Child Nutrition Act: Changing School Lunches

"Good food is essential to good learning"

These timeless words were spoken by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 11, 1966 when he signed the first Child Nutrition Act (CNA) in to law. The CNA is a United States federal law designed to help the National School Lunch Program meet the nutritional needs of America's children. The CNA provides funding for school lunches, breakfasts, as well as Federal funding assistance for non-food purchases of school equipment.

Every school day the National School Lunch Program feeds 30.5 million American children in over 101,000 public and private schools. Over a third of these children (10 million) also depend on school food services to provide them with nutritious breakfasts. Unfortunately, the National School Lunch Program is woefully underfunded and national standards for nutrition and meal requirements have not been updated in over a decade. In a day and age when new nutrition standards are changing daily, this is tragedy for our children. The program is failing American students. National child nutrition programs are set to expire on September 30th, and congress is currently working on passing a new Child Nutrition Act.

On Thursday August 5th, 2010 the Senate unanimously passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This act pledges $4.5 billion dollars over the next ten years to feed increasing numbers of hungry school children with foods higher in nutrtion than the ones currently served in school dining halls.

The act intends to help students in numerous ways; including make it easier for underprivileged students to qualify for free or reduced priced lunches, expanding an after-school program that identifies and provides meals for at risk children, and improving nutritional guidelines

Food served in schools will be forced to meet stricter nutritional standards, and popular unhealthy food items, i.e. pizza and burgers, will be banned or replaced with healthier versions. These standards apply to both food served in lunch lines and from vending machines. This bill could mark the final expulsion of candy bars and high-sugar sodas from America's schools!

Most importantly, the Senate's version of the bill includes the first non-inflationary increase in reimbursement funding for federal-sponsored school meals since 1973. According to a USDA study, federal funding for school food increased by 3 percent last year, while the cost of milk and bread rose by 17 and 12 percent, respectively. Until now, schools have been asked to perform lunch room miracles with food budgets decimated by price inflation. The funding increase amounts to an additional 6 cents per meal, and while this won't transform school lunches as we know them, it may be the difference between serving fresh vegetables instead frozen, and whole grains instead of white wheat.

The House of Representatives has been given until September 30th, 2010 to vote on this bill, and while at first it seemed like a shoo-in, the bill has encountered resistance from both parties. This act is a vital part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign and needs to pass if we are going to meet her goal of eliminating childhood obesity within a generation. Tell your politicians to make sure it passes!

Research has already started to reward brave food service providers who have demanded healthy choices in their schools. An annual survey by the School Nutrition Association has determined that,

"although rising food, labor and indirect costs are significant challenges for school nutrition programs, healthy food and beverage items continue to increase in popularity and participation..." ¹

Across the nation, schools are finding that if they provide their students with access to healthy foods, the students will eat them. Traditional high-margin candy and soda vending machines are being given the boot, and progressive schools throughout the nation are partnering with top-notch healthy vending companies to provide their students with Eco-friendlier healthy vending machines, offering tasty, healthful snacks. Not only do healthy vending machines deliver access to nutritious snacks, they also provide schools with important revenue streams needed to fund their extra-curricular programs.

1. http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/getinvolved/action/childnutrition/act.php

2. http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/senate-passes-child-nutrition-act/

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Nutrition_Act