Senate Advances School Lunch Reform: Is A 6 Cent Increase Enough?
WASHINGTON — Kids will always grab pizza and dessert in the school lunch line, but those items may be healthier in coming school years if Democrats in Congress succeed in toughening rules governing the nation's school lunches.
Legislation approved Wednesday by the Senate Agriculture Committee would allow the Agriculture Department to create new standards for all foods in schools, including vending machine items, to give students healthier meal options. The legislation would spend $4.5 billion more over 10 years for nutrition programs.
New standards are not expected to push popular foods off the cafeteria line completely, just to make them healthier. For example, pizza may be made with whole wheat crust and low-fat mozzarella, while desserts could have fewer calories. Hamburgers could be made with leaner meat, and vending machines could be stocked with less candy and fewer high-calorie sodas.
The legislation would also expand the number of low-income children eligible for free or reduced cost meals, a step Democrats say would help President Barack Obama reach his goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015.
Creation of new standards, which public health advocates have sought for a decade, has unprecedented support from many of the nation's largest food and beverage companies, including Mars Inc. and PepsiCo. The two sides came together on the issue as a heightened interest in nutrition has made it difficult for anyone, especially the companies themselves, to push junk foods in schools.
Still, congressional action is only the first step. Many of the most difficult decisions, including what kinds of foods will be sold and what ingredients may be limited, will be left up to the Agriculture Department.
When New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand offered an amendment to ban artery-clogging trans fats from schools, for example, Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said
MARY CLARE JALONICK | 03/24/10 04:21 PM |