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 info"Hoping to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration on Wednesday announced its long-awaited changes to government-subsidized school meals, a final round of rules that adds more fruits and green vegetables to breakfasts and lunches and reduces the amount of salt and fat.
The announcement came months after the food industry won a vote in Congress to block the administration from carrying out an earlier proposal that would have reduced starchy foods like potatoes and prohibited schools from counting a small amount of tomato paste on a slice of pizza as a vegetable. Under the latest rules, potatoes are not restricted, and tomato paste can qualify as a vegetable serving.
'We applaud the U.S. Department of Agriculture for issuing final guidance to help schools across the country serve healthier meals to students,' said Jessica Donze Black, project director for the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, a joint project of the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 'The updated nutrition standards for school meals are now in line with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.'"
- Date added:
- Jan 25, 2012
- Project:
- Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project
- Topic:
- School Food
- Related Expert:
- Jessica Donze Black
Related Resources
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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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.''
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