school nutrition
Alliance declares 323 schools as America’s healthiest, based on meals and exercise
The anti-obesity Alliance for a Healthier Generation named 323 schools across the country as "America's healthiest schools," based on offering healthy school meals and ensuring physical activity each day. Nearly half of the schools were from Texas, California, Georgia and Arizona. "Schools earned the distinction by successfully meeting a rigorous set of criteria for serving healthier meals and snacks, getting students moving more, offering high-quality physical and health education, and empowering school leaders to become healthy role models," said the alliance.
Chocolate flavor not a deal-breaker for milk consumption at school
On his sixth day on the job, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in the name of regulatory flexibility and making school meals more attractive to students, gave schools the green light to serve chocolate milk again. A new study suggests, however, that over time, schoolchildren do not miss flavored milk all that much.
USDA slowdown of school lunch rules ‘says that we listened’ — Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue mixed humor, keen political rhetoric and "a fiercely unapologetic tone" as he explained why he ordered a slow down in USDA school food rules in one of his first decisions in office, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Perdue defended the decision during a speech to the School Nutrition Association, which represents school food directors.
Now antibiotic-free, chicken is back on the menu in Los Angeles schools
For more than a year, chicken has been a rare item in Los Angeles public school cafeterias, reflecting the school board's policy to hold vendors responsible for animal and worker welfare among other things and the challenge of finding enough food for the nation's second-largest school system. The Los Angeles Times says chicken tenders, patties and frankfurters will be back as soon as May now that three new vendors are under contract.
White House would end McGovern-Dole school food program for poor
The Agriculture Department would see a 21 percent cut in discretionary spending under President Trump's budget proposal, including elimination of the McGovern-Dole programs that provide food for schoolchildren in poor countries and a grant and loan program for water and sewer projects in rural communities.
Britain affirms soda tax with receipts to go to school sports
Schools across Britain will see an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) for sports from a tax on sugary beverages that will be imposed beginning in April 2018, said Phillip Hammond, chancellor of exchequer, in laying out the proposed government budget. The tax was announced last March as step toward better public health through lower rates of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay, said the Independent.
Healthier food across the board in schools, says U.S.
The Obama administration buttoned down the 2010 reforms in school food — more fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grains, but less salt, fat and sugar — with a set of new USDA regulations. They include the final version of a rule, originally issued in 2013, calling for healthier snacks and an update to school "wellness" policies that "ensures that any food or beverage marketed on school campuses during the school day meets the Smart Snacks standards."
Block grant would short-change school food, say opponents
A three-state test of block grants for school lunch and breakfast programs would short-change schools and lead to less-nutritious meals for students, said a chorus of opponents that included lawmakers, antihunger groups and a group speaking for school food directors. The news conference on Capitol Hill underlined the split between the School Nutrition Association (SNA) and its one-time Republican allies.
Speaker Ryan calls for ‘flexibility’ in school-food programs
In the first plank of an election-year policy agenda, Speaker Paul Ryan said congressional Republicans "are producing reforms in federal policies that will give states, schools and local providers the flexibility they need to provide children access to healthy meals."
In partisan split, House panel approves school food bill
The House Education Committee approved a child nutrition bill to slash a program allowing free meals for students at schools in poor neighborhoods and to start a three-state test of block-grants for school food — with a bloc of Tea Party Republicans saying broader change was needed. The bill, HR 5003, was viewed as a partisan attack on broadly popular programs with little chance to become law.
Iowa teacher no longer tells students about his McDonald’s diet
Fast-food giant McDonald's "has ended a controversial practice of giving nutrition advice to students in schools, pulling back on a program that critics said was a subtle form of fast-food marketing that could imperil kids' health and understanding of nutrition," reports the Washington Post.
Republicans say school meal cuts mean higher payments
The Republican leaders of the House Education Committee say they can increase the reimbursement rate for school breakfasts by 2 cents per meal only because they would curtail a provision that allows free meals to all students in low-income neighborhoods. The squeeze on the so-called community eligibility provision has been criticized by anti-hunger groups.
Republican draft bill would cut school meal eligibility
Despite criticism of the idea, the Republican-drawn child nutrition bill filed in the House would curtail sharply the use of a provision that eases the paperwork burden on schools in low-income neighborhoods that provide free meals to all of their students.
Small financial impact when schools sell healthier meals and snacks
A study of 11 school districts in Massachusetts, where requirements for healthier school meals and snacks took effect at the same time, saw a 6.6 percent drop in food service revenue in the first year but revenues rebounded in the second year to nearly the same level as before, says the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
House panel would muzzle universal school meal program
The Republican-controlled House Education Committee would reduce access to a program that allows schools in high-poverty areas to offer free meals to all of their students, says the School Nutrition Association.
School kitchens often lack equipment for healthy meals
The White House proposed $35 million for kitchen-equipment grants to schools in its fiscal 2017 budget, a $5 million increase from the current year and "more than any budget provided since the 2009 stimulus hand-out" of $100 million, writes Bettina Elias Siegel, author of the blog The Lunch Tray, in a Civil Eats story.
Ban on school vending machines can backfire
A ban on vending machines in schools can lead to increased soda and fast-food consumption if its the only change in a school's food policy, say researchers at the UI-Chicago.
First Lady: “I’m going to fight to the bitter end”
First Lady Michelle Obama told a gathering of middle school students at the White House, "I'm going to fight until the bitter end to make sure that every kid in this country continues to have the best nutrition that they can have in our schools."
Free meals proposed for all students
Congress should permanantly expand the school food program so that all public school students can eat breakfast and lunch for free, said the School Nutrition Association on Tuesday. The association said many school food directors expect to run a deficit this school year because of school closures and the higher cost of preparing and serving meals during the pandemic.