Wednesday, Jan 26 2011 7:53PM
Alaskan officials are hoping to pass legislation to expand school lunches and improve the quality of life for villagers.
Alaska state Senator Albert Kookesh is joining other state lawmakers in supporting a new bill that would provide more funding for school meal programs in rural districts, reported KTSK News.
The legislation has already been backed by half of the Alaskan senate and Kookesh - one of the co-sponsors - said the bill would give rural areas more spending flexibility. However, he added that the program would require the state to match federal funding for the initiative to go through.
Kookesh told the radio station that he also plans on pushing projects aimed at expanding rural community development, including repairing local community halls and expanding funding for village sewer and water system services. In the interview, Kookesh specified that [the] projects need to be simple enough that they are sustainable in outlying villages once the engineers have left.
Many rural Alaskan villages lack a safe water supply or indoor plumbing. According to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 5,800 households in the state do not have regular access to clean water.