I was excited by the news today that the USDA released new nutritional standards for school meals that have the potential to significantly improve the quality of the food our children are served at school. The new standards, which will be implemented beginning in the 2012-2013 school year, include:
You might remember the news back in November that Congress voted to weaken these standards by allowing the tomato paste on pizza to be considered a vegetable and removing restrictions so that French fries can be served five days a week. After engaging with the USDA and Congress over the past year and advocating for the best possible nutrition standards, ACS CAN was disappointed with these changes. But, we believe the nutrition standards released today could dramatically improve what is currently being offered in school cafeterias. Evidence shows that approximately one-third of all cancer deaths are attributable to poor diet, physical inactivity and overweight and obesity. These new school nutritional standards take a stride towards tackling the childhood obesity epidemic facing our country. What types of food are being served at your child's school? Do you think these new nutritional standards will help? *Images retrieved from: http://bit.ly/wVbpCl and http://bit.ly/wz22Ak
Even as Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, ACS CAN will keep working year-round, across the country and with both state and federal lawmakers, to advance the public policies we know will reduce the burden of breast cancer.