Mission: Readiness, composed of retired military officers, plans to lobby lawmakers against a school lunch waiver when Congress re-convenes after Labor Day, says Politico. The group also would release a report on the need for healthy meals as a prevent obesity among children and teenagers. Leaders say so many young people are obese, it is difficult for the military to recruit service members. Politico says “First lady Michelle Obama has an unexpected force backing her up in the simmering fight over school lunch standards.”
The waiver, proposed by House Republicans, would be available to schools who lost money on food service for six months in a row. It was folded into the House bill, shelved for weeks now, to fund USDA for the fiscal year beginning on Oct 1. Roll Call says Senate Appropriations chair Barbara Mikulski says she will try in September to wrap all the unfinished appropriations bills into an omnibus package that would fund the government in fiscal 2015. The Senate version of the USDA funding bill is among the unfinished bills.
The School Nutrition Association says a straw poll at its annual conference illustrates its complaints about the 2010 school lunch reforms. The poll drew responses from food director in 240 school districts. Most of them reported higher costs, more discarded food and challenges in buying foods that meet the new standards. Nearly 23 percent of respondents indicated they would be interested in applying for the proposed one-year waiver.