“Thanks to the nutrition nannies at the USDA, America’s children are going hungry at school,” said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, when the No Hungry Kids Act was introduced in mid-September.
Sept. 24
Lawmakers challenge school lunch calorie lids
By Tom Karst, National Editor
Facing a new legislative challenge to calorie limits on updated school nutrition standards, U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan insisted the new standards give students adequate nutrition for the school day.
House Agriculture Committee members Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, introduced the No Hungry Kids Act in mid-September. The legislation would repeal the USDA’s rule that created the updated nutrition standards and would prohibit the USDA’s upper calorie limits on school meals.
Dec. 10
School lunch changes announced
By Tom Karst, National Editor
Responding to complaints about skimpy portions in school meals, the USDA relaxed weekly maximum limits on grains and meats served in school lunches.
A Dec. 7 memo from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to school officials asks them to disregard weekly maximums on those items because it is difficult to comply. The limits were set by nutrition guidelines that started with the school year this fall. Maximum calorie limits for school lunches are still in place, however.
Dec. 17
Workshop explores opportunites in schools
By Tom Burfield, Western Correspondent
CERRITOS, Calif. — School cafeterias are creating new business opportunities for every segment of the produce industry, Lorelei DiSogra, vice president of nutrition and health for United Fresh Produce Association, told several dozen produce suppliers and others during a Dec. 12 workshop.
By capitalizing on the new USDA school nutrition regulations and the push for salad bars in schools, the industry can come out ahead in terms of increased sales while fighting childhood obesity and improving students’ health, DiSogra said at the workshop, sponsored by United Fresh and the Fresh Produce & Floral Council.
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