Healthier U.S. School Challenge program reaches goal
August 15, 2011 | 06:39 PM
As the start of the school year approaches, Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon announced today that the administration had reached its goal of registering 1,250 schools as winners of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Healthier U.S. School Challenge.” The schools had to improve school nutrition and expand physical activity opportunities.
Concannon also said in a call to reporters that USDA officials have finished going through the 132,000 comments the agency has received on its proposal to raise school meal nutrition standards, and has compiled them into a 150-page summary that is an internal USDA document.
The administration hopes to finish the rule and a rule on other school foods before the end of this year, he said. The rules are supposed to go into effect at the beginning of the school year that begins in September 2012.
A rule requiring schools to bring the price of school meals for middle-class children in line with costs has already gone into effect, he said.
Becke Bounds, child nutrition director of the Lamar County School District in Mississippi, said the slight increase in the price of school meals had allowed her schools to afford more fruits and vegetables.
She said that while Mississippi is not proud that it leads the nation in obesity, the improved standards in her schools means “We are not part of the problem, we are part of the fix.”
When the new rules are in place in September 2012, schools that comply will get an additional 6 cents per school meal, Concannon noted.
He noted that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s decision to ban chocolate milk was a local decision. Most schools that serve chocolate milk use milk that is 1 percent fat, while the proposed USDA rule would still allow chocolate milk, but require that the milk be skim or no fat.
Concannon also said in a call to reporters that USDA officials have finished going through the 132,000 comments the agency has received on its proposal to raise school meal nutrition standards, and has compiled them into a 150-page summary that is an internal USDA document.
The administration hopes to finish the rule and a rule on other school foods before the end of this year, he said. The rules are supposed to go into effect at the beginning of the school year that begins in September 2012.
A rule requiring schools to bring the price of school meals for middle-class children in line with costs has already gone into effect, he said.
Becke Bounds, child nutrition director of the Lamar County School District in Mississippi, said the slight increase in the price of school meals had allowed her schools to afford more fruits and vegetables.
She said that while Mississippi is not proud that it leads the nation in obesity, the improved standards in her schools means “We are not part of the problem, we are part of the fix.”
When the new rules are in place in September 2012, schools that comply will get an additional 6 cents per school meal, Concannon noted.
He noted that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s decision to ban chocolate milk was a local decision. Most schools that serve chocolate milk use milk that is 1 percent fat, while the proposed USDA rule would still allow chocolate milk, but require that the milk be skim or no fat.
- Let's Move
- Healthy Access Locator
- USDA Foods: Healthy Choices for Our Schools
- National School Lunch Program Fact Sheet
- School Breakfast Program Fact Sheet
