“First lady Michelle Obama visited the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) earlier this month and praised the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, the 2010 law designed to make school lunches more nutritious. Audrey Rowe, the administrator of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), oversees federal nutrition assistance and education programs, including the 2010 law. Rowe spoke with Tom Fox, a guest writer for On Leadership and vice president for leadership and innovation at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. He also heads the Partnership’s Center for Government Leadership.”

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”There’s a revolution on.

All over the region, little pockets of activity are coalescing into a collaborative Food Revolution a la Jamie Oliver, the British chef who champions healthier food in schools and elsewhere. Last fall at the One Young World conference held here, he challenged Pittsburgh to revamp its eating habits — and Pittsburgh’s delegates took him seriously.”

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“With childhood obesity — and other health issues and nutrition requirements — increasing in schools, Williamsburg-James City County is focusing on providing nutritious meals to students.”

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“Representatives from National Food Group handed out samples of what could be on next year’s menu. Students sampled beef barbacoa with roasted vegetables, whole grain cheese ravioli with chunky marinara sauce and baked cod filet.”

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“The Pew Charitable Trust recently issued a statement recognizing this as a significant step to help children nationwide. The School Food Modernization Act would help schools improve their meal programs in two ways. One part of the legislation would authorize a USDA competitive grant program through which schools could obtain training and technical assistance for foodservice employees.”

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“The USDA had set aside $35 million in this year’s budget for new school kitchen equipment. But when automatic budget cuts kicked in earlier this year, the program was stripped of $25 million so that meat inspectors would be kept from having to take unpaid days off.”

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“’I think that some of the great things that happened with updating the school meal standards was that there were more fruits and vegetables,’ says Jessica Donze Black, project director for The Pew Charitable Trusts Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Black is unaffiliated with the study. ‘We all recognize that kids don’t get enough fruits and vegetables and certainly giving them more is a good thing. When we look at the schools that have been successful with that, where the kids are really eating more fruits and vegetables, there are some strategies that are really working.’”

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“Iowa Congressman Tom Latham wants to make it easier for the nation’s schools to upgrade their kitchens.

Recent changes to the federal school lunch program require more fresh fruits and vegetables to be served, but many schools in Iowa and across the country lack the fridge space needed to store large quantities of fresh produce, the Republican lawmaker said.”

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“The Cuero schools have both been awarded a Gold Award of Distinction by the USDA for the HealthierUS School Challenge, a campaign to reduce childhood obesity and make the nation’s schools a model for healthier living.”

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”Marlene Schwartz, from the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and Jessica Donze Black, project director at the “Kid’s Safe and Healthful Foods Project,” believe the “Smart School Snack Proposal” will have a positive effect for schools and kids.”
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”The USDA is modernizing their standards based on current nutritional knowledge,” said Black. “They are setting up new rules based on what we now know about reasonable levels of fat, trans-fats, saturated fat, calories and sodium. This change will affect everything that’s sold outside the school lunch programs, in vending machines, school stores, etc. The goal is to serve more fruits, vegetables, whole grain, and low-fat yogurts.”

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