Over hauling a national school diet of mostly greasy, over-processed foods with little nutritional value, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have unveiled new healthier meal requirements that will raise nutritional standards for the first time in 15 years.
Photo courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel.
“As parents, we try to prepare decent means, limit how much junk food our kids eat, and ensure that they have a reasonably balanced diet. And when we are putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria,” said the first lady.
“When we send our kids to school, we expect that they won’t be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we try to keep them from at home. We want the food they get at school to be the same kind of food we would serve at our own kitchen tables,” she added.
The new healthier meal requirements – which will start phasing in this summer – are a key component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was championed by the first lady as part of her Let’s Move! campaign and signed into law by the president.
The first changes to school meals will become effective with lunch menus beginning July 1, 2012. Also, with the exception of the new milk requirements, changes to the breakfast program will be phased in beginning July 1, 2013.
The new milk requirements says that only fat-free (flavored or unflavored) and low-fat one percent unflavored milk may be offered as part of a meal.
One of the biggest changes to students’ school diets will be that while now whole grains are “suggested,” according to the USDA, after the new requirements go into effect, the agency says that, “At least half of the grains must be whole grain rich beginning July 1, 2012. Beginning July 1, 2014 all grains must be whole grain rich.”
Another major difference between the current school menu (which has no specifications for the types of vegetables to be served) and the new standard is that it requires the full range of vegetables and legumes (beans/peas) to be served, including: broccoli, collard greens, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, while potatoes, kidney beans and lentils.
Fruit will also be required to be served at lunch every day. The USDA says that schools may offer fruit that is either fresh, dried, frozen without sugar, or canned in light syrup, water or fruit juice. Also acceptable for the fruit requirement will be pasteurized, full-strength fruit juice.
Enquiring about what is considered fruit, the USDA said that it has been asked by education officials, “Do 100 percent fruit strips, fruit drops or other snack-type fruit or vegetable products contribute toward meal requirements.”
The USDA answered that, “No. Only whole dried fruit, whole dried fruit pieces, fresh, frozen or canned fruits, vegetables, or full strength juice many contribute toward the fruit and vegetable components” of meals.
“Diets rich in whole grain foods and other plant foods and low in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers,” added the agency.
The new school menu standards are expected to cost about $3.2 billion over the next five years, and are just one of five major components of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which are now either being implemented or under development.
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