This week marks National School Lunch Week a great time to talk about how school meals are improving across the country. In January 2012, the USDA released a new set of nutrition standards for school meals that were intended to significantly improve the nutritional quality of the food our children are served for breakfast and lunch. These new standards, which went into effect in September 2012, included more fruits and vegetables, a greater variety of vegetables, more whole-grain options and lower fat milk in school cafeterias. Schools that comply with the updated school meal standards receive an additional 6 cents per lunch in federal funding to support their efforts to provide healthier meals. New survey results recently released by the USDA show just how successful school districts have been in serving healthier meal options. According to the survey, 80 percent of schools across the country are successfully meeting the new standards, with some states reporting 100 percent of schools participating. The USDA believes this number will only grow by the end of the year, and a study by the Kids' Safe & Healthful Foods Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 94 percent of school districts expected to meet the new lunch nutrition standards by the end of last school year. Furthermore, the USDA found that less than one percent of schools cited difficulty meeting the standards as a reason for leaving the program. In a blog post, Dr. Janey Thornton, Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at USDA, writes, While we encourage the very few eligible school districts that have chosen not to participate in the school meals program to take steps to ensure all children will still have access to healthy, affordable meals during the school day, it is clear that the vast majority of schools and parents think that the new meals are working. These numbers are evidence of the exciting trend among our nation's schools to improve the physical activity and healthy eating environments during the school day. According to the CDC, the obesity rate among youth ages 6 to 19 has more than tripled over the past four decades, causing a whole host of new medical problems our children have never had to endure before. We know today that approximately one-third of all cancer deaths are attributable to poor diet, physical inactivity and overweight and obesity. But the great news is that this trend is starting to turn around the CDC reported in August that obesity among low-income preschool kids declined in 19 states between 2008 and 2011. ACS CAN is dedicated to ensuring we continue to see these types of positive trends. That's why we're advocating for universal implementation of the USDA's updated nutritional standards for school meals and snack foods and beverages, which take effect next school year; a continued reduction in unhealthy food and beverage marketing to youth and adults; adoption of strong physical education programs and incorporation of rigorous physical activity opportunities into the school day. We hope you'll join us in this effort.
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.