STAND. COM. REP. NO.1571

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.C.R. No. 151

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 151 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE STATE DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, AND EDUCATION, AND THE HAWAII SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE TO DEVELOP NUTRITIONALLY SOUND MENU PLANS THAT WILL PROVIDE OPTIONAL VEGETARIAN SCHOOL LUNCHES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure, as received, was to urge the development of a nutritionally sound menu plan that will provide alternate vegetarian school lunches in Hawaii's public schools.

Testimony in support of this measure Department of Health, Department of Education, Vegetarian Society of Hawaii, and six private citizens. The Board of Agriculture provided comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that more of our youth are turning to a vegetarian life style. However, although some of our public schools may provide salad bars to accommodate those students, many do not. Your Committee encourages better eating habits to ensure a healthier Hawaii. However, your Committee would like to take this resolution one step further by also requesting the removal of soda from vending machines on school campuses since soda provides no nutritional value and in fact contains substances harmful to our children, such as caffeine.

Your Committee has amended this measure by removing all references to "vegan" meals, adding a provision requesting the removal of soda from school vending machines, and making technical, nonsubstantive changes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 151, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Education, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 151, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

____________________________

DAVID MATSUURA, Chair