Vilsack meets with school meals advocates
July 11, 2014 | 11:59 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with school meal advocates on Thursday behind closed doors, but from statements issued afterwards the meeting seemed to relieve the tensions with the School Nutrition Association only a little, while other nutrition groups saw the meeting as helpful.
Sam Kass, the White House nutrition adviser and executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, was also scheduled to attend the meeting, which came about after the School Nutrition Association asked for a meeting with Vilsack and the first lady.
SNA, which represents the school food service directors and the companies that make school foods, has asked Congress to require USDA to waive some of the healthier meals rules for one year for schools that say they have been losing money on meals. SNA has also signaled that it intends to ask for a permanent pull back on the rules as part of the reauthorization of child nutrition programs when that comes up in 2015.
Vilsack invited 16 groups to attend the meeting.
Tom Vilsack
In a statement afterward, the secretary said that USDA “will continue working side by side with the schools,” but he was also firm in his views that healthier meals rules are needed because the nation faces an obesity crisis.
“America’s next generation faces a future of chronic disease and increased healthcare costs,” Vilsack said.
“Pediatricians and child nutrition experts agree that commonsense improvements to school meals are a fundamental part of the effort to put our children on a path towards a healthier future. As we have done throughout implementation, USDA will continue working side by side with schools, offering additional flexibility and resources where needed, including $48 million for training and technical assistance that continues to remain available to schools.”
He also noted that USDA has sponsored training sessions both in person and online.
“USDA will also lead an effort in collaboration with many of the partners assembled today, as well as others, to develop comprehensive technical assistance plans for those schools who need extra help in order to meet the healthy meal standards.,” Vilsack said. “Our kids deserve nothing less than our best efforts.”
Wendy Weyer
Wendy Weyer, director of nutrition services for the Seattle Public Schools, represented SNA at the meeting.
“Today’s discussion was a step in the right direction, recognizing there is more work to be done to make implementation of national nutrition standards successful,” Weyer said.
“Our members have already worked to implement dozens of new regulations, but many are struggling and will be unable to meet new standards this fall while remaining financially solvent,” she said. “We welcome continued conversation, recognition of the challenges and support for flexibility as we all work to avoid further loss of student participation and revenue.”
Margo Wootan
Margo Wootan, the nutrition director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, “The meeting at USDA today about school foods was constructive, a discussion that USDA committed to continue.”
“SNA reiterated their policy requests to weaken the standards for whole grains, sodium, smart snacks and fruits and vegetables,” Wootan said.
“There were good discussions about factors that affect school lunch costs, such as indirect costs; participation; and plate waste, such as time to eat,” she said.
“USDA said it would look into ways to provide intense and comprehensive technical assistance to the schools that need it most, looking at its strike force as a model. There was also identified a need to do more to educate food service providers on the strength of the science on sodium, so that the focus will be on implementation and reformulation rather than on if the standards are needed.”
Sam Kass, the White House nutrition adviser and executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, was also scheduled to attend the meeting, which came about after the School Nutrition Association asked for a meeting with Vilsack and the first lady.
SNA, which represents the school food service directors and the companies that make school foods, has asked Congress to require USDA to waive some of the healthier meals rules for one year for schools that say they have been losing money on meals. SNA has also signaled that it intends to ask for a permanent pull back on the rules as part of the reauthorization of child nutrition programs when that comes up in 2015.
Vilsack invited 16 groups to attend the meeting.
In a statement afterward, the secretary said that USDA “will continue working side by side with the schools,” but he was also firm in his views that healthier meals rules are needed because the nation faces an obesity crisis.
“America’s next generation faces a future of chronic disease and increased healthcare costs,” Vilsack said.
“Pediatricians and child nutrition experts agree that commonsense improvements to school meals are a fundamental part of the effort to put our children on a path towards a healthier future. As we have done throughout implementation, USDA will continue working side by side with schools, offering additional flexibility and resources where needed, including $48 million for training and technical assistance that continues to remain available to schools.”
He also noted that USDA has sponsored training sessions both in person and online.
“USDA will also lead an effort in collaboration with many of the partners assembled today, as well as others, to develop comprehensive technical assistance plans for those schools who need extra help in order to meet the healthy meal standards.,” Vilsack said. “Our kids deserve nothing less than our best efforts.”
Wendy Weyer, director of nutrition services for the Seattle Public Schools, represented SNA at the meeting.
“Today’s discussion was a step in the right direction, recognizing there is more work to be done to make implementation of national nutrition standards successful,” Weyer said.
“Our members have already worked to implement dozens of new regulations, but many are struggling and will be unable to meet new standards this fall while remaining financially solvent,” she said. “We welcome continued conversation, recognition of the challenges and support for flexibility as we all work to avoid further loss of student participation and revenue.”
Margo Wootan, the nutrition director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, “The meeting at USDA today about school foods was constructive, a discussion that USDA committed to continue.”
“SNA reiterated their policy requests to weaken the standards for whole grains, sodium, smart snacks and fruits and vegetables,” Wootan said.
“There were good discussions about factors that affect school lunch costs, such as indirect costs; participation; and plate waste, such as time to eat,” she said.
“USDA said it would look into ways to provide intense and comprehensive technical assistance to the schools that need it most, looking at its strike force as a model. There was also identified a need to do more to educate food service providers on the strength of the science on sodium, so that the focus will be on implementation and reformulation rather than on if the standards are needed.”
