Ultimate Food Fight

Nirvi Shah
Ultimate Food Fight Erupts as Feds Recook School Lunch Rules
Published Online: April 5, 2011
Education Week
Complete URL: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/04/06/27lunch_ep.h30.html?tkn=QUMFcgy44WfbXdbdZsOY8wjTHA334B5EL74p&cmp=clp-edweek

The first rewrite of school-meal rules in fifteen years leaves many people up-in-arms. "The proposed rules, intended to simultaneously combat childhood obesity and malnutrition, have drawn thousands of emails, letters, and drawings that voice opinions about the proposed nutrition standards for school meals." The new rules address: cutting sodium, boosting the variety and amounts of fruits and vegetables offered, cutting saturated fat, increasing whole grains, and setting calorie limits. You may notice sugar was not addressed. The new guidelines are to be in place for the 2012-2013 school year.

The article mentioned a couple concerns regarding the new rules. The first and biggest being budgetary. Another concern was whether or not kids will eat these new meals. The debate is on.

The intended audience for this article is anyone interested in nutrition and education, particularly parents and educators. It is relevant to today's climate. We are all aware of the obesity epidemic in this nation - change is painful but in this case necessary.