Concannon cites importance of school meal rules
January 08, 2014 | 07:25 PM
Kevin Concannon
Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon on Tuesday emphasized the importance of new school meal rules in reducing obesity, and said the Obama administration’s recent decision to allow schools to serve unlimited amounts of grains and meats as long as they meet overall weekly calorie limits amounted to minor tinkering with the rules, although legislators who backed the change called it a major accomplishment.
Speaking at an Institute of Medicine conference on obesity Tuesday, Concannon emphasized the importance of the new meal patterns.
“The meal program now deployed provides fruits and vegetables every day of the week,” he noted.
Schools were not required to serve fruits and vegetables every day in the past, Concannon said, adding that serving fruits and vegetables amounts to an education program for many children.
But he added that USDA “had to tinker” with the program by changing the rules for grains and meats while not changing the weekly limits on the number of calories that children can be served.
In implementing the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service had included strict requirements on the amount of grains and meats and meat alternatives that students were to be served, but schools and members of Congress from rural states and districts objected to the change. In general, the rule requires school to reduce salt, sodium and sugar and increase servings of fruits and vegetables, full grain breads and low fat meats.
USDA allowed schools to serve unlimited grains and meats for the 2013 school year, and on January 3 published a rule in the Federal Register making that rule permanent.
The revised rule noted that school food authorities “reported that for both grains and meat/meat alternates, some popular products are not yet readily available from suppliers in the wide ranges of serving sizes needed to meet the grain and meat/meat alternate weekly maximum requirements. Additionally, SFAs have reported that they are experiencing challenges with student acceptability of new items and smaller servings of items on their menus.”
The rule continued, “When conducting administrative reviews, state agencies should consider any SFA compliant with the weekly ranges for grains and meats if the weekly minimums are met. SFAs continue to be required to meet the weekly minimum and maximum range requirements for calories and the other dietary specifications.
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
When the original rule came out, Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who had written legislation to make the changes permanent, praised the decision.
Hoeven and Pryor noted in a joint news release that they had said they were concerned about strict calorie limits, protein sufficiency, increased costs and lack of flexibility to adapt the program to the individual needs of some students.
“After hearing from educators, parents, and students, Sen. Hoeven and I stepped in to help school districts who were frustrated with the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program’s strict new rules,” Pryor said. “I’m glad the USDA followed our lead and made these much-needed administrative changes that will give our school districts the permanent flexibility they need to keep our kids healthy and successful.”
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
“Today, the USDA made the permanent changes we have been seeking to the School Lunch Program,” Hoeven said.
“A one-size-fits-all approach to school lunch left students hungry and school districts frustrated with the additional expense, paperwork and nutritional research necessary to meet federal requirements,” he said.
“These are exactly the changes included in our Sensible School Lunch Act.”
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., a co-sponsor of the legislation and the daughter of a school cook, also commented on the rule.
“It’s crucial that we make sure our kids are given healthy meals at school so they are ready to learn each day,” Heitkamp said in a news release.
“But we also need to give flexibility to schools, especially those in rural areas, to enable them to provide nutritious meals without excessive restrictions,” said Heitkamp, adding that she will continue to explore the issue during reauthorization of child nutrition programs.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., also a co-sponsor of the bill, supported the rule.
“This has been a battle for common sense in the cafeteria,” Roberts said. “These guidelines were leaving students hungry throughout the school day and athletic events, in the end we were able to convince USDA to listen to reason.”
Other senators who cosponsored the legislation — all from rural or meat and grain producing states — included Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Mary Landrieu, D-La., Max Baucus, D-Mont., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Daniel Coats, R-Ind., Angus King, I-Maine, Tom Udall, D-N.M., James Inhofe, R-Okla., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.
Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., who proposed companion legislation in the House, said, “Making sure our kids are healthy is a top priority, but making sure they don’t go hungry is critical as well.”
“The USDA’s announcement comes after a tremendous amount of pressure from parents, school administrators, and Congress,” Noem said.
“What they are offering is a step in the right direction and adopts some of the provisions offered in my bill to give relief. A more permanent legislative fix and even greater flexibility is still needed, however, in order to give parents and school administrators the tools they need when planning our kids' lunch programs.”
