New USDA Guidelines for School Food: Can They Be Met?
Posted by Katherine Van Steenburgh on Friday, January 27, 2012
For the first time in 15 years, the USDA has updated and improved the nutritional guidelines for school food.
On Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new USDA nutrition guidelines. In short, schools will be required to serve more-nutritious meals with twice as many fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, less sodium, and less fat. The announcement also included the news that the reimbursement rate for schools is increasing by 6 cents per meal.
The reactions from nutrition leaders have been mostly positive regarding the new policies.
The Washington Post recapped some of the most notable reactions including these remarks by Chef Jose Andres: “The future of America is about our children, about making sure that the foods they eat allow them to become meaningful members of our communities. Good food is the beginning of a better tomorrow.”
I couldn’t agree more. However, as you no doubt know, due to budget cuts and the recession, school budgets are extremely tight and schools can’t afford additional expenses.
So even with the positive response to the new standards and reimbursement rate, some have concerns on how this will affect schools’ budgets. Many are wondering and asking: Will schools be able to afford serving healthy meals to meet the new standards? Good news: There is compelling evidence that, not only is this doable, many schools are already doing it. Cafeterias around the nation have already started serving healthier meals that meet the new standards…and have been doing it with the old reimbursement rate.
The Kansas City Star reports: “In the Kansas City area, school districts anticipating the changes already have begun implementing more nutritious lunches. Indeed, a reporter for The Kansas City Star along with dietitians visited six elementary schools in Johnson County over the past several weeks. All the schools were implementing changes, some more than others.”
And in Michigan: “Jackson Public Schools already meet many of the new healthier school lunch standards being released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture today, its food ser vice director said…“We’ve been working on these kind of changes for probably the last 13 years,” said Brant Russell, JPS food service director. “We met their requirements for serving green and red-orange vegetables years ago. But this is a step in the right direction for everyone.” [Mlive]
Hungry for more success stories? Check out these three school food success stories posted by The School Nutrition Association on their public awareness website, Tray Talk:
Local Chef Adds Healthy Flavors to Washington School Meals
Texas Students Help Cultivate Healthy School Meals
Virginia Cafeterias Go Green with Local Produce, Composting, and Recycling
With so many success stories and the knowledge that healthy food is critical to a child’s ability to grow and thrive, these changes are worth it and realistic to achieve. This is such a significant milestone in the enhancement of nutrition for our children.
January 27, 2012 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: food guidelines, healty food, michell obama, nutrition, usda
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