Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 111–296 (text) (PDF)) is a federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 13, 2010. The law is part of the reauthorization of funding for child nutrition (see the original Child Nutrition Act). It funded child nutrition programs and free lunch programs in schools for 5 years.[1] In addition, the law set new nutrition standards for schools, and allocated $4.5 billion for their implementation.[1] The new nutrition standards were a centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity.[2] In FY 2011, federal spending totaled $10.1 billion for the National School Lunch Program.[3] The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act allows USDA, for the first time in 30 years, opportunity to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children.[4] Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and Michelle Obama were a step in transforming the food pyramid recommendation, which has been around since the early 1990s, into what is now known as "MyPlate".

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleTo reauthorize child nutrition programs, and for other purposes.
Enacted bythe 111th United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 13, 2010
Citations
Public lawPub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 111–296 (text) (PDF)
Legislative history

According to the US Department of Agriculture, for the 2012–13 school year, 21.5 million American children received free lunch or reduced-price lunch at school.[5] Across the U.S, the school lunch program varies by state.[6]

In December 2018, the USDA weakened the ability to enforce the Act.[7]

Legislative history

The bill was introduced in the US Senate by Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.[8] It was later approved by the Senate by unanimous voice vote on August 5, 2010. In the U.S. House of Representatives The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act passed with 247 Democrats and 17 Republicans voting for, and 4 Democrats and 153 Republicans voting against it.[9] President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on December 13, 2010. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act took effect in 2014.[10] Senators Charles Schumer, (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-NY) pushed for Greek yogurt, much of which is manufactured in Utica, NY, to be included in the regulations determining acceptable proteins to be served at school.[11]

Provisions

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make significant changes to the school lunch program for the first time in over 30 years.[4] In addition to funding standard child nutrition and school lunch programs, there are several new nutritional standards in the bill. The main aspects are listed below.[1]

New Food Standards
  • Gives USDA the authority to set new standards for food sold in lunches during the regular day, including vending machines.[12]
  • Authorizes additional funds for the new standards for federally-subsidized school lunches.
  • Provides resources for schools and communities to utilize local farms and gardens to provide fresh produce.
  • Provides resources to increase nutritional quality of food provided by USDA
  • Sets minimum standards for school wellness policies
  • Limits milk served to nonfat flavored milk or 1 percent white milk[13]
  • Reduced portion sizes in meals
  • Mandate a minimum on fruit, vegetables, and whole grain servings
  • Mandate a maximum sodium, sugar, and fat content

Increases access
  • Increased the number of eligible children for school meal programs by 115,000
  • Uses census data to determine student need in high-poverty areas, rather than relying on paper applications.[14]
  • Authorizes USDA to provide meals in more after-school programs in "high-risk" areas
  • Increases access to drinking water in schools

Program monitoring
  • Requires school districts to be audited every 3 years to see if they have met nutrition standards[15]
  • Requires easier access for students and parents about nutritional facts of meals
  • Improves recall procedures for school food
  • Provides training for school lunch providers[4]

Criticism

A YouTube video, produced by Wallace High School students in Kansas drew national attention and over 1.5 million views. The video complained of its students being "hungry" and not fed well enough to participate in their extracurricular activities or sports due to reduced portion sizes relative to those prior to the new law.[16] In response to viewing the video, nutrition specialists explained that before the new standards were implemented, some schools may have been serving a lot of protein to keep their customers happy, "but none of us need as much protein as a lot of us eat". The experts also explained that eating 850 calories at lunch is enough for most high schoolers.[17] Along with the viral video, other students are reaching out on other forms of social media by using the hashtag 'ThanksMichelleObama'. Sam Kass, the executive director of Let's Move! and senior policy adviser for Nutrition shared "We've seen the photos being tweeted, but we don't dictate the food that schools serve-school districts do."[18] A study done by Harvard School of Public Health discovered that about 60 percent of vegetables and roughly 40 percent of fresh fruit are thrown away due to no interest.[18] Overall, the amount of food students did not eat but threw away instead increased by 56 percent.[19] As of 2017, Harvard School of Public Health determined that food waste had not increased by a measurable percentage as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.[20] One of the biggest points of criticism for Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is meal participation, and the participation has not increased, but decreased.[21] The program has declined by nearly 4 percent and some schools have lost revenue due to the decline in participation, therefore, many are choosing to opt out of the program as a whole.[19]

In response to the criticism, the USDA issued modified standards which were intended to be more flexible.[22]

Whole milk
Further information: Fat content of milk

A number of dairy farmers have advocated for the reintroduction of whole milk in schools.[23][24] The statute gave the USDA the authority to set new nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools, not just those included in the National School Lunch Program. As a result, the USDA FNS introduced new meal pattern requirements and nutritional specifications (i.e. 7 CFR 210.10) in January 2012 stating that if milk is served, it must be fat-free (unflavored or flavored) or low-fat (unflavored).[25] This effectively phased out the serving of whole milk in schools, as it typically contains more than 2% fat.[26] These changes were based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which suggested that children should consume less saturated fat, which is found in higher amounts in whole milk compared to low-fat or non-fat milk.[27]

Success

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act provides meals to children that normally could not afford those nutritious food items. It also allows schools to have more resources that they may not have had before.[28] A study in Virginia and Massachusetts concluded that children in schools were eating significantly healthier meals when their parents or guardians were not choosing their food, but the school was.[18] While looking at the nutrition value of 1.7 million meals selected by 7,200 students in three middle and three high schools in an urban school district in Washington state, where the data was collected and compared in the 16 months before the standards were carried out with data collected in the 15 months after implementation; the information found that there was an increase in six nutrients: fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and protein.[21] While providing new meals with improvements in fruits, vegetables, amount of variety, and portion sizes, the calorie intake has also transformed. The energy density ration was 1.65 before Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act compared to the new number of 1.44 after.[21]

Flexibility

On December 6, 2018, US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a new rule which froze the Act's progressively lowering limits on sodium, while also allowing for the sale of 1% flavored milks and fewer whole grain-rich foods in school breakfast and school lunch options.[29]

References
  1. Child Nutrition Fact Sheet, whitehouse.gov
  2. Kelly, Megyn (26 September 2012). "Students Choose to Go Hungry Rather than Eat Healthy School Lunches". Fox News Insider. FOX News Network. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  3. Food Research and Action Center (2010). "National School Lunch Program".
  4. "Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act". Food and Nutrition Service. United States Department of Agriculture. May 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  5. "2012-2013 Participation School Meals". 2014.
  6. School Nutrition Association (2013). "State-by-State Listing for School Meal Mandates and Reimbursements - As of April 2013" (PDF).
  7. "USDA Rolls Back Michelle Obama's School Lunch Regulations, Allowing More Salt and Fat". PEOPLE.com.
  8. GovTrack.us (2010). "s3307".
  9. "S. 3307 (111th): Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 -- House Vote #603 -- Dec 2, 2010". GovTrack.us.
  10. Strom, Stephanie (27 June 2013). "Writer". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  11. Mark Weiner (January 9, 2014). "Schumer: Kids eat up Chobani yogurt in USDA school lunch test". Syracuse.com.
  12. US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (January 26, 2012). "Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; Final Rule" (PDF).
  13. Brian McCready (March 31, 2012). "Feds to require students to buy fruit, vegetables with school cafeteria Lunch". New Haven Register.
  14. Madeleine Levin Food Research and Action Center (2010). "Provision 2 of the National School Lunch Act" (PDF).
  15. US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (February 22, 2013). "National School Lunch Program: Direct Certification Continuous Improvement Plans Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010" (PDF).
  16. "We Are Hungry video". YouTube. 2012.
  17. Nanci Hellmich (2012-09-28). "Students push back on new school lunches". USA Today.
  18. Ferdman, Roberto A. (24 November 2014). "School kids are blaming Michelle Obama for their 'gross' school lunches". The Washington Post. ProQuest 1627822106.
  19. Picard, Joe (2015-09-17). "Should Congress trash Michelle Obama's lunch program?". The Hill. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  20. FACT SHEET: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act School Meals Implementation | USDA-FNS
  21. Chen, Cathaleen (5 January 2016). "Is the Michelle Obama-approved school lunch initiative working?". Christian Science Monitor. ProQuest 1753290297.
  22. USDA Office of Communications (January 3, 2014). "USDA Makes Permanent Meat and Grain Serving Flexibilities in National School Lunch Program".
  23. Severson, Kim (4 April 2023). "Got Milk? Not This Generation". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  24. Khawaja, Noorulain (7 March 2023). "New York farmers fight to get whole milk back in schools". Spectrum News 1 Hudson Valley. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  25. Food and Nutrition Service (2012-01-26). "Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs". Federal Register. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  26. Spark, Arlene; Obenchain, Janel (2015). Food Policy: Looking Forward from the Past. United States: CRC Press. p. 218. ISBN 9781439880258.
  27. Institute of Medicine; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee on Nutrition Standards for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs (2010). School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children (Report). District of Columbia: National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/12751. ISBN 978-0-309-14436-0. LCCN 2009049798.
  28. Cornish, Disa; Askelson, Natoshia; Golembiewski, Elizabeth (2016). ""Reforms Looked Really Good on Paper": Rural Food Service Responses to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010". Journal of School Health. 86 (2): 113–20. doi:10.1111/josh.12356. PMID 26762822.
  29. "USDA Publishes School Meals Final Rule | Food and Nutrition Service". Archived from the original on 10 December 2018.
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