We know the vast majority of school nutrition and food service professionals want our kids to be served healthy, nourishing food at school. But now it’s clear that parents, guardians and caregivers feel the same way.
A national survey commissioned by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation — an independent private foundation focused on the optimal development of children — reveals that 9 out of 10 Americans support current federal efforts to keep school meals healthy. The findings, released this month, reflect broad support for standards established by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the most progressive nutrition legislation passed since the 1970s, and the nation’s response to the growing childhood obesity epidemic.
“Our survey found that people in the U.S. overwhelmingly support strong nutrition standards and believe school meals are healthier and on the right track because of these standards,” La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of WKKF, said in a statement. The survey found Americans believe the standards to be instrumental in maintaining and improving the nutritional quality of food, and supporting children’s health, according to the foundation.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act expanded the availability of nutritious meals and snacks to more children, and it improved the nutritional quality of food served in schools and preschools. Current nutrition standards require schools to serve more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The legislation also established calorie maximums by age group and sodium reductions.
As these nutrition standards come before Congress to be reauthorized in September, the message from the public is loud and clear: 86 percent of Americans support the standards in their current form, a rare consensus in a nation often divided.
But shockingly, our elected officials do not appear to be on the same page. Debates on the House and Senate floor are calling for rollbacks of these nutrition requirements. The voices they’re listening to are not ours, but those of lobbying groups backed by big food companies, who are claiming nutritious school food is too difficult and financially burdensome for school districts and students.
Does it surprise you that processed food companies feel this way? I’m not surprised. When schools serve more fresh food, including fruits and vegetables, it often cuts into these companies’ bottom lines. But the fact remains that more than 95 percent of all schools in America are successfully implementing the healthy standards, and the public is united behind that healthy change.
It’s up to all of us to do the right thing: Tell Congress to support the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s reauthorization of the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted program that provides nutritional, balanced meals to children in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act authorizes funding and sets policy for this and other core USDA child nutrition programs.
It’s time for our lawmakers to recognize us, and cast their votes for healthy school meals to reflect the desires and concerns of constituents. Here’s what the national survey found:
— 89 percent of us think childhood obesity is a crisis or a problem.
— 86 percent of us say the nutrition requirements should stay the same or be strengthened.
— Nearly 70 percent of us believe school meals today are excellent or good, as opposed to 26 percent in 2010, before the new standards were implemented.
— 88 percent of us support government-funded farm-to-school programs, which help supply school cafeterias with local, fresh produce.
— 93 percent of us say it’s important to serve nutritious foods in school to support children’s health and ensure children are ready to learn and be successful.
Congress, it’s time to start listening.
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Survey Says: Public Overwhelmingly Supports Healthy School Meals originally appeared on usnews.com
