Back-to-school: USDA and Department of Education promote healthier school meals

02 Sep 2024 --- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Education are collaborating to provide healthier school meal options in support of nutrition as a key educational tool for children’s success in the classroom. The objective was set out at a pep rally to usher in the new back-to-school season.

Several healthy options available this year include protein-rich breakfast foods such as yogurt, tofu, eggs, nuts and seeds. This helps school cafeterias offer less sugary foods while supporting vegetarian diets and other food preferences. The initiative will see schools buy local foods, including unprocessed agricultural products that are locally grown, raised or caught.

“Healthy school meals are an essential part of the educational environment and fuel children to learn, grow and thrive. USDA is fully committed to setting kids up for success and this rally gives us the opportunity to come together and encourage one another to raise the bar for school meals in this new school year and beyond,” says Tom Vilsack, US Agriculture Secretary.

“We’re grateful to our partners at the Department of Education, along with all the schools, districts, states and industry who care so much about the connection between healthy meals and our children’s futures, and we’re excited to continue to work together to make this back-to-school season a success.”

Grants and financial support

The USDA has taken various steps to bolster the programs that provide critical nutrition to infants and children by delivering US$13.7 billion in financial support to schools across the US since 2021.

In 2023, the USDA proposed limiting the amount of added sugars in school meals following a petition signed by the Center of Science for Public Interest to reduce sugars in meals for children.

The USDA made several investments in school meals this year, including awarding US$14.3 million in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants to 154 projects in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. The investments will help 1.9 million children eat tastier, nutritious foods while supporting farmers and producers in their local and regional communities.

The USDA has awarded US$16.5 million in Healthy Meals Incentives grants to encourage school meal innovation and collaboration between schools, the food industry and other stakeholders. It also provided US$10 million in grants for schools to invest in new food service equipment.

Moreover, the USDA opened applications to award a US$600,000 cooperative agreement to provide training to improve food safety knowledge and communications for school nutrition professionals.The USDA has made several updates to school meal programs for the new school year.

“As someone who’s been a teacher and a school principal, I’ve seen how hard our school nutrition professionals work every day and I’ve seen the incredible difference it makes when a student comes to class after a healthy meal, energized, with a smile on their face, ready to learn,” says Miguel Cardona, US Secretary of Education.

“This rally is a reminder: school is not just a place where students go to learn reading and math. At its best, a school is a hub of the community and one of the first places that a student and their family can get their most basic needs met.”

Improving nutrition standards

Earlier this year, the USDA updated nutrition standards, providing schools with more options to successfully plan and prepare healthy meals. K-12 schools serve nutritious meals to about 30 million children every school day, and these meals are an important source of nutrition for many.

“We are no longer offering breakfast bars that had so much sugar in them. Our lunches feature either USDA meats or meats from our local butcher. We also use vegetables, eggs, potatoes and fresh sausages and bacon from local farms. We are constantly trying to reduce sugar and sodium in all our foods and use more local foods,” says Denise Tapley Proctor, food service director, Regional School Unit 89, Katahdin Schools.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health prioritizes advancing a pathway to free healthy school meals. Eight states — California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont — have taken permanent action to provide healthy school meals at no cost to students.

Many schools in high-need areas provide free meals to students through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). In 2023, USDA gave an estimated 3,000 more school districts the option to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost by expanding the availability of CEP.

By Inga de Jong

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