Dive Brief:
- In a Huffington Post op-ed, education researchers Pam Koch and Renata Peralta write that the Child Nutrition Act should be reauthorized in 2015 despite healthier options taking a while to grow on students, and that more nutrition education is necessary for them to embrace those foods.
- Koch and Peralta write that corporate-backed groups like the School Nutrition Association are quick to point out food that is "wasted" because kids don't want it, but rising child obesity and diabetes rates highlight the legislation's necessity.
- The Child Nutrition Act calls for school lunches to offer more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while limiting sodium, sugar, and fat.
Dive Insight:
In addition to reauthorizing the legislation, the duo believes there must be more accountability in terms of Nutrition Education Programs (NEPs). Through their research in New York City, Koch and Peralta found a dismal rate of schools with NEPs and that those with such programs tend to be the already wealthy schools that have less of an issue with child obesity and diabetes in the first place. In fact, only 39% of schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens had at least one NEP.
The Child Nutrition Act has been quite contentious over the years, with food waste being the biggest argument against it. In June, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to let schools opt out of the federal nutrition requirements if they were able to show six months of monetary loss on their meal programs. First Lady Michelle Obama is a massive proponent of the the Child Nutrition Act, and the White House promised to veto the House's measure if it also made it through the Senate.