Washington, D.C. --Sen. Kohl announced the inclusion of three nutrition programs, that will help Wisconsin's children, in the FY2006 Agriculture Appropriations conference report which was passed out of the conference committee last evening. Kohl is the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee and a leading advocate of child nutrition programs.

"Children shouldn't go hungry," said Kohl. "Each of these programs will help provide Wisconsin's children with healthy, nutritious food and help them learn the value of healthy eating habits and the importance of continuing them throughout their lives."

The three programs included in today's conference report are:

$1.1 million for Wisconsin's School Breakfast Program-This funding enables the State of Wisconsin to help schools offer nutritious breakfasts for students. The program, which Kohl has funded in the past five appropriations bills, has proved to be a great success with well over a thousand Wisconsin schools benefiting from the School Breakfast Program.

School Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program Expansion-The conference report expands the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) School Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program (FVPP) to include Wisconsin. The program makes fresh fruit and vegetables available free of charge to students in eligible schools. The quality of children's diets is a subject of considerable public concern, as is the role of the school environment in promoting healthful eating habits. National food consumption survey data indicate that dietary intakes of U.S. children and adolescents are less than optimal. Fruit and vegetable consumption among the FVPP target group is below recommended levels. Children ages 6-19 consumed on average half the recommended minimum of fruit servings in 1994-96.

School staff who have participated in the pilot thus far believe that the pilot lessened the risk of obesity, increased attention in class, reduced consumption of less healthy food, reduced number of unhealthy snacks brought from home. In addition the School staff also found that the pilot increased students' awareness and preference for a variety of fruits and vegetables (particularly less familiar kinds, such as kiwis and fresh pears), helped children who would otherwise be hungry get more food, and increased students' consumption of fruit and vegetables at lunch.

Simplified Summer Food Program Expansion- The Simplified Summer Food Program will be expanded to Wisconsin and seven other states. The Summer Food Service Program was created by Congress in 1969 to help fill the gap in low-income neighborhoods by providing needy children with the nutrition they need to learn, play and grow throughout the summer months when school lunches are not provided. In 1999, a pilot program was created to reduce the bureaucratic obstacles in reimbursement and remedy a decline in the participation in the Summer Food Service Program. The 13 states in the original Pilot Program increased summer nutrition participation 25.2 percent. The Simplified Summer Food Program reduces paperwork for sponsors and maximizes the reimbursement they can receive, making the program more affordable and efficient to run. Sponsors in non-pilot states are reimbursed separately for operating and administrative costs, and they cannot use leftover funds from one account to pay for expenses in the other account. In the Pilot Program, sponsors can combine operating and administrative expenses and receive the maximum reimbursement for total expenses. In summer 2000 Wisconsin served in excess of 1 million meals at about 400 sites operated by 70 sponsoring organizations.

The conference report on the FY06 Agriculture Appropriations bill will now go before the full House and Senate for final ratification and then be sent to the President to be signed into law.

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