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SNA Comments on Proposed School Meal Flexibilities
2020-02-28
Rule streamlines admin. mandates & preserves strong standards for students
ARLINGTON, VA – The non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA) has submitted detailed comments in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed regulations to simplify school meal service and monitoring requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The comments reflect the input of SNA members nationwide – the professionals responsible for serving students, planning nutritious school menus, managing meal programs and meeting complex regulatory requirements.
SNA’s comments address misconceptions regarding the proposal:
This proposed rule would ensure students continue to receive nutritious meals at school, providing regular access to a healthy variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The proposal protects caps on calories and saturated fat, which ensure school meals do not contribute to obesity, and preserves Target 1 sodium reductions. The proposed rule maintains current mandates that schools offer a wide variety of vegetables, including weekly offerings of dark leafy greens, red/orange vegetables and legumes.
The comments emphasize the need to ease overly complex and burdensome administrative and meal planning mandates:
We especially appreciate USDA’s ongoing efforts to streamline regulations while maintaining sound nutrition standards. These efforts have helped School Food Authorities (SFAs) to not only minimize costs, but provide school nutrition professionals with more time and resources to spend in the cafeteria, interacting with students, hosting taste tests, planning nutrition education initiatives and improving menus and operations.
SNA’s comments also cite specific benefits of proposals to simplify meal service, including the opportunity to menu more seasonal and locally grown vegetables, increase variety on school menus, offer more lean protein options at breakfast and boost student water consumption.
These comments will be a focus of SNA’s Legislative Action Conference (LAC), March 8-10 in Washington D.C. Nearly 900 attendees will meet with their Members of Congress to share the comments, SNA’s 2020 Position Paper , and ongoing efforts by school nutrition professionals to improve school menus and service for students.
About School Nutrition Association:
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 55,000 school nutrition professionals across the country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy school meals and nutrition education available to all students. For more information on school meals, visit www.SchoolNutrition.org/SchoolMeals
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