On July 29, USDA released the Final Rule on All Foods Sold in Schools as required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This rule governs the sale of all foods sold outside the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and is often called “competitive foods.” These include food and beverage sold as a la carte items, in vending machines, in school stores, and other mechanisms that involve the exchange of money for a food item. The Final Rule does allow each state to set a separate policy that can allow for the infrequent school-sponsored fundraisers that do not meet the nutrition standards. If a state does not set a policy, it defaults to zero exemptions which means that all fundraisers during the school day must meet the Smart Snacks Standards.
SNA prepared a report on the states’ policies including the number of exemptions and policies governing the length and time of each fundraiser.
