Bill Text: NJ A1785 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Secretary of Higher Education to support implementation of strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement at four-year public institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A1785 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A1785-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Secretary of Higher Education to support implementation of strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement at four-year public institutions of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning healthy food choices at certain public institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. According to the September 2016 report, "State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America," New Jersey's adult obesity rate is currently 25.6 percent, up from 17 percent in 2000 and 12.3 percent in 1995;
b. Being overweight or obese increases a person's likelihood of developing diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, obesity-related cancers, and other negative health conditions;
c. Although the obesity rate for college-aged New Jerseyans, ages 18-25, is only 10.7 percent, the obesity rate for New Jerseyans ages 26-44 skyrockets to 25.7 percent;
d. Developing and promoting healthy eating habits at an early age helps people maintain a healthy weight and healthy eating habits throughout adulthood;
e. Researchers at the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs founded The Smarter Lunchroom Movement to combat the challenges that schools face in regard to student health and diet by designing simple, low to no-cost evidence-based tools that improve child eating behaviors in school cafeterias;
f. Although The Smarter Lunchroom Movement was designed for school-aged children, its principles and strategies can also be applied to young adults in college, who are often away from home for the first time and making their own nutritional choices; and
g. Implementing the strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement in New Jersey's four-year public institutions of higher education can have a positive and lasting impact on the overall health of adults in the State.
2. The Secretary of Higher Education shall make every effort to assist, guide, and support four-year public institutions of higher education in planning, establishing, and implementing the strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement. These strategies include, but are not limited to:
a. highlighting fruit and other nutritional foods by placing them near the cash register in any college or university dining hall, cafeteria, or student center that sells food items;
b. prominently displaying water, white milk, and other nutritional beverages in beverage coolers located on campus; and
c. placing the most nutrient-filled entre first in the serving line and first on the menu board in any dining hall, cafeteria, or student center that sells food items.
3. Information on The Smarter Lunchroom Movement shall be provided in a user-friendly format using plain language on the Secretary of Higher Education's website in an easily accessible location. At a minimum, the information shall:
a. define The Smarter Lunchroom Movement;
b. provide a web link to The Smarter Lunchroom Movement website;
c. list examples of strategies that support The Smarter Lunchroom Movement; and
d. include the Smarter Lunchroom Self-Assessment Scorecard.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill promotes healthy food choices at four-year public institutions of higher education by encouraging the institutions to adopt the strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement. The Smarter Lunchroom Movement was founded by researchers at the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs and offers simple, low to no-cost evidence-based tools that improve child eating behaviors in school cafeterias. Although The Smarter Lunchroom Movement was designed for school-aged children, its principles and strategies can also be applied to young adults in college, who are often away from home for the first time and making their own nutritional choices.
Under the bill, the Secretary of Higher Education is required to make every effort to assist, guide, and support four-year public institutions of higher education in planning, establishing, and implementing the strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement. These strategies include:
· highlighting fruit and other nutritional foods by placing them near the cash register in any college or university dining hall, cafeteria, or student center that sells food;
· prominently displaying water, white milk, and other nutritional beverages in beverage coolers located on campus; and
· placing the most nutrient-filled entre first in the serving line and first on the menu board in any dining hall, cafeteria, or student center that sells food.
According to the September 2016 report, "State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America," New Jersey's adult obesity rate is currently 25.6 percent, up from 17 percent in 2000 and 12.3 percent in 1995. Implementing the strategies of The Smarter Lunchroom Movement in New Jersey's four-year public institutions of higher education can have a positive and lasting impact on the overall health of adults in the State.
