SNA endorses school nutrition flexibility bills
March 22, 2013 | 06:26 PM
The School Nutrition Association this week endorsed a House bill introduced by Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, and Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, that would permanently eliminate weekly maximums on grains and proteins served with school meals and make changes to the rules on charges to students.
New nutrition standards for school meals, implemented in July 2012 under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, imposed weekly grain and protein limits, although the Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service has waived the limits for two years while maintaining the calorie limits under the new rule.
According to SNA, schools had trouble creating menus under the original rule and if it is reimposed, schools could not offer daily sandwich choices because serving two slices of whole-grain bread each day exceeds weekly grain limits, while salads topped with grilled chicken and low-fat cheese or a small side of peanut butter with celery sticks could exceed weekly protein limits.
Some schools have had to take scratch-prepared soups off the menu because small amount of chicken or noodles in the recipes exceeded weekly limits, SNA said in a news release.
The Stivers-Fudge bill would eliminate weekly grain and protein maximums, but protect all other nutrition standards, including calorie limits and requirements that school cafeterias switch to whole grains and serve a wider variety of fruits and vegetables.
“The School Nutrition Flexibility Act will ensure students continue to receive well-balanced and right-sized school meals, but the legislation gives school cafeterias the flexibility they need to plan healthy menus that appeal to students,” said School Nutrition Association President Sandra Ford.
The Agriculture Department signaled today that the bill may not be necessary.
“USDA shares the goal of providing more flexibility for well-managed programs, as well as helping schools make the new, healthier meals a success, which is why we recently provided flexibility for schools in serving grains and proteins until the end of the 2013-2014 school year,” a USDA spokeswoman said.
“We are currently considering options to make these flexibilities permanent, and we welcome input from a broad range of stakeholders and interested parties.”
In a letter to their colleagues, Stivers and Fudge wrote:
“As long as the calorie limit set by the USDA remains in place, it is best to defer to local operators on how to update the new meal pattern. We all know there is an obesity problem throughout our nation, but in order to combat this epidemic, we must provide our local nutritionists the flexibility they need to achieve our national objective of improved nutrition.”
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act also contained a provision setting the price of meals for children who do not receive free or reduced-price lunches. The provision was included out of concern that some schools were keeping those prices too low.
But SNA contends that raising those prices has resulted in a decline in participation in some schools. The Stivers-Fudge bill would allow schools whose meal programs are financially solvent to set their own prices.
“An unnecessary price increase has the potential to turn a program for all children into a program that serves only low-income children,” Stivers and Fudge wrote. “We believe that local programs that are well-managed and operating in the black should be able to determine the cost of a school meal.”
SNA has also endorsed a Senate bill introduced by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., that would also eliminate the weekly maximums on grains and proteins while still maintaining the overall calorie limits.
Hoeven told SNA at their recent legislative conference in Washington that he would consider adding the price provision to the Senate bill.
New nutrition standards for school meals, implemented in July 2012 under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, imposed weekly grain and protein limits, although the Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service has waived the limits for two years while maintaining the calorie limits under the new rule.
According to SNA, schools had trouble creating menus under the original rule and if it is reimposed, schools could not offer daily sandwich choices because serving two slices of whole-grain bread each day exceeds weekly grain limits, while salads topped with grilled chicken and low-fat cheese or a small side of peanut butter with celery sticks could exceed weekly protein limits.
Some schools have had to take scratch-prepared soups off the menu because small amount of chicken or noodles in the recipes exceeded weekly limits, SNA said in a news release.
The Stivers-Fudge bill would eliminate weekly grain and protein maximums, but protect all other nutrition standards, including calorie limits and requirements that school cafeterias switch to whole grains and serve a wider variety of fruits and vegetables.
“The School Nutrition Flexibility Act will ensure students continue to receive well-balanced and right-sized school meals, but the legislation gives school cafeterias the flexibility they need to plan healthy menus that appeal to students,” said School Nutrition Association President Sandra Ford.
The Agriculture Department signaled today that the bill may not be necessary.
“USDA shares the goal of providing more flexibility for well-managed programs, as well as helping schools make the new, healthier meals a success, which is why we recently provided flexibility for schools in serving grains and proteins until the end of the 2013-2014 school year,” a USDA spokeswoman said.
“We are currently considering options to make these flexibilities permanent, and we welcome input from a broad range of stakeholders and interested parties.”
In a letter to their colleagues, Stivers and Fudge wrote:
“As long as the calorie limit set by the USDA remains in place, it is best to defer to local operators on how to update the new meal pattern. We all know there is an obesity problem throughout our nation, but in order to combat this epidemic, we must provide our local nutritionists the flexibility they need to achieve our national objective of improved nutrition.”
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act also contained a provision setting the price of meals for children who do not receive free or reduced-price lunches. The provision was included out of concern that some schools were keeping those prices too low.
But SNA contends that raising those prices has resulted in a decline in participation in some schools. The Stivers-Fudge bill would allow schools whose meal programs are financially solvent to set their own prices.
“An unnecessary price increase has the potential to turn a program for all children into a program that serves only low-income children,” Stivers and Fudge wrote. “We believe that local programs that are well-managed and operating in the black should be able to determine the cost of a school meal.”
SNA has also endorsed a Senate bill introduced by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., that would also eliminate the weekly maximums on grains and proteins while still maintaining the overall calorie limits.
Hoeven told SNA at their recent legislative conference in Washington that he would consider adding the price provision to the Senate bill.
