The Trump administration recently unveiled their plan to eliminate a few of the nutritional standards currently set in place by former first lady Michelle Obama's healthy lunch initiative. According to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, schools will no longer be required to reduce the salt in students' meals or work in whole grains and non-fat milk.
Those against the Healthy, Hunger-Free Act signed into law in 2010 argued it was difficult to find food students would eat under those standards.
"We've been hearing from a lot of parents, students and food service professionals about how we can do better in this role," said Perdue, according to the U.S. News & World Report.
The former first lady's Let's Move Campaign increased requirements for serving sizes and nutrition standards. Schools were required to only offer fat-free or low-fat milk, limit calories based on the age of students and reduce the amount of saturated fats, trans fats and sodium.
A document released earlier this year called to repeal aspects of this act.
“It’s discouraging that just days into his tenure, one of the first things that Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will do is to roll back progress on the quality of the meals served to America’s children,” Margo Woota, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement, according to U.S. News & World Report.
A report published in August 2015 by researchers from the University of Vermont found that despite students adding more fruits and vegetables to their plates, “children consumed fewer [fruits and vegetables], and wasted more during the school year immediately following implementation of the USDA rule.” The report noted that average waste increased from a quarter cup to more than one-third of a cup per tray.
“Ninety percent of American kids eat too much sodium every day,” Woota said. “Schools have been moving in the right direction, so it makes no sense to freeze that progress in its tracks — and allow dangerous high levels of salt in school lunch.”
