SNA seeks more school meal reimbursement, end to fruit and vegetable requirement
January 29, 2015 |04:20 PM
The School Nutrition Association today released a position paper calling for a 35 cent increase in federal reimbursement “to ensure school food authorities can afford to meet federal requirements,” as well as an end to the requirement that each student take a half cup of fruits or vegetables with every meal and the rollback of some other provisions.
The United Fresh Produce Association, which represents the fruit and vegetable industry, said in a news release that its members are “disappointed” in SNA's stand and that the group looks forward to working with the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee on the legislation.
The reauthorization of the school meals program, which is included in the scheduled reauthorization of all child nutrition programs, is expected to be the biggest battle in American agriculture this year, pitting sectors of the food industry against each other for a share of school meal spending.
The child nutrition programs are reauthorized every five years, and were last reauthorized in 2010 when the Democrats were in charge of the House and Senate. That bill was called the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, and it mandated a shift to lower fat and lower salt meat and dairy products, and more whole grains and fruits and vegetables.
SNA, which represents school food service directors and the companies that make school foods, noted that Congress included a six-cent increase in school lunch reimbursement in the 2010 bill but no extra funds for school breakfast, even though SNA asked for a 35-cent per meal increase at that time to cover the full cost of preparing meals.
In the interim, SNA leaders have resisted calling for an increase, saying that they did not believe Congress would provide it. Instead they asked for a roll back of some of the provisions. Now they are asking for both an increase and a roll back.
Since 2010, SNA said, “the new standards and rising food and labor costs have drastically increased the cost of preparing school meals, threatening the financial sustainability of meal programs.”
“Meal programs are prohibited from carrying losses over from one school year to the next,” the SNA said. “When these programs can’t cover their costs, school districts must pick up the tab, to the detriment of all students.”
In line with new congressional budget procedures, SNA added, “Prior to implementation of any new legislation and regulations, Congress should provide full funding to cover all related costs identified through economic analysis.”
About the fruit and vegetable requirements, SNA said it “supports offering a greater variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables; however, some students do not want a fruit or vegetable with every single meal.”
“The requirement that a student must take a half cup with every breakfast and lunch has increased waste and costs, leaving schools with less funding to invest in more expensive and appealing produce choices such as berries and kiwi.”
School food service authorities “know best whether this mandate has been beneficial or detrimental and should be allowed to decide whether students must take a fruit or vegetable with every meal.”
Tom Stenzel
United Fresh Produce Association CEO Tom Stenzel said today that his members “are deeply disappointed that SNA has chosen to continue its ill-advised fight against serving kids more fruits and vegetables in schools.”
“The requirement that kids receive one-half cup of fruits or vegetables in school meals is being successfully met by tens of thousands of schools across the country,” Stenzel said.
“This is a modest step for the health of our children, especially in these critical learning years,” he said. “When health classes teach students to make half their plate consist of fruits and vegetables, it would be unconscionable for the school cafeteria to undercut that message by not serving at least one-half cup in school meals.”
After last year’s appropriations debate, the fiscal year 2015 fiscal year omnibus appropriations bill included provisions to pull back on salt reduction and whole grains requirements but did not touch the fruit and vegetable requirement.
“The compromises reached in the appropriations process in the last Congress send a clear signal that we cannot retreat from our modest efforts to increase fruits and vegetables in school meals,” Stenzel said.
“Moms and dads know this isn’t easy; but they also know it’s too important to our kids’ health to throw in the towel when real solutions exist. We once again call on SNA to revisit its thinking on this issue.”
Stenzel added, “Our industry is working hard to assist schools in procurement, storage and handling, recipe development and presentation to make sure great-tasting, affordable fresh fruits and vegetables are being served and eaten.”
“We have donated thousands of salad bars to schools across the country who use that equipment to serve a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to students every day. When something as simple as a $3,000 salad bar stocked with high-quality, affordable fresh fruits and vegetables can enable schools to easily go beyond the modest half-cup requirement, we need to build support for cafeteria equipment and training for school personnel to help them succeed.”
Patricia Montague
SNA did not call for any roll back of the calorie caps that were put in the 2010 law to try to reduce childhood obesity.
“SNA supports strong federal nutrition standards for school meals, including calorie caps and mandates to offer a greater quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables,” said SNA CEO Patricia Montague.
“However, some of USDA’s regulations under the law have unnecessarily increased costs and waste for school meal programs and caused many students to swap healthy school meals for junk-food fare. SNA is asking Congress to provide schools adequate funding and flexibility, allowing school nutrition professionals to plan creative, appealing menus that will entice students to eat healthy school meals.”
SNA also called for maintenance of the Target 1 sodium level reductions instituted in 2014 and suspension of implementation of further targets. This is likely to be controversial, however, because some school food service directors who are members of SNA have told The Hagstrom Report that salt-reduced health problems are so great, particularly among African-Americans, that children should be exposed to foods with lower salt levels.
Under SNA’s position paper, the 2014 mandate that all grains must be whole-grain rich would be rolled back to the July 2012 requirement that half of all grains offered with school meals must be whole grain rich.
SNA said the whole-grain rich requirement has increased waste and contributed to the decline in school lunch participation.
“Students are eating more whole grain breads and buns, but schools are struggling to find acceptable specialty whole grain items,” the paper said. “Challenges include limited availability of whole grain rich foods in rural areas, higher costs and regional preferences for certain refined grains such as bagels or biscuits.”
“Schools should be permitted to serve white rice or tortillas on occasion, just like most families do,” SNA said.
“Restoring the requirement that half of all grains offered be whole-grain rich will ensure students continue to receive a variety of whole-grain choices in school, while limiting waste.”
The SNA position paper also called for allowing all food items that are permitted to be served as part of a reimbursable meal to be sold at any time as an a la carte item; modifying a provision that required schools to increase the price of lunch for children who do not qualify for free or educed meals; and a reduction in reporting requirements.
▪ School Nutrition Association — 2015 Position Paper: Reauthorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
The United Fresh Produce Association, which represents the fruit and vegetable industry, said in a news release that its members are “disappointed” in SNA's stand and that the group looks forward to working with the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee on the legislation.
The reauthorization of the school meals program, which is included in the scheduled reauthorization of all child nutrition programs, is expected to be the biggest battle in American agriculture this year, pitting sectors of the food industry against each other for a share of school meal spending.
The child nutrition programs are reauthorized every five years, and were last reauthorized in 2010 when the Democrats were in charge of the House and Senate. That bill was called the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, and it mandated a shift to lower fat and lower salt meat and dairy products, and more whole grains and fruits and vegetables.
SNA, which represents school food service directors and the companies that make school foods, noted that Congress included a six-cent increase in school lunch reimbursement in the 2010 bill but no extra funds for school breakfast, even though SNA asked for a 35-cent per meal increase at that time to cover the full cost of preparing meals.
In the interim, SNA leaders have resisted calling for an increase, saying that they did not believe Congress would provide it. Instead they asked for a roll back of some of the provisions. Now they are asking for both an increase and a roll back.
Since 2010, SNA said, “the new standards and rising food and labor costs have drastically increased the cost of preparing school meals, threatening the financial sustainability of meal programs.”
“Meal programs are prohibited from carrying losses over from one school year to the next,” the SNA said. “When these programs can’t cover their costs, school districts must pick up the tab, to the detriment of all students.”
In line with new congressional budget procedures, SNA added, “Prior to implementation of any new legislation and regulations, Congress should provide full funding to cover all related costs identified through economic analysis.”
About the fruit and vegetable requirements, SNA said it “supports offering a greater variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables; however, some students do not want a fruit or vegetable with every single meal.”
“The requirement that a student must take a half cup with every breakfast and lunch has increased waste and costs, leaving schools with less funding to invest in more expensive and appealing produce choices such as berries and kiwi.”
School food service authorities “know best whether this mandate has been beneficial or detrimental and should be allowed to decide whether students must take a fruit or vegetable with every meal.”
United Fresh Produce Association CEO Tom Stenzel said today that his members “are deeply disappointed that SNA has chosen to continue its ill-advised fight against serving kids more fruits and vegetables in schools.”
“The requirement that kids receive one-half cup of fruits or vegetables in school meals is being successfully met by tens of thousands of schools across the country,” Stenzel said.
“This is a modest step for the health of our children, especially in these critical learning years,” he said. “When health classes teach students to make half their plate consist of fruits and vegetables, it would be unconscionable for the school cafeteria to undercut that message by not serving at least one-half cup in school meals.”
After last year’s appropriations debate, the fiscal year 2015 fiscal year omnibus appropriations bill included provisions to pull back on salt reduction and whole grains requirements but did not touch the fruit and vegetable requirement.
“The compromises reached in the appropriations process in the last Congress send a clear signal that we cannot retreat from our modest efforts to increase fruits and vegetables in school meals,” Stenzel said.
“Moms and dads know this isn’t easy; but they also know it’s too important to our kids’ health to throw in the towel when real solutions exist. We once again call on SNA to revisit its thinking on this issue.”
Stenzel added, “Our industry is working hard to assist schools in procurement, storage and handling, recipe development and presentation to make sure great-tasting, affordable fresh fruits and vegetables are being served and eaten.”
“We have donated thousands of salad bars to schools across the country who use that equipment to serve a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to students every day. When something as simple as a $3,000 salad bar stocked with high-quality, affordable fresh fruits and vegetables can enable schools to easily go beyond the modest half-cup requirement, we need to build support for cafeteria equipment and training for school personnel to help them succeed.”
SNA did not call for any roll back of the calorie caps that were put in the 2010 law to try to reduce childhood obesity.
“SNA supports strong federal nutrition standards for school meals, including calorie caps and mandates to offer a greater quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables,” said SNA CEO Patricia Montague.
“However, some of USDA’s regulations under the law have unnecessarily increased costs and waste for school meal programs and caused many students to swap healthy school meals for junk-food fare. SNA is asking Congress to provide schools adequate funding and flexibility, allowing school nutrition professionals to plan creative, appealing menus that will entice students to eat healthy school meals.”
SNA also called for maintenance of the Target 1 sodium level reductions instituted in 2014 and suspension of implementation of further targets. This is likely to be controversial, however, because some school food service directors who are members of SNA have told The Hagstrom Report that salt-reduced health problems are so great, particularly among African-Americans, that children should be exposed to foods with lower salt levels.
Under SNA’s position paper, the 2014 mandate that all grains must be whole-grain rich would be rolled back to the July 2012 requirement that half of all grains offered with school meals must be whole grain rich.
SNA said the whole-grain rich requirement has increased waste and contributed to the decline in school lunch participation.
“Students are eating more whole grain breads and buns, but schools are struggling to find acceptable specialty whole grain items,” the paper said. “Challenges include limited availability of whole grain rich foods in rural areas, higher costs and regional preferences for certain refined grains such as bagels or biscuits.”
“Schools should be permitted to serve white rice or tortillas on occasion, just like most families do,” SNA said.
“Restoring the requirement that half of all grains offered be whole-grain rich will ensure students continue to receive a variety of whole-grain choices in school, while limiting waste.”
The SNA position paper also called for allowing all food items that are permitted to be served as part of a reimbursable meal to be sold at any time as an a la carte item; modifying a provision that required schools to increase the price of lunch for children who do not qualify for free or educed meals; and a reduction in reporting requirements.
▪ School Nutrition Association — 2015 Position Paper: Reauthorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
