Chew on this: studies show that the top sources of calories for school-age children and teens are pizza, sugary desserts like cakes and cookies, and sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and fruit drinks. Add to it that kids regularly consume 30-50 percent of their daily calories at school, and it’s more important than ever for schools to promote healthy options. That’s why I’m so excited that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officially released the Smart Snacks in School Proposed Rule on February 8.
As required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the “Smart Snacks” rule proposes national nutrition standards for all foods and drinks sold in school vending machines, a la carte, school stores, snack bars, and fundraisers during the school day. The proposed standards call for schools to offer more whole grain, low-fat dairy, fruit, or vegetable snacks, among other positive changes (for more details, check out the USDA’s Smart Snacks in School Rule: What You Need to Know webinar on February 14 at 1 pm EST).
National nutrition standards are sorely needed. During the 2009-10 school year, 76% of high school students, 63% of middle school students, and 47% of elementary school students could buy unhealthy snack foods at school. Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, sports drinks, and high-calorie fruit drinks, were also common. At the same time, research shows that restricting sales of unhealthy snacks and beverages in schools can improve children’s diets, reduce weight gain, and even increase school food service revenues.
I applaud the USDA for taking a huge step for healthy kids. As this is a proposed rule, the nutrition standards are open for public comment until April 9, 2013. NEA HIN is in the process of writing comments on the proposed regulations; in the next few weeks, we will post excerpts that readers can use in their own comments to the USDA (stay tuned!).
In addition to providing comments on the rule, members of the school community can work locally to ensure that schools have healthy options available before, during, and after the school day. Our new website, BagtheJunk.org, is the perfect tool to help you take action. The site aims to educate, mobilize, and empower members of the school community to replace junk snack foods and sugary drinks with healthier options. It features advocacy tools such as organizing tips, policy briefs, fact sheets, and sample letters along with other information that will be updated frequently to reflect current news, trends, and thoughts from experts in the field.
And once you’ve started making changes at your school be sure to visit the Bag the Junk “Share” page to tell us your story, and we’ll feature it on the site!
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