FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks during a video conference with farmers, ranchers and meat processors held by US President Joe Biden from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, US, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
School meals for millions of children in the United States would include less sugar, more whole grains, and lower sodium under new standards proposed by the Biden administration on Friday.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the updated standards, to be rolled out over the next several years, were essential to tackling health concerns like childhood obesity.
鈥淭his is a national security imperative. It鈥檚 a healthcare imperative for our children. It鈥檚 an equity issue. It鈥檚 an educational achievement issue. And it鈥檚 an economic competitiveness issue,鈥� he said in a livestreamed event announcing the standards.
Under the proposed standards, by fall 2024, 80% of the grains provided by schools would need to be whole grain. By fall 2025, there would be limits for high-sugar products like cereals and yogurts, added sugar in flavored milks, and sodium. Future years would see additional limits on added sugar and sodium.
Some school nutrition directors worry the stricter guidelines will force schools to scale back menus, inadvertently pushing students to less healthy food choices.
鈥淢ost districts allow students to leave campus. They鈥檒l be hitting the convenience stores, the fast-food restaurants,鈥� said Michael Gasper, nutrition services supervisor for the School District of Holmen, Wisconsin. 鈥淣utrition is only nutrition if they eat it.鈥�
School meal programs continue to struggle with inflated food prices and labor shortages, making new regulations difficult to implement, Gasper added.
The debate over school nutrition has spanned several administrations. The Obama administration hiked standards, requiring schools to serve fruits and vegetables daily and offer more whole grains. Under the Trump administration, some of those requirements were rolled back.
The Food Research & Action Center, a leading nutrition and hunger group, cheered Friday鈥檚 announcement.
鈥淭hese proposed evidence-based standards will make for a healthier school day,鈥� said FRAC President Luis Guardia in a statement.
Dairy industry advocates pushed back on the potential limits to flavored milk in schools.
鈥淲hile we are pleased that this proposed rule continues to make dairy central to child nutrition, we are concerned with USDA鈥檚 ongoing efforts to propose limitations to milk and dairy in school meals,鈥� said Michael Dykes, chief executive of the International Dairy Foods Association.
About 30 million students eat school lunches and 15 million eat school breakfasts each year, according to Department of Agriculture data.
The Biden administration committed to updating school meal nutrition standards as part of its strategy laid out at a conference on hunger last year.
The USDA will collect comments on the proposed rule.