Better School Food and Better Food Safety - Heading in the Right Direction At Last

President Obama signed the School Nutrition Reauthorization Act, which will add six cents to the production costs of each school lunch. This may sound like chump change, but it actually buys an historically significant upgrade to child nutrition. Think about it. As one example, since whole grains sell for a higher price than refined grains, that extra six cents times the number of meals served at school may mean that kids will eat whole wheat bread (replete with B vitamins, iron and fiber) vs. white bread (of lesser nutritional value) more often. It means that school food service managers can afford to feed kids a bit better each and every day. And that's bound to make a difference over time. Thirty-one million American kids eat school meals every day, with school breakfast and lunch providing 2/3 of their daily nutrition.

The Reauthorization Act will also likely translate into tighter USDA regulations that limit total calories and grams of sodium per meal,but increase the number of fruit and vegetable servings at each meal. It will be up to the USDA to take public and expert input plus evidence-based recommendations from the Institute of Medicine and write a set of doable, but meaningful regulations that make bold changes to school lunch.

This, combined with the recent food safety legislation that is likely to be signed into law, are commendable steps towards helping ensure and/or repair the health of American children. Remember, these are the same kids that we predict as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and other overweight-related conditions in their lifetimes. It is better nutrition that will help them to avoid this fate.

From my vantage point as a registered dietitian (RD) and nutrition educator, it seems that our legislature is heading in the right direction when it comes to child wellness--at last.

House Committee Passes Child Nutrition Bill...Now Move It, Congress!

Today, the House Education & Labor Committee passed a Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill that solidly backs better nutrition for America's school children.

According to a press release by Margo Wootan, Nutrition Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the bill, Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act, H.R. 5504, would eliminate junk food from schools, strengthen school food quality standards and provide funding for better nutrition education.

The children of this nation need all of these provisions desperately. Most school lunch quality standards have not changed since 1990, and the standards for vending machine snacks have not changed since the 1970s. We know that much of what kids are eating today is high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar, low-nutrient foods. We need to put new choices in front of kids, but the choices need to be healthful.

Helping teachers, school lunch staffs, and school administrators learn how they can model optimal food choices and exercise behaviors would also help schools provide instant, affordable nutrition education. And the American Dietetic Association has programs to put nutrition experts (Registered Dietitians) in schools to help kids learn about how they can make healthful food choices for life.

Contact your federal House Representatives and Senators and voice support for (H.R.) 5504 and Senate Bill (S.) 3307, which commonly support bold child nutrition measures.