Snack Food Calories Restricted
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project, speaks with Education Week about new rules to restrict calories in snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
More infoConsider this: school meals can be healthy, affordable and appealing to kids. Hard to believe? Districts across the United States are proving it can be done.
Check out the success stories at these four school districts!
• Burke County Public Schools, Georgia
• Saint Paul Public Schools, Minnesota
• Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Houston, Texas
• Jefferson County Public Schools, Kentucky
Schools face many challenges in their mission to serve healthy food to students, including budget constraints, equipment and training limitations, and notoriously picky consumers. However, considering that nearly one in three American children and adolescents is overweight or obese and at increased risk for long-term health problems, it is vital that schools overcome those challenges. Because our nation’s schools provide meals to more than 31 million children each day, they can play a crucial role in supporting children’s health.
Schools participating in the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) are leading the way when it comes to including healthier options on their cafeteria menus. Established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2004, HUSSC is a voluntary initiative that recognizes schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have promoted healthy lifestyles through nutrition and exercise. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, schools in every state across the country are finding innovative ways to make incremental changes and provide students with affordable, healthy meals they will actually eat. Examples of successful approaches include consolidating food preparation into central kitchens, making the process less expensive and more efficient; incorporating nutritious, low-cost ingredients into lunch menus; increasing revenues by boosting student participation at breakfast and lunch; and adding a greater variety of fresh fruits and vegetables with supportive grant funding.
Since the Challenge began, it has recognized more than 1,600 schools in 44 states and the District of Columbia. At a minimum, recognized schools must offer students:
• a different vegetable every day of the week, including nutrient-rich dark green or orange vegetables three or more days per week and high-fiber cooked dry beans or peas once per week;
• a different fruit each day, with 100 percent fruit juice allowed only once per week; and
• a serving of whole grains at least three days per week.
Schools are joining HUSSC at a steady pace, and the initiative has already achieved its goal of certifying 1,250 schools by the end of the 2010–2011 school year. Each has a unique story to share that can show other schools how to make changes of their own.
Spreading Success Across the United States
The time is ripe for schools across the country to take up the challenge of offering healthier meals. USDA recently proposed updates to school meal standards, bringing them in line with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the 2009 recommendations from the Institute of Medicine. The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 also calls for considerable improvements to all foods and beverages served and sold in schools, and authorizes the most significant funding increase for school meals in over 30 years.
Schools face a number of barriers in their efforts to provide students with healthy meals, including limited budgets, outdated or insufficient kitchen equipment, and the need for increased staff training on healthy preparation and cooking methods. The four districts discussed above represent the commitment of school food service professionals to improving their meal programs; but they cannot do it alone. Many schools need additional support and technical assistance to overcome hurdles and implement sustainable changes such that all students have access to safe and healthy meals.
Check out USDA’s interactive map to see if your school has been recognized.
- Date added:
- Oct 10, 2011
- Project:
- Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project
- Topic:
- School Food
Related Resources
''New regulations promote healthier snack foods in schools''
Jessica Donze Black speaks with Online Athens about the USDA's decision to set nutrition standards on school snack foods and beverages.
More infoNew Standards for School Vending Machines Provide More Than Just Healthy Snacks
While it might take time before we can evaluate the impact of the new standards, which won’t take effect until September 2014, we can look at what we already know to assess them in comparison to the current status quo. The first hint of the new regulation’s potential comes from the Pew Charitable Trusts Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, showing that children and teens gained less weight over three years if they lived in a state with strong policies on school snacks than if they lived in a state without such standards.
More infoPew Commends Sen. Mikulski on Food Safety Funding, Grants for School Kitchen Improvements
The Pew Charitable Trusts applauds Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for her efforts to strengthen food safety protections under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and provide grant funding to help school cafeterias across the nation upgrade their equipment to serve healthy, appealing meals to millions of school children. Funding for both programs was included in a larger bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
More info''What the New USDA Rules for Healthier School Snacks Mean for Schools''
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods project, discusses the USDA's decision to finalize interim rules for snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
More infoMore Standards Released for School Nutrition
The Obama administration on Thursday released long-awaited nutrition standards for foods that schoolchildren can buy outside the cafeteria, changes that are intended to combat climbing childhood obesity rates.
More info“USDA touts 'Smart snacks' standards”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set new nutrition standards for food sold as snacks in schools, giving fruit and vegetable shippers opportunities for vending machines and snack bars. After considering nearly 250,000 comments, the agency on June 27 published the regulation, called “Smart Snacks in Schools,” also known as the “competitive snacks” rule, for junk food that competes with healthier lunch menus.
More info''Minn. School’s Adjust To USDA Lunch Guidelines''
"Minnesota schools are adjusting after the USDA issued new guidelines on the amount of fat and calories contained in snacks made available in lunchrooms. The guidelines are related to the school lunch changes that went into effect last year that cut calories, fat and sodium on kids’ plates. They’ll now include snacks, sides, and everything else in school."
More info“Brownies Bounced From Cafeterias in Healthier Eating Push”
"Children consume as many as half their daily calories in school, where they spend more time than any location except their homes, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, which underwrites food safety programs. Studies show snacks add 112 calories to the average elementary-school student’s daily diet, and those who live in states with strong snack policies gain less weight over three years than those without regulations."
More info“New USDA snack standards still not strict enough for some Montgomery parents”
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, speaks to the Washington Post about the USDA's decision to finalize interim rules for snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
More info''Rules for School Vending Machines, Snacks Unveiled''
Education Week interviews Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project about the USDA's decision to finalize interim rules on snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
More infoKids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project Applauds USDA for Finalizing Snack Standards for Schools
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, issued the following statement regarding the interim final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, setting nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold in U.S. schools.More info
Infographic Urges USDA to Set National Standards for School Snacks
Although some states and districts have created standards for what can be sold as snacks and beverages in schools, the USDA hasn’t updated national guidelines in over 30 years. An infographic recently released by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project summarizes research that supports the need for national nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
More infoSnack Facts:
View this infographic by Pew's Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project to learn more facts about school snacks. More info''2 thumbs up for LBI food''
''While some students look down on food served in school cafeterias, Zoe Deakyne, a sixth-grader at Long Beach Island Elementary School, enjoys getting her lunch there.''
More info
