Release No. 0025.12
Contact:
USDA Office of Communications (202) 720-4623
Nutrition, Health and Education Advocates Applaud Historic Improvements to Meals Served in America's
Schools
New Standards Will Improve the Health and Wellbeing of 32 Million Kids Nationwide
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25. 2012 – First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today
unveiled new standards for school meals that will result in healthier meals for kids across the nation. The new meal
requirements will raise standards for the first time in more than fifteen years and improve the health and nutrition of
nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day. The healthier meal requirements are a
key component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was championed by the First Lady as part of her Let's
Move! campaign and signed in to law by President Obama. Nutrition, health and education advocates applauded the
new standards and reiterated their commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of kids nationwide.
Linda Davis-Alldritt, President, National Association of School Nurses
"Nutritious lunches eaten at school not only help the children in their academic performance, but also ensure that
students have the energy to perform in physical education classes. School nurses worked hard for the passage of the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act because they have a critical role in teaching about and encouraging healthy food
choices. The USDA is to be commended for helping turn the tide on obesity among school-aged children."
Jose Andres, Chef and Owner of ThinkFoodGroup
"The future of America is about our children, about making sure that the foods they eat allow them to become
meaningful members of our communities. Good food is the beginning of a better tomorrow."
James A. "Jamie" Barnett, Rear Admiral, US Navy (Retired), MISSION: READINESS
"Obesity is the leading medical reason why young adults are unable to join the military, with one in four too
overweight to enlist. The retired generals and admirals of Mission: Readiness strongly supported passage of the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and today's announcement is an important step in helping reduce calories, fat and
sodium in school meals so our obesity crisis does not become a national security crisis."
Jessica Donze Black RD, MPH, Director of the Kid's Safe and Healthful Foods Project Pew Charitable
Trusts
"We applaud the U.S. Department of Agriculture for issuing final guidance to help schools across the country serve
healthier meals. The focus on improving school meals comes at a critical time for children's health as young people
increasingly suffer from diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Not only are these changes good for
students, but they also give parents more assurance that schools support their efforts to provide healthy foods to their
kids. Indeed, thousands of schools already are serving healthier meals and demonstrating successful approaches.
USDA's final nutrition guidance provides a roadmap for all schools to follow in their efforts to promote a a healthy
learning environment."
Robert W. Block, MD FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
"The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to commend First Lady Michelle Obama and the USDA for their
commitment to improving children's health through better nutrition as a result of these new standards. For more than
half a century, the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs have alleviated hunger and malnutrition among our
nation's children and adolescents, and since their inception, the school meal programs have served as tools to promote
healthy child development and growth. The finalized school meal standards are the strongest to date, and provide more
fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and overall healthier meals for our children. These standards will undoubtedly
make significant improvements in the health of all our nation's children."
Nancy Brown, CEO, American Heart Association
"Learning to make nutritious food choices at an early age is an important lesson for America's children. We
strongly believe these new standards for school meals will help the nation's youth develop healthy food habits that will
help lower obesity rates and ensure that the next generation can lead lives free of heart disease and stroke."
Debbie Chang, Vice President of Policy and Prevention, Nemours
"Nemours, a children's health system, congratulates the United States Department of Agriculture on the new and
improved nutrition standards for meals. We know that good nutrition is vital to children's healthy development and that
it factors into their ability to learn and achieve in school. Federal nutrition programs play a particularly important role
for families, contributing to children's nutrition, overall health and growth, and school readiness."
Lorelei DiSogra, EdD, R.D., Vice President, Nutrition and Health, United Fresh Produce Association
"We are very excited that fruits and vegetables will be the stars of healthier school meals. Children like fresh fruits
and vegetables and they will be eating more next school year when this regulation takes effect. Increasing children's
consumption of fruits and vegetables will improve their health and reduce their risk of childhood obesity. We support
this landmark effort by First Lady Michelle Obama and USDA to create healthier school meals and healthier school
food environments for millions of America's children."
Vicki Escarra, President & CEO, Feeding America
"Feeding America applauds First Lady Michelle Obama's efforts to bring needed attention to the importance of
child nutrition as our nation tackles the dual challenges of childhood obesity and child hunger. We commend Secretary
of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for his timely implementation of the landmark 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act,
including today's announcement of improved school nutrition standards. The number of children at risk daily of not
securing nutritionally adequate meals has skyrocketed during the current economic downturn. Today's announcement is
especially important for low-income children, whose families are more likely to struggle to access both enough food
and the most nutritious food. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act brought us a big step closer to ensuring that children
have the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive both in and out of school and increases their opportunity to reach
their highest potential."
Dan Glickman, Senior fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center and former secretary, USDA
"For the first time in 15 years, the school meal guidelines have been revised, as directed by Congress in the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. I applaud USDA for its leadership in developing evidence-based guidance on
improving school meals, grounded in the conclusions of the recent Institute of Medicine recommendations and aligned
with the 2010 USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines. These new rules will ensure that students are offered fruits, vegetables
and more whole grains, along with low or no-fat dairy products, on a daily basis. These foods are cornerstones of a
healthy diet, and schools are one of several important environments that shape kids' eating habits. A number of schools
have already shown that menus can be updated in ways that provide tasty and healthy offerings that appeal to kids of all
ages. We all have a part to play in improving the health of our nation's children. The USDA's new standards are an
important step in the right direction."
Nicole V. Lang, MD
"Washington Pediatric Associates, PC wholeheartedly supports the First Lady, Michelle Obama, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in the implementation of the New Nutrition Standards for Meals Served in America's
Schools. As a prominent Washington, DC-based pediatric practice, I see first-hand how poor dietary choices for
children can negatively impact a child's overall growth and well being. These New Nutritional Standards will play a
pivotal role in providing smarter and healthier dietary choices for our children, and will inevitably have a significant
impact on our nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity."
Penny McConnell, Director, Food and Nutrition Services, Fairfax County Public Schools
"Like all child nutrition directors, I looked forward to the release of the new Nutrition Standards in the National
School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. As a registered dietitian I support the new standards and their reflection
of the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I also commend the food based-meal pattern which will complement
our classroom nutrition education activities. The additional time to implement the breakfast changes will assist us with
menu planning and the extension of the sodium targets will enable industry to reformulate products to meet program
needs and students' acceptance. The Energy Zone, Fairfax County Public Schools implements the Healthier US School
Challenge (HUSSC) standards and the new standards reflect several of these. For several years we have served whole
grain foods, a variety of fruits and vegetables, low fat and fat free milk, limited saturated fat, and zero trans fats.
The new standards will require more time, effort and assistance for districts that have not yet implemented HUSSC
standards. However, as with any regulation change child nutrition directors will make it work because we value the
important role we play in our students' nutritional well being."
Helen Philips, President, School Nutrition Association
"We are grateful to the First Lady for her leadership on obesity, the nation's number one public health challenge.
Our nation's schools have an important role to play and the regulations released today will move us forward. SNA is
strongly supported the requirement that school meals adhere to the Dietary Guidelines and our 55,000 members,
serving 32 million children a day are committed to this challenge. We thank the First Lady for her leadership, passion
and focus on this critical issue."
Mary Pat Raimondi, MS RD, Vice President, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
"The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) supports with pleasure the
2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and the new USDA school meals regulations. School nutrition directors (many of
whom are Registered Dietitians), across the country are already serving healthy, delicious meals to improve the health
of our children. These meal standards will support their efforts and assure continuous improvement in the meals served.
Given the realities of federal, state, and local budgets, we are committed to help lead creative collaboration to
implement changes in school food programs. The Academy believes that our children deserve our best efforts to work
together to provide good nutrition in schools nationwide."
Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director, Share Our Strength
"Two-thirds of elementary school teachers surveyed by Share Our Strength told us that "most" or "a lot" of their
students rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition. Share Our Strength applauds the First Lady and
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for enhancing the nutrition standards for school meals, a critical component of
ensuring all kids - especially those who rely on free and reduced price schools meals - get the healthy foods they need
each day."
Virginia A. Stallings, MD, IOM Committee Representative and Director, Nutrition Center Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia
"Optimizing the school food environment and the foods and beverages consumed in school will directly improve
child health. These are big changes and we must continue to support timely the understanding and implementation of
this initiative."
Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association
"On behalf of the more than 3 million members of the National Education Association, I applaud the new and
improved nutrition standards resulting from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. NEA proudly represents the school
food service workers who are the ambassadors of change, educating students on making nutritional choices that are
vital to a healthy lifestyle. We thank First Lady Michelle Obama for her vision and work on this most critical issue."
Jim Weill, President, FRAC
"The new USDA nutrition standards for school meals are extraordinarily important to the health and learning of
America's school children. Nearly 32 million children eat lunch at school every day; more than 20 million of them are
low-income children whose families are struggling to make ends meet. School meals are crucial to these children, and
the new standards will go a long way to remedy nutritional shortfalls and help address the nation's obesity problem.
The Food Research and Action Center looks forward to working with the Administration to ensure that the gains of the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and these regulations are implemented quickly and successfully, and that the school
meal programs reach increasing numbers of eligible, hungry children."
Margo G. Wootan, D.Sc., Director, Nutrition Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest
"The new school meal standards are one of the most important advancements in nutrition in decades," said the
Center for Science in the Public Interest's nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. "They're much needed, given
high childhood obesity rates and the poor state of our children's diets. Now, states, school officials, food manufacturers,
food service workers, and parents need to work together with USDA to help all schools meet the new standards."
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