School lunches are about to get healthier; standards updated for 1st time in decade

The last major update to school nutrition standards came in 2012

Friday, February 4, 2022
School lunches are about to get healthier; standards updated for 1st time in decade
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing new nutrition standards for school meals.

The Biden Administration is working to make school lunches healthier.



The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing new nutrition standards for milk, whole grains and sodium.



Schools will be allowed to offer flavored low-fat 1% milk and 80% of grains must be whole grain-rich, CNN reported.



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Sodium limits are also being lowered. They're going down 10% starting in the 2023 to 2024 school year.



The USDA points out these changes are transitional to help schools recover from COVID-19 and supply chain challenges.



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The agency plans to develop more long-term standards for the 2024 to 2025 school year.



The last major update to school nutrition standards came in 2012.