1303 H ST Apt.

4
Davis, CA 95616
October 15, 2015
The Honorable Lois Wolk
State Government Office
31 Channel St # 440
Stockton, CA 95202
Dear Senator Lois Wolk,
I am writing to ask your support for H.R 15, Relative to California Thursday. This bill
urges all California schools to participate in California Thursdays, a collaboration between
the Center for Ecoliteracy and participating school districts to serve healthy, freshly prepared
school meals made from California-grown food. I believe if passed, this bill could benefit
student health and academic achievement, local and state economies, and the environment.
As a college student major in nutrition, I care about the public health just like you do.
Children in California are facing diet-related public health challenges, and the biggest concern
is childhood obesity. 30.5% of Californian children are considered either overweight or obese
and they are eating strikingly few fruits and vegetables. Children spend majority of their time
at school; thus, school meal has a significant impact on children health. If this bill passed,
every school will be offered fresh fruits, vegetables and meals designed for school nutrition.
Building a healthier food environment can result in healthier behaviors among students.
In addition, good nutrition is linked to students academic performance. Inadequate
consumption of fruits and vegetables can deprive children of essential vitamins and minerals
necessary for cognitive abilities and mental concentration. While providing students fresh
local grown food, this bill would also increase the procurement of California-grown food, and
improve the economy of both rural communities and the State.
The rollout of California Thursday has been successful, but we still need your support for
H.R 15 to pass the Senate. I believe that in supporting this bill you will impact the lives of
California children and farmers. Thank you for considering this request. I look forward to
hearing your views on this bill soon.
Sincerely,
Yuxiang Wang
University of California, Davis

Yuxiang Wang
NUT116AL
10/15/2015
Overview
Children are the future of our world, but childhood obesity is a concerning
problem in California. In my perspective, children spend majority of time at school,
the food environment is important for them to develop healthy eating habits.
However, the barrier is that most schools are providing energy dense food at school
meals. H.R 15 Relative to California Thursday provided a way to solve this
problem. It will be a triple-win for it benefits the health and academic achievement of
California children, and the economy of California. This bill was introduced to the
California Assembly by Assembly Member Eggman on Apr.6, 2015 and passed the
Assembly on Apr. 23, 2015. But it has not passed California Senate yet. I wrote to
California Senator Loris Wolk who is in charge of my district to help this bill get more
attention in the Senate. Lois Wolk represents the 3rd Senate District. She is the one
who will be voting on this bill and will have the ability to influence whether the bill
will be passed in the Senate.
Sources:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_00010050/hr_15_bill_20150406_introduced.pdf
http://www.cspinet.org/booze/NAS_Letter_SenRep.htm
http://openstates.org/all/bills/?search_text=H.R+15