Former White House nutrition advisor Sam Kass says food policy advocates “are already nostalgic for the Obama era and will be playing defense for the next four years,” says Associated Press in naming potential flash points. Kass says regulations such as the overhaul of the Nutrition Facts label and calorie counts on menus are likely to stay but there will be little additional progress.
Congress was supposed to reauthorize child nutrition programs last year but neither the House nor Senate has brought a bill to a vote. The bill written by the House Education Committee would create a three-state trial of a school nutrition block grant and increase the reimbursement rate to schools. But it would do so by curtailing a program that makes it easier for schools in poor neighborhoods to serve meals for free to all pupils. The Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill that expands the summer food program and slows, but does not halt, the move toward more fruit, vegetables and whole grains in school meals and less fat, sugar and salt.
The AP says the Trump administration could seek changes in school nutrition programs. With a farm bill on the horizon, the food stamp program also will be under scrutiny. Conservative Republicans want to restrict eligibility. The Trump campaign said it wanted to rein in the “food police” at the FDA but retracted the language soon afterward.