School Meal Standards Threatened

The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act is set to expire in September, and political opponents are already lining up to weaken new, healthier standards that affect all meals served under the federal child nutrition programs. Sen. John Hoeven announced legislation this week to roll back the whole grain and sodium standards. The School Nutrition Association, which advocates for school food service groups, has been lobbying Congress to roll back the new standards. Some schools have complained about the added food cost and have pointed to students tossing uneaten food as indicators students don’t like the taste of the foods that qualify under the law. But a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at UConn suggests otherwise. It finds students choose fruit offered by the cafeteria 66% of the time, up from 54% in 2012 when the new rules went into affect. And they throw away less food than before the guidelines changed, consuming 84% of their entrees compared with 71% before. Read more...