Just last week Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The bill represents the first major reform and spending increase in school lunches in over 10 years. Designed to help combat childhood obesity and hunger through offering healthier options for our nation’s children, the bill will take nearly a decade to implement.The bill was supported by over 1300 food advocacy groups ranging from Slow Food USA to Feeding America. The bill even received a final push from first lady Michelle Obama whose op-ed in the Washington Post the week prior to the Senate’s vote certainly encouraged its unanimous passage.The bill will improve our nation’s school lunch programs in several key areas:
Access To Healthy Nutrition for America’s Schoolchildren
The bill allocates increased funding for programs which provide low cost or free meals to low income children and their families, including Medicaid, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and additional state and local lunch projects.
Improved Nutrition Quality of School Lunches
The bill provides for higher quality school lunches through both funding and the higher standards of nutrition content for lunches. A spending increase of 6 cents per meal represents the first increase in funds for school lunches in over 30 years. Higher nutrition standards for food in schools, will remove junk foods and processed food options from school lunch menus. Additional funds and programs will be implemented to increase access to local foods, particularly the purchase of local produce and programs to create school gardens.
Improved Program Management of School Lunch Programs
The bill includes funding to train and establish professional standards for school lunch program employees to support and encourage healthier eating habits and lunch selections. In addition, training for higher food handling requirements for food safety are included, as well as money to streamline and utilize modern technology to manage food lunch systems.
With all these improvements and program enhancements, many will be surprised to discover that the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will have no direct affect on consumers wallets. Funds for the programs and changes will all be drawn from existing income sources.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is designed to help our youngest generation to become healthy, informed eaters through creating access to healthy choices, something we here at MenuTrinfo can really get behind. If you’re ready to serve your customers better by informing them through the use of menu nutrition labeling, we’d love to help you make that happen! Call us today at 1.866.767.MENU (7678) to get started!
Access To Healthy Nutrition for America’s Schoolchildren
The bill allocates increased funding for programs which provide low cost or free meals to low income children and their families, including Medicaid, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and additional state and local lunch projects.
Improved Nutrition Quality of School Lunches
The bill provides for higher quality school lunches through both funding and the higher standards of nutrition content for lunches. A spending increase of 6 cents per meal represents the first increase in funds for school lunches in over 30 years. Higher nutrition standards for food in schools, will remove junk foods and processed food options from school lunch menus. Additional funds and programs will be implemented to increase access to local foods, particularly the purchase of local produce and programs to create school gardens.
Improved Program Management of School Lunch Programs
The bill includes funding to train and establish professional standards for school lunch program employees to support and encourage healthier eating habits and lunch selections. In addition, training for higher food handling requirements for food safety are included, as well as money to streamline and utilize modern technology to manage food lunch systems.
With all these improvements and program enhancements, many will be surprised to discover that the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will have no direct affect on consumers wallets. Funds for the programs and changes will all be drawn from existing income sources.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is designed to help our youngest generation to become healthy, informed eaters through creating access to healthy choices, something we here at MenuTrinfo can really get behind. If you’re ready to serve your customers better by informing them through the use of menu nutrition labeling, we’d love to help you make that happen! Call us today at 1.866.767.MENU (7678) to get started!
Image used under Creative Commons from DC Central Kitchen.
