By JENNIFER KEEFE
jkeefe@fosters.com
DOVER — Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., is calling on the federal government to reconsider its pending but potentially costly new school lunch requirements.
A bill, HR 2112, would implement new nutritional standards in the school breakfast and lunch programs nationwide and has been approved by the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate.
The proposed rule, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, would update the nutrition standards for meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
Implementation would increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free and low-fat milk in school meals.
While a May report directs the Department of Agriculture to issue a proposed rule that would not require an increase in the cost of providing school meals, several local school officials have