babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Healthier School Lunch: It’s the Law
Soon-to-be school lunch of the past?
Today, President Obama officially outlawed junky school lunches — sort of. With a focus on bringing healthy food to more children, Obama gave schools more funding and better guidelines when feeding children. He also set the stage for eventually eliminating sugary drinks and nutrition-less snacks from school campuses all together.
Obama signed into law the landmark legislation Congress passed which should go far in making nutritious food available to thousands of more children and also keep subsidized junk out of the lunchroom spotlight.
At a Washington, D.C., elementary school, Obama signed the new law. He said to the crowd of kids and supporters:
“At a very basic level, this act is about doing what’s right for our children.”
The $4.5 billion law boosts nutrition programs at schools in several ways:
It bumps up the federal reimbursement rate for free and reduced lunches by 6 cents, which should help many schools afford to provide the meals. The measure also provides funding so that 20 million after-school meals can be provided for qualifying children around the country. Right now, most schools can only afford to serve snacks for children who stay after hours.
The law also ensures that money meant for healthy food can’t be diverted into less healthy options over in the a la carte lines, some that has been shown to undermine efforts in the school kitchen to encourage kids to make healthier choices.
Improving school lunches, supporters hope, is one strategy in helping improve health in U.S. children. Rising obesity rates have been blamed, in part, on a lack of fresh, nutrient-dense food at home and in schools, something supporters of this law hope will improve.
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
Manjari commented on Dec 13 10 at 4:07 pmGood!
ALittleShort commented on Dec 13 10 at 5:46 pmAnd soon all of you will find out that after all this fuss, it will not change the obesity rate one bit. So glad we are spending MORE MONEY on things that aren’t a dire need.
Madeline Holler commented on Dec 13 10 at 5:54 pmA agree, ALS, this law won’t, by itself, solve obesity. But I think there’s a whole lot of prevention contained in this bill. Tough to compete with french fries if kids are given them as an option equal to more nutritious options.
Nancy Rice commented on Dec 14 10 at 10:45 amThanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, schools will be able to serve more fresh produce, whole grains and low-fat dairy products in cafeterias and reach more hungry children with healthy school meals. In many communities, the bill’s 6 cent increase for each school meal can cover the cover the cost of switching from white to whole-wheat bread or from canned vegetables to fresh. Visit http://www.TrayTalk.org to read more about how schools nationwide are providing healthier choices, and to find out how you can get involved.
School Nutrition Association President Nancy Rice, M.Ed., RD, LD, SNS
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0