Democrats seek to turn back Trump school meal plan

House Democrats are seeking to thwart President Trump’s plan to change certain standards for school meals put in place by the Obama administration.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say the proposed rule would give school foodservice directors more flexibility in preparing school meals and reduce the oversight burden on state agencies to ensure standards are being met.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. sent a letter signed by 71 House Democrats to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue opposing the proposal on school meals.

DeLauro said in a news release that Trump’s plan would “undo bipartisan, evidence-based standards” from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

“The proposed rule would roll back a decade of improvements to the nutritional quality of school lunches and jeopardize the health of our nation’s youth,” according to the letter. “Since being enacted, study after study has shown the overwhelming success of strong nutrition standards for school meals.”

According to a USDA School Nutrition and Meal Cost study from April 2019, the Healthy Eating Index Score for lunches increased from a mean of 57.9 to 81.5 and for breakfast increased from a mean of 49.6 to 71.3, out of a possible 100.

The letter said if Trump’s proposed rule were to be enacted, the nutritional quality of lunches and breakfasts served by schools would suffer.

“The proposal allows for unhealthier options to be served as snacks, limits the variety of vegetables served at lunch, and reduces the required amount of fruit served with some breakfasts,” according to the letter. “We urge you to withdraw this proposed rule and maintain the nutrition standards for school meals to ensure the health and well-being of our children.”

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