In Favor of Senate Bill 283
Chair Rasoul, Vice Chair Simonds and Honorable Members of the House Education Committee:
On behalf of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), thank you for your consideration of SB 283, which would improve student access to healthy, nutritious school meals by removing a provision related to a minimum student percentage eligibility threshold for schools to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Furthermore, the ADA is supportive of free school meals for students statewide and applauds the provision to develop a stakeholder workgroup exploring improvements to student school meal access. This bill clearly aligns with the mission of the ADA to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
A healthy diet can help decrease the risk for obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes. According to the ADA’s Statement on Socioecological Determinants of Diabetes and Prediabetes, those with severe food insecurity have an approximately twofold risk of diabetes compared with those without food insecurity.
For children who already have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, food insecurity can also increase the risk of complications. Missing meals, for example, can disrupt the child’s blood glucose (sugar) levels and put them at higher risk of hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose. On the other side, those with diabetes who consume only unhealthy food may have more frequent high blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, which can raise the risk of long-term complications.
The increased incidence of diabetes in our children is truly alarming. According to the ADA’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, the global standard for the management and treatment of diabetes, type 2 diabetes in youth has increased over the past 20 years. Researchers have projected that the prevalence of diabetes in those under 20 years of age could quadruple in 40 years.
On behalf of your constituents with schoolchildren who are living with or at risk for diabetes, I urge you to support SB 283 as another tool to eliminate barriers and increase access to healthy school breakfasts and lunches - reducing their risk for developing diabetes.
Thank you,
Monica Billger
State Government Affairs Director
mbillger@diabetes.org
In Favor of Senate Bill 283 Chair Rasoul, Vice Chair Simonds and Honorable Members of the House Education Committee: On behalf of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), thank you for your consideration of SB 283, which would improve student access to healthy, nutritious school meals by removing a provision related to a minimum student percentage eligibility threshold for schools to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Furthermore, the ADA is supportive of free school meals for students statewide and applauds the provision to develop a stakeholder workgroup exploring improvements to student school meal access. This bill clearly aligns with the mission of the ADA to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. A healthy diet can help decrease the risk for obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes. According to the ADA’s Statement on Socioecological Determinants of Diabetes and Prediabetes, those with severe food insecurity have an approximately twofold risk of diabetes compared with those without food insecurity. For children who already have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, food insecurity can also increase the risk of complications. Missing meals, for example, can disrupt the child’s blood glucose (sugar) levels and put them at higher risk of hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose. On the other side, those with diabetes who consume only unhealthy food may have more frequent high blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, which can raise the risk of long-term complications. The increased incidence of diabetes in our children is truly alarming. According to the ADA’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, the global standard for the management and treatment of diabetes, type 2 diabetes in youth has increased over the past 20 years. Researchers have projected that the prevalence of diabetes in those under 20 years of age could quadruple in 40 years. On behalf of your constituents with schoolchildren who are living with or at risk for diabetes, I urge you to support SB 283 as another tool to eliminate barriers and increase access to healthy school breakfasts and lunches - reducing their risk for developing diabetes. Thank you, Monica Billger State Government Affairs Director mbillger@diabetes.org