The Trump Administration is proposing a rule that would make it more difficult for our kids to access healthy school meals.
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 was drafted based on leading nutrition science and calls for school lunches to contain more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and less sugar and salt. The act was a big success in terms of implementation; over 90% of schools reported meeting the HHFKA standards. School revenue even increased as more students purchased school meals. In short, HHFKA works for our kids and their schools.
“Flexibility” means more sugar and salt
Under the currently proposed new rule, schools would have fewer restrictions on offering flavored milk and high sodium foods and will have more leeway in meeting the required servings of fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has said this rollback of the HHFKA standards aims to provide “flexibility” to schools. But “flexibility” isn’t a good thing when it means more servings of pizza, burgers and french fries.
Show the USDA you care. Nearly 35,000 people have commented on this proposed ruling, which is a great start, but we hope many more Slow Food members and supporters will add their voices before the March 23rd deadline. Click here to view the comment page and click here for a suggestion of what to say.
The importance of this issue for the millions of kids who rely on free or reduced-price school lunches as a significant source of their food intake cannot be overstated, so let’s stand up for them!
If you have questions, suggestions, or want to learn more, contact us at policy@slowfoodusa.org.
