STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3094
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.C.R. No. 48
S.D. 1
Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui
President of the Senate
Twenty-Sixth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2012
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Health and Agriculture, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 48 entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO EXPAND A SCHOOL GARDEN PROGRAM STATEWIDE,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Health to convene a task force to expand a school garden program statewide.
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Education, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, and two representatives of the Hawaii Dietetic Association.
Your Committees find that twenty-eight percent of Hawaii's school-aged children are either overweight or obese. Many children have very limited exposure to the wide range of locally produced healthy food and do not know where the food provided comes from or how it was prepared or produced. Furthermore, the ubiquitous marketing and availability of junk food has helped to make salty, sweet, and fatty processed food preeminent among children. Your Committees also find that farm-to-school programs, including planting and tending school gardens, have supplied high-quality food and provided students with knowledge that will help to cultivate long-term healthy eating habits, sustainable practices, and better overall health.
Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 48, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Education, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 48, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Agriculture,
____________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair |
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____________________________ JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair |
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