Article Details

For immediate release:
August 20, 2012

Kathy Toelkes, Director of Communications, 785-296-4876

Schools get a healthy start with changes to school meals
New meal standards focus on healthy foods to fuel learning

TOPEKA – Kansas schools are off to a healthy start thanks to changes made to school meals as part of the federal Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act. Signed into law in 2011, the legislation contains provisions to make meals more nutritious. 

 The new school meals focus on more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, as well as providing low-fat or non-fat milk and less sodium and fat. The purpose of the legislation was to promote better nutrition and help students avoid risks for health problems such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. 

 “We know that well-nourished children are ready to learn and will do better in class, so we’re very pleased to see this added emphasis on healthy foods for students,” said Cheryl Johnson, director of Child Nutrition and Wellness at the Kansas State Department of Education. “I’m proud of the way Kansas schools have embraced these changes and have been working to gradually implement the changes in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. School meals for Kansas students are now even healthier than they were before.”

The changes in the meal standards are in line with the latest nutritional science and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Built upon recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, the new standards do the following:

• Ensure students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week;
• Increase offerings of whole grain-rich foods;
• Offer only fat-free or low-fat milk;
• Limit calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size;
• Increase the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars and sodium.

The legislation marks the first major changes in Child Nutrition Programs in more than 15 years. Included within the legislation is an incentive which provides an additional reimbursement of six cents per meal for each meal served that meets the new meal standards. The increase is the first increase above inflation that schools have received for school meals in more than 30 years.
  
 “These changes are good for our schools and, more importantly, are good for our students,” Johnson said.

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