There is a request for public comments.
The National School Breakfast Program feeds 10 million children each day, and the National School Lunch Program feeds more than 30 million students. Yet the national nutrition standards and meal requirements for these meals were created more than a decade ago, making them out of step with recent guidance about children's diets. With so many children receiving as much as 50 percent of their daily caloric intake from school meals, it is vital for schools to provide nutritious food alongside the best possible education for the success of their students.
At the request of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institute of Medicine assembled a committee to recommend updates and revisions to the school lunch and breakfast programs. The first part of the committee's work is reflected in the December 2008 IOM report Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs: Phase I. Proposed Approach for Recommending Revisions. Phase II of the report is expected in Fall 2009. This first report provides information about the committee's approach as it reviews the school lunch and breakfast programs. In the report's second part, the committee will share its findings and recommendations to bring these meals more in line with today's dietary guidelines.
The committee welcomes public comments about its intended approach. An open forum will be held January 28, 2009 in Washington, DC to receive input from the public.
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ReplyDeleteIt is very important to re exam the school lunch and school breakfast for health and spiritual reasons. There are cultures and religions that do not eat pig products, include ingredients. Muslim students in the American Public Schools are facing food discriminations; Muslim Student’s religious food restriction are addressed, even if they tried to avoid eating forbidden food they could not find the food ingredients for that reason so many Muslim taxes payers do not access the school lunch and school breakfast.
ReplyDeleteIt is the public schools’ responsibilities to serve their student with respect, dignity and
Justice. Respect, dignity and justice should be first lesson and number one investment to the children’s future to expect positive contribution to the society in their adulthood life. Children are innocent and they deserve for the best treatments. Muslim children at the public schools in USA are under the tremendous challenges between keeping their faith and values or being isolated.
Thank you
It is about time!
ReplyDeleteI am extremely happy to hear they are reviewing the standards and that they are accepting public comments. The health implications of the current standards are scary. Let's ensure all students have access to healthy food. It improves physical health but maybe more importantly emotional health. Healthy lunches have been shown to improve concentration and reduce behavior problems.
I would also like to see the relationship between the school lunch program and the dairy industry re-evaluated. With all the evidence to the contrary, how do we allow schools to push milk on our students and suggest it is healthy?