 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
         |
|
The Honorable Edward G. Rendell, Governor Dear Governor Rendell: We write first of all to congratulate you on your recent election to lead our state for a second term as Governor. The voters strongly affirmed the leadership you have provided and the priorities you have established during your first term in office. One of your priorities has been to improve the quality of education Pennsylvania children receive in our schools. A second has been to improve the public health and thereby slow the rapid growth in the cost of medical care. We, the undersigned organizations, applaud the leadership you have shown in pursuing these two priorities. We also recognize the need to implement best practices in our communities to bolster and accelerate the gains that have been achieved. Toward that end, we urge you to include an initiative supporting school breakfast in your plans for 2007 and beyond. In contrast to many solutions that can not be implemented due to a lack of funds, funding for breakfast expansion is available through the U.S Department of Agriculture. Pennsylvania received $48 million from the USDA for school breakfasts served during the 2005-06 school year. Had Pennsylvania schools used this resource as effectively as the leading states, an additional $25 million in federal funds would have come to our state to support our children and our schools. Research tells us that eating breakfast is smart. According to the CARDIA study presented at the American Heart Association’s 43 rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease, Epidemiology and Prevention (March 6, 2003), adults who eat breakfast regularly are less likely to succumb to obesity and diabetes. Other studies have confirmed that when the risk of obesity is lowered, so is the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. A review published by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (May 2005) of 47 studies focused on breakfast consumption by children and adolescents found that skipping this important meal is widespread in the United States. Breakfast consumption has dropped in all age groups since 1965. Research data indicate that breakfast skipping is associated with lifestyle factors (smoking, infrequent exercise, dieting, concerns about body weight) that may be detrimental to health. The evidence also strongly suggests that children who regularly eat breakfast experience improved cognitive functions related to memory, test grades and school attendance. During the second Casey Administration, the Department of Education began to promote school breakfast through an incentive structure that provided additional lunch reimbursement to schools that served breakfast. That incentive produced significant growth in the number of student breakfasts during the early ‘90s. Since then, however, growth has slowed. In the school year just completed, Pennsylvania schools served over one million lunches per day through the National School Lunch Program but only 222,000 breakfasts through the School Breakfast Program. A national breakfast study released earlier this month by the Food Research Action Center placed Pennsylvania 42 nd among the states in school breakfast participation. In light of the empirical evidence linking breakfast with health and with academic achievement, Pennsylvania’s poor showing on school breakfast hampers your Administration’s efforts to improve educational quality and public health. Other states have led the way in demonstrating best practices in school breakfast. These include:
Governor, a breakfast initiative would enhance Pennsylvania’s ability to achieve your goals related to academic performance, obesity prevention and medical cost containment. It would be largely paid for by the federal government. Most importantly, it would help the kids. Please make this one of your headline initiatives in 2007. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully, Berry Friesen, Executive Director Joni Rabinowitz, Co-director Karen Wilson, Director Carolyn C. Dumaresq, Executive Director Jacqueline Rucker, Executive Director Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, Director of Public Advocacy Peg Bianca, Executive Director Victor J. Papale, Executive Director Carol Goertzel, President and CEO Rev. John E. Midwood, Executive Director JoAnne Fischer, Executive Director Christine Munchak, President JoAnn Connelly, Co-Chair Randy St. John, Senior Vice President Jerry Moore, President Jenna Mehnert, MSW, Executive Director Rick Beaton, Executive Director Joan Benso, President and CEO Terry Casey, Executive Director Darlene Bigler, President Michelle Figlar, Executive Director Cindy Stewart, Chief Executive Officer Ann Foor, Assistant Director Allison Topper, Executive Director Dr. Debra Kirchhof-Glazier, Group Coordinator Janet K. Little,
MPH, RD, LPN,
President Diane Phillips, Director of Government Relations Diana Fox, Co-Chair John Weidman, Deputy Executive Director Joseph F. Lagana, Ed.D., Founder Sharon A. Piano, Nutrition Education & Marketing Manager Dennis R. Gourley, PhD, LCSW, Executive Director Burroughs Mack, Executive Director Linda Croushore, Executive Director Michael G. Warfel, Vice President of Government Affairs Wendell W. Young IV, President William Vogler, Executive Director Audrey Tucker, Chief Executive Officer Alan Edelstein, Executive Director Joan Rogan, Executive Director Macon Nixon, Interim President Mark Lieberman, Executive Director Donald Goughler, Chief Executive Officer Scott Spangler, President and CEO John O'Brien, President Richard Cohen, President and CEO John George, PhD, President Rev. Arnold Tiemeyer, Interim Director Blair Hyatt, Executive Director Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary Sharon Grasty, Director of Social Services Aji Abraham, Senior Director of Government Relations
|
|
 |
|
| phone: 717.233.6705 food information line: 1.800.FOOD.997 |
|
