“Smart Snacks in Schools,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new regulation, has found a stronger advocate. First lady Michelle Obama has just announced the “school wellness standards,” which will determine healthier food availability in school cafeterias as well as establish stringent marketing regulations that will curb all junk food propaganda in and around schools. Any snack that is considered unhealthy, according to the federal government standards, cannot be seen or publicized here. The importance of healthy choices is being stressed again and again and will be a top priority for the 2014-2015 school year. The very important regulation has thus been mandated by the first lady’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. These rules will be applicable for after-school hours as well as during school hours.
Aerated drinks, chips and crisps, candies and sweets, all that which falls under the junk food label will not be sold from the cafeteria or the vending machines. But more than that, these mega FMCG brands cannot hope to advertise and publicize their products in these places either. There will be no unhealthy messages to dilute the message that the USDA, parents, teachers and schools are trying to provide: eat healthy and stay smart. On the other hand, foods that meet these snack standards, more natural and organic foods and beverages with calorie counts way below 200 calories, will have a strong chance for getting permission to brand their products here.
Coupons for fast food chains can no longer be distributed in schools. At a time when parents are trying to inculcate healthier eating habits in their children, they need the full support from the schools as well, where their kids spend the maximum part of their days. The overhauled nutrition standards for school lunches have gone into immediate effect, and with the school year more than half way through, the responses have been overwhelming. No more mixed message to kids from the schools, they are now in perfect parity with parents, as well as the federal nutrition standards. In conjunction with the White House, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed these new school wellness guidelines to help change the way our children eat, grow and flourish.
Candy bars, doughnuts, sugary drinks and regular potato chips will become scarce commodities in schools. Instead, students have healthier options like granola bars, low-fat and fat-free milk, trail mix, pure fruit and vegetable juice, and baked chips from the vending machines or the cafeterias. The regulations also dictate that school fares will have to have fruits and vegetables, dairy products or some kind of protein as the first ingredient, or at least 50 percent whole grains in the menu. As per the USDA, not just the schools, but also F&B companies need to meet these standards by July 1, so that they can go into effect for the 2014-2015 school year.
So what do these new regulations really mean for the students, not all of whom are happy with the changes? The focus is definitely on curbing childhood obesity in the United States because almost 17 percent of children and adolescents are affected by it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Poor diets can also affect their growth and in the long term definitely affect the way they perform so the new regulations are more than welcome for most parents and schools boards. One of the first states to actively implement this is Texas, which has a high obesity rate.
The meal programs which currently feed about 32 million students across public and private schools, will now have reduced sodium, less saturated fat and less trans fats in them. Instead, they will have more whole grains, fruits and vegetables to aid in healthier growth of every child. The calories in the meal will differ as per the child’s age, which means that elementary school children may have lesser calorie diets compared to high school students who need more fuel to go on.
As per the Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the USDA has to improve all foods served in schools. Ever since 2012, they have scrutinized all meals and foods served under the National School Lunch Program, in schools all over the country. It is perhaps their experience in what is available despite the rules that have made such stringent rules to come into effect and now their job perhaps, has gotten more detailed. But with the overall results pitched at being very positive for the kids, no one in this whole chain of events is really complaining.
