USDA Issues Final Rule on Nutrition Standards for School Lunches

WASHINGTONUSDA issued a final rule regarding nutrition standards for school breakfast and lunch. The ruleNutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, 7 CFR Parts 210 and 220 requires that most schools increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat milk, while reducing sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals.

The changes better align school-meal nutrition with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and are intended to help curb rising obesity rates. The compliance deadline is July 1, 2012.

According to USDA, "the final rule is estimated to add $3.2 billion to school meal costs over 5 years, considerably less than the estimated cost of the proposed rule. When considered in the context of other related provisions of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010, sufficient resources are expected to be available to school food authorities to cover the additional costs of updated meal offerings to meet the new standards."

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