Food served to students across the nation should be healthier this school year. U.S.
Department of Agriculture officials say the new Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act requires
that the entire school environment supports a healthy diet. So what’s in the vending
machines, what is sold in the cafeteria, all of that will reflect the guidelines and will
create for children when they walk in the door in the morning until the time that they
leave in the afternoon, a healthy food environment. School meals that are served to thirty two
million American children at noon time are going to feature every school day of the week,
fruits and vegetables every day. That’s a change and an improvement. Healthier dairy;
lower fat dairy. More water. Water guaranteed to every school child. More whole grains in
terms of the breads that are served. Rowe says USDA wants parents to have confidence
that school cafeterias can provide students with a nutritious diet. It could make a very
significant impact in participation in the cafeteria. We want children to eat in the
cafeteria. We now want parents who are packing school lunches to look at the cafeteria as
a really healthy alternative for their students. Concannon says locally grown food will be
a major focus of USDA’s effort to make more fresh food available to students. We’ve
been encouraging more schools to procure their foods locally, or at least a portion of the
schools, that serve to the thirty million American children who participate in our national
school lunch program. For the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I’m Bob Ellison.
