by Late last month, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of American children through school meals. Nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sugar and more flexibility with menu planning between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. The Department came up with these changes after listening closely to feedback from the public and the consider the latest science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines. for Americans. The new rule continues the work of the Biden-Harris Administration to address food and nutrition security.
K-12 schools serve a nutritious breakfast and lunch to nearly 30 million children each school day. These meals are the main source of nutrition for more than half of these children and help improve children’s health.
“Helping children reach their full potential is the goal of all of us,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Like teachers, classrooms, books and computers, nutritious school meals are an essential part of the school environment, and when we raise the bar for school meals, it enables our children to achieve greater success inside and outside of the classroom. Building on this major milestone, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to partner with schools, districts, states and industry to build on the tremendous progress that has been made to strengthen school meals.”
The final rule previewed today is a significant step toward the Administration’s national strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 laid out at the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in September 2022.
“The new standards build on the great progress already made and address challenges that remain – including reducing sugar in school breakfasts. These updates also make it easier for schools to access locally sourced produce, which benefits both schools and the local economy,” said Cindy Long, USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator.
For the first time, added sugars will be limited in school meals across the country, with small changes happening by Fall 2025 and full implementation by Fall 2027. USDA has heard concerns from parents and teachers about excessive amounts of added sugars in certain foods, which took this into account. a new frontier. Research shows that these added sugars are found in common school breakfast items. Childcare operators will also start limiting added sugars in cereals and yoghurt – rather than total sugars – by Autumn 2025.
“The School Nutrition Association (SNA) recognizes that USDA is moving forward with more attainable, long-term nutrition goals that recognize the enormous challenges schools face as they work to adjust menus and get students to eat healthier meals get,” said CRS President Chris Derico, NHS. The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national non-profit professional organization representing 50,000 school nutrition professionals across the country.
“In light of research showing that today’s school meals are the most nutritious meals students eat, it is imperative that we sustain and operationally support school meal programs,” continued Derico. “Expanding the new cuisine will require investments in staff, training and equipment to make further sodium and sugar reductions. The USDA and Congress must ensure that schools, which are grappling with rising costs, labor shortages and supply issues, have the support and funding they need to successfully implement these new rules. “
Schools can continue to offer flavored and unflavored milk, which provides essential nutrients that children need, such as calcium, vitamin D and potassium. There will be a new limit on added sugars in flavored milk served at breakfast and lunch by Autumn 2025. 37 school milk processors – representing more than 90% of school milk volume across the country – are already committed to nutritional options supply school milk. meet this limit on added sugars.
Sodium
Schools must reduce the sodium content of their meals slightly by Fall 2027. In response to public feedback, USDA is requiring only one sodium reduction, not the three incremental reductions recommended last year. This change still puts our children in the right direction and gives schools and industry the lead time they need to prepare. Schools will be familiar with the sodium limits in this final rule, as they were supported by key school nutrition stakeholders and industry during previous rulemaking activities in 2017 and 2018.
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Current nutritional standards for whole grains will remain unchanged. Schools will continue to offer students a variety of nutrient-dense whole grains and will have the option of offering some fortified grains to accommodate students’ cultural and taste preferences.
Although not a new requirement, starting in Fall 2024 it will be easier for schools to serve protein-rich breakfast foods such as yogurt, tofu, eggs, nuts and seeds, which can help reduce sugary food choices, and at at the same time supporting vegetarian diets and other food choices.
Also starting in Fall 2024, schools have the option to require locally grown, raised or caught unprocessed agricultural products when purchasing for school meal programs, making it easier for schools buy local foods.
Additionally, starting in Fall 2025, schools will have limits on the percentage of non-home grown and produced foods they can purchase, improving the role of America’s farmers, producers, fishermen and ranchers in providing nutritious foods to schools.
School meals will continue to emphasize fruit and vegetables; whole grains; and giving children the right balance of enough nutrients for healthy, tasty meals. School nutrition professionals are local experts in their communities and will continue to serve meals that their students want to eat, while prioritizing cultural and religious food choices.
“The free breakfast lunches my grandchildren eat at school is such a relief,” said Moms Rising member Mary Beth Cochran, a disabled homemaker raising four grandchildren in Canton, North Carolina. “Honestly, I don’t know what we would do without school meals. It gives me so much peace of mind to know that no matter what the kids eat two balanced meals five days a week at school. So, I’m glad the USDA is taking action to raise nutritional standards for school meals. As a grandmother I will move mountains to make sure my grandchildren get the healthy food they need to learn and grow. I am proud to support this rule because I know it will make a real difference to the health and well-being of families like mine.”
Last month’s announcement comes just weeks after the 2024 Spring Healthy Meals Summit in St. Louis, Mayo, where hundreds of school nutrition professionals gathered to celebrate and share their innovative efforts to improve the nutritional quality of school meals. As part of the USDA Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative, 264 small and rural school districts received up to $150,000 each to give them the resources to improve their meal service operations and help them meet these updated nutrition standards.
Through the School Food System Reform Challenge Grants, the initiative is also supporting innovation in the school meals market by increasing collaboration between schools, food producers and suppliers, and other partners.
“Prior to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, my company JTM’s food group began reformulating our K 12 product offerings to reduce sodium. During COVID, we continued our R&D efforts to review formulations, particularly in our cheese and items to further reduce sodium in anticipation of the new meal pattern,” said Carole Erb, JTM Executive Director of Government Education and Sales. “JTM team members have collaborated to bring reduced sodium products to market that will satisfy today’s new meal pattern. We stand ready to continue supporting all food service directors across the country and the important work they and their staff are doing, feeding America’s children and feeding the nation.”
“As a mother and as a member of the industry I think it is important to reduce sugar in school meals. To help schools, we have created a sample menu that shows how our products fit in with the updated standards. We have also reduced added sugar by using high quality, natural ingredients that ensure our baked goods are healthy and delicious,” said Laura Trujillo Bruno, RDN, NHS, President of Buena Vista Foods.
“The nutritional standards give us a framework to build on and help us ensure that the meals we are serving are nutritious for our students. The standards help us create equity in our food system by ensuring that all children receive healthy meals at school. And indeed, we know that school cafeterias are the healthiest places that Americans eat. In Boston Public Schools, we are already moving in this direction. We have the same added sugar limits and reduced sodium in our menus as we have for many years. Therefore, it is possible to comply with the new regulations. There is a long implementation runway for others to move in this direction as well.”
By law, USDA is required to set standards for the foods and beverages served through the school meal programs that meet the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each school develops meals that fall within these standards and reflect the tastes and preferences of the students they serve.
The Department proposed updates to the standards in February 2023 and received great feedback during the 90-day public comment period resulting in over 136,000 total comments from the public. These comments were considered in developing the final nutritional standards. As a result of the proposed standards, USDA held more than 50 hearing sessions with state agencies, school districts, advocacy organizations, tribal stakeholders, professional associations, food manufacturers and other federal agencies.
