School lunches are about to get a makeover that includes less sugar and more flexibility with meal planning. Locally produced foods will be emphasized. And sodium will be reduced slightly.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced the changing nutrition standards for school meals that will phase in and be complete by fall of 2027.
“We all share the goal of helping children reach their full potential,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a written statement. “Like teachers, classrooms, books and computers, nutritious school meals are an essential part of the school environment, and when we raise the bar for school meals, it empowers our kids to achieve greater success inside and outside of the classroom. Expanding on this major milestone, the Biden-Harris administration will continue to partner with schools, districts, states and industry to build on the extraordinary progress made to strengthen school meals.”
Affected will be K-12 schools, which together serve breakfasts and lunches to close to 30 million children every school day. In a release, the department said that the meals are “the main source of nutrition for more than half of these children and help improve child health.”