches annually. This
successful Federal, State, and local partnership would
not be possible without the assistance of thousands of
food service professionals, school administrators,
community members, and parents. As a nation, we are
grateful for those who go above and beyond to ensure
all children are able to focus on their education and
development instead of worrying about their next lunch.

America's farmers, ranchers, and producers also play a
role in ensuring our children's plates are filled with
healthy, domestically sourced foods. This year, my
Administration awarded a record high of more than $9
million in Farm to School Program grants, increasing
access to local food and strengthening links to
agriculture for more than 3.2 million children in 42
States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Through our efforts to increase the amount of local
food in our country's schools, we are promoting the
success of both our farmers and ranchers and our
Nation's children.

To emphasize the importance of the National School
Lunch Program to our youth's nutrition, the Congress,
by joint resolution of October 9, 1962 (Public Law 87-
780), has designated the week beginning on the second
Sunday in October each year as ``National School Lunch
Week'' and has requested the President to issue a
proclamation in observance of this week.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim October 13 through
October 19, 2019, as National School Lunch Week. I call
upon all Americans to join the countless individuals
who administer the National School Lunch Program in
activities that support and promote awareness of the
health and well-being of our Nation's children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
fourth.