Any parent can attest, it can be tough to sell kids on the merits of veggies and even some fruits. And on those days when the kale starts flying across the dinner table and the tears stream down cheeks, sometimes it’s just easier to serve a slice of pizza and go for the juice box. But this should be an exception to the rule, not the rule itself.
And this brings us to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposal to lower federal nutrition standards for school breakfast and lunch.
The proposal — announced with a visit to Castle Hills Elementary School by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, as well as U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, he of the “Jesus Shot” and liberator of cupcakes and deep fryers — is as unpalatable as a soggy French fry.
The concern is there will be a lot more fries in our school cafeterias. Loosening nutrition standards is an invitation to childhood obesity and other associated health concerns.
We are going backward here.
The rationale for this proposal is it will cut back on food waste. The argument being as school meals have become healthier, kids have pushed back against whole grains, veggies and fresh fruit. It follows other administrative actions to chip away at Obama-era regulations. In the past, the USDA has reduced required servings of whole grains, slowed a reduction in sodium and allowed potatoes to replace fruit at breakfast.
Under this proposal, pizza, hamburgers and fries potentially could be served daily as á la carte options. As Colin Schwartz, deputy director of legislative affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement, “In practice, if finalized, this would create a huge loophole in school nutrition guidelines, paving the way for children to choose pizza, burgers, French fries, and other foods high in calories, saturated fat or sodium in place of balanced school meals every day.”
He also said the proposal “would limit the variety of vegetables served at lunch and allow schools to reduce the amount of fruit served with some breakfasts.”
For example, a cup of fruit could be reduced to a half-cup, with pastries and granola bars filling in the balance of calories.
What’s particularly troubling is the USDA knows better. We know the USDA knows better because it has studied the Obama-era reforms and found immense benefit. The USDA’s “School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study,” found the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger Free-Kids Act under Obama resulted in a dramatic improvement in the overall health of school meals. It also found higher student participation in schools with the healthiest meals — and that waste remained unchanged.
For San Antonio, where childhood obesity is an ongoing community concern, school meals are an important opportunity to instill healthy eating habits. And because San Antonio is the poorest big city in the nation, school lunches are a keystone to nutrition for many families. About two-thirds of public school children in Bexar County qualify for free or reduced-price meals, Express-News staff writer Alia Malik noted in her article about Perdue’s visit to Castle Hills Elementary School.
The proposed rule change will soon be posted for public comment. We encourage parents and educators to share their thoughts and views on this. Regardless of the outcome, we strongly encourage area school districts to limit the offerings of pizza and fries, and focus on serving quality, healthy meals to our kids.