The USDA Just Issued Stricter Guidelines For School Lunches

If your kids happen to eat school lunch, this is worth knowing about.

Earlier today The USDA Announced Stricter Standards For School Nutrition and it’s worth knowing how it will affect your kids.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it is making changes to its school nutrition standards for the 2022-2023 school year as it is looking to reinstate health goals that were rolled back throughout the Trump administration.

Under the new guidelines, schools and child-care providers would need to offer low-fat or nonfat non-flavored milks, and limit the fat in sweet flavored milks.

In addition, at least 80% of the grains served in school lunch and breakfast each week must be considered rich in whole grains.

All of these changes are to help combat ongoing issues of proper nutrition among children.

USDA Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean said that while the pandemic hasn’t ended, it has highlighted the essential role that school meals play in combating hunger and getting vital nutrition to the more than 30 million children who rely on these programs every day.

According to Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy at Food Research & Action Center, this is a balancing act.

“This approach is really going to help move forward the nutrition of the meals and allows the schools to continue to function effectively,” she said. “Schools can’t make big changes at this point because of the supply chain and staffing. They have a lot of waivers at this point that are helping them, and this balances the needs of all the different sectors.”