Alas, Major New Regulations for America’s School Lunches AnnouncedJanuary 27th, 2012 - Jill Ettinger
First lady Michelle Obama and the USDA’s Tom Vilsack announced a list of new nutrition standards for public school meals earlier this week with major health upgrades for the nation’s children, earning applause from consumer health organizations and advocacy groups. Read More:Alas, Major New Regulations for America’s School Lunches AnnouncedCalifornia Leads the Charge in Creating Healthy School LunchesDecember 1st, 2011 - Jill Ettinger
After the recent declaration by members of Congress that pizza served throughout the nation’s school lunch programs should be considered a vegetable (because of the negligible amount of tomato paste in pizza sauce) despite efforts of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act also passed by Congress last year requiring schools to provide more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains, California schools continue to lead the nation in focusing on the health of children by providing exceptionally clean food for students and not including pizza on the list of vegetables. Read More:California Leads the Charge in Creating Healthy School LunchesCongress Considers Pizza and French Fries Vegetables to Avoid Funding Healthy School LunchesNovember 18th, 2011 - Jill Ettinger
The newest version of a proposed Congressional spending bill will classify pizza and French fries served as part of school lunches as vegetables, reports the Associated Press. Read More:Congress Considers Pizza and French Fries Vegetables to Avoid Funding Healthy School LunchesForget the Juice Box: Brown Bag Lunches Banned from SchoolsApril 14th, 2011 - Jill Ettinger
With a number of regulatory efforts underway to guarantee that school lunches are becoming more nutritious, one obvious issue had been overlooked until now: the brown bag. Read More:Forget the Juice Box: Brown Bag Lunches Banned from SchoolsSchool Lunch Reform Causes Big Menu ChangesApril 9th, 2011 - Jill Ettinger
With 25 million children and teens—nearly one third of American kids — overweight or obese, the USDA announced new nutrition standards for school lunches earlier this year, making dietary changes for the first time in more than 15 years. Read More:School Lunch Reform Causes Big Menu ChangesHigh-Calorie Beverages Still Widely Available in U.S. Elementary SchoolsNovember 1st, 2010 - Barbara Feiner
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago conducted a nationally representative survey to examine the availability of high-calorie and sugar-sweetened beverages for sale in elementary schools during lunchtime, in vending machines and snack bars, and in school stores. They also examined the types of milk available in school cafeterias: low-fat, whole-fat and flavored milks (right). While 16.1% of students could purchase only those beverages recommended by Institute of Medicine guidelines during the 2008–2009 school year, 44.7% could purchase beverages that the guidelines frown upon. This pattern applied to both public and private school. Read More:High-Calorie Beverages Still Widely Available in U.S. Elementary Schools |
High-calorie beverages that have been disallowed by 
