Trump administration to roll back some school meal standards

“But these kids are growing up now, and just as school prepares them for a career, they need healthy and nutritious food for a healthy life”.

“We all know that meals can’t be nutritious if they’re not consumed – if they’re put in the trash”, said Perdue in an announcement at a school in Virginia, where he ate a balanced meal of chicken nuggets and salad.

School lunch programs in the USA will no longer be required to meet all of the nutrition standards set in the Obama era, the Trump administration announced this week.

That said, there may be future Trump administration efforts to further weaken HHFKA advances, including a possible gutting of the “Smart Snacks” rules that cleaned up the junk food sold to kids via fundraisers, vending machines, school stores and a la carte lines. “Schools have been moving in the right direction, so it makes no sense to freeze that progress in its tracks-and allow dangerously high levels of salt in school lunch”. Schools are now scheduled to meet “target two” requirements. USDA will allow “flexibility” in requiring grains.

In an interim final rule, USA states are allowed to exempt schools in the 2017-2018 school year from having to replace all their grains with whole-grain rich products if they are having a hard time meeting the standard. However, critics fear that it marks the start of a larger change in direction from a first lady who made nutrition and health a main cause.

Perdue announced the changes in a statement with Kentucky Senator Pat Roberts.

New Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Monday he will partly roll back those rules. We don’t want kids wasting their meals by throwing them away.

“We would not lower standards for reading, writing, and arithmetic just because students found them challenging subjects”. Cecilia Muñoz, who worked on the nutrition program under Obama, told McClatchy that a measurable improvement was beginning to show up in children’s obesity statistics.

The new rules go into effect in the 2017-2018 school year. Other members strongly objected.

“This is not reducing the nutritional standards whatsoever”, he said.

The rollback drew quick criticism from some Democrats.

Democratic Reps. Jim McGovern (Mass.), Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), and Chellie Pingree (Maine) criticized Perdue’s actions in a joint statement.

“Under President Trump, our department will focus on promoting public health in ways that work for American consumers”, Price said.

Perdue’s new interim rule is meant to provide “regulatory flexibility” for the National School Lunch Program, which is a federally assisted meal program that provides nutritionally balanced reduced-cost or free lunches to children. “But shouldn’t our schools be setting an example for our students about the importance of working hard to meet critical goals?”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that childhood obesity has tripled in the USA since the 1970s. Trump also has been quick to show that he doesn’t look kindly on being overweight, god forbid obese-remember when he body-shamed a beauty pageant victor, or called Rosie O’Donnell a “fat pig”?-and harsh social judgements are just one of the challenges living with obesity brings.

Children with obesity are at higher risk for having asthma and Type 2 diabetes.