"The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a new proposed rule Thursday designed to strengthen school breakfast and lunch nutrition standards -- part of the Obama administration's attempt to crack down on an epidemic of childhood obesity. The rule would increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat milk while cutting the amount of sodium and saturated fat. It would reduce the availability of traditional school lunch staples such as pizza and french fries. Under the rule, federal minimum and maximum calorie intake guidelines would be established for the first time. Younger children would be offered 550 to 650 calories for lunch, while most high school students would be offered 750 to 850 calories. Saturated fat would constitute less than 10 percent of the total calories in school meals for children at all age levels. Trans fat would be banned.(School Nutrition)"
All I can say is, it is about time the government does something to improve the quality of food served in schools. Now, I'm not trying to degrade my schools lunch program; I'm sure if they had the extra money they'd get us healthier and fresher food but the truth of the matter is, fresh food is expensive. I pack my lunch everyday, and honestly have never bought a school lunch because they never looked appealing. I pack a healthy lunch and if they school provided healthier options like salads and fresh fruits everyday, I would gladly buy my lunch at school. It would probably even be cheaper to buy a school lunch than to pack everyday. Also, the calorie restrictions the government will put on lunches will be a start to fighting childhood obesity. Hopefully if the kids are eating healthier in school, they'll eat healthier at home. Since I'm graduating this spring I'll never see these new standards being put into place, but for future generations this will be a good change, whether they want to admit it or not.
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