School food reform: USDA sets new sugar and sodium standards for kids meals

26 Apr 2024 --- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced new nutrition standards for school meals in the country, aiming to promote the health and well-being of children. The new standards set out to gradually reduce the levels of sugar and improve flexibility at K-12 schools. These provide breakfast and lunch to nearly 30 million children, with these meals representing the main source of nutrition for more than half of these students.

“We all share the goal of helping children reach their full potential,” says agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. “Like teachers, classrooms, books and computers, nutritious school meals are an essential part of the school environment, and when we raise the bar for school meals, it empowers our kids to achieve greater success inside and outside of the classroom.”

“Expanding on this major milestone, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to partner with schools, districts, states and industry to build on the extraordinary progress made to strengthen school meals,” he continues.

The move is part of the incumbent administration’s national strategy to end hunger, which also includes the USDA’s recent update to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. 

Nutrition standards for school meals are required by law to be in line with the up-to-date dietary guidelines for US citizens, with each school developing a meal plan that fits both the guidelines and the preferences of its students.

Limiting added sugar
The most significant adaptations to school meal nutrition standards are pertinent to added sugars, milk, sodium, whole grains and food preferences. 

This is the first time added sugar will be limited in school meals across the nation. Changes will start being implemented in the fall of 2025, with the aim of reaching full implementation in the fall of 2027. According to the USDA, this update responds to parents’ and teacher’s concerns about the sugary foods available to students.

The added sugar content of flavored milk offered with school breakfasts and lunches will also be cut. Flavored and unflavored milk options will remain available, as they provide nutrients essential to children, including calcium, vitamin D and potassium.

The new school meal nutrition standards aim to reduce added sugars and sodium, while facilitating more diverse dietary choices.The contents of sodium, another harmful food additive commonly found in school lunches, are also set to be reduced. 

Students will continue to receive a variety of whole grains, a nutrient-rich food, and new types of enriched grains will also become available. 

To support the children’s individual dietary preferences, protein-rich vegetarian options, such as yogurt, tofu, eggs, nuts and seeds, will become more widely available starting in the fall of 2024. This move is also expected to facilitate the reduction of sugary items on offer. 

Also, starting in fall 2024, schools will be limited in the percentage of non-domestic grown and produced foods they can purchase. This regulation aims to support US farmers, producers, fishers and ranchers.

Stakeholder approval 
The newly introduced updates to school meals’ nutrition standards have been met with approval by health and nutrition stakeholders in the US, which had previously expressed concerns over some aspects of the nutritional quality of meals provided in schools across the nation. 

Meghan Maroney, federal child nutrition campaign manager at the Washington DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), comments: “When we improve the nutritional quality of school meals, the return on our investment is huge. In the short term, healthy, nourished kids are better learners. In the medium and long term, healthier kids are more likely to be healthier adults at less risk for diabetes, heart disease and other health problems.”

“That’s why setting an added sugars standard for school meals is such a big deal. Particularly at breakfast, where cereals, flavored milk and even yogurts can have too much-added sugar to fit into a healthy diet, USDA’s final rule will bring added sugars down to safer levels in alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

To support domestic producers, schools will soon be limited in the percentage of non-domestic grown and produced foods they can purchase.Maroney argues that under the rule, school meals will still be allowed to contain much more sodium than “they should,” which she refers to as “a missed opportunity given that nine out of 10 kids consume too much sodium.”

“We at CSPI encourage school food service directors to meet and exceed the standards that USDA has announced, urge industry to continue to innovate and reduce sodium, and encourage Congress, state legislatures and school boards to give schools the support and resources they need to succeed.”

Carole Erb, executive director of education and governmental sales at the JTM Food Group, adds: “Prior to the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, my company, JTM Food Group, began reformulating our K 12 product offerings to reduce sodium. During COVID, we continued our R&D efforts in reviewing formulations, especially in our cheese and items, to further reduce the sodium in anticipation of the new meal pattern." 

“JTM team members have collaborated to bring reduced sodium products to the market that will meet the new meal pattern today. We are ready to continue supporting all food service directors across the country and the important work that they and their staff are doing, feeding America's children and nourishing the nation.”

By Milana Nikolova