ST. GEORGE — In response to stricter guidelines for school lunches proposed by the Department of Agriculture, including more nutritional but “tastier” lunches, Southern Utah school districts say that they can make the necessary changes but worry over food product availability.
On Feb. 3, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new proposal that outlines stricter guidelines for school lunches and said they are seeking public feedback.
Steve Dunham, who serves as the communication and foundation director for the Washington County School District, told St. George News the district’s food services administrators said the proposed guidelines are “not” getting significantly stricter, but they are tightening up the current guidelines after more flexibility was allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With COVID, restrictions were loosened for Food Service to ask for waivers to purchase products that were not meeting the requirements because of supply issues,” Dunham said in an email to St. George News. “Washington County School Food service was able to stay with the Dietary guidelines outlined by USDA and not request waivers.”
The food services administration said while they were able to stay within the USDA guidelines, it was not without challenges, Dunham said, adding that many products were not being produced during the height of the pandemic and some are still not available.
The USDA is proposing “updated, science-based standards” developed from the latest edition of the guidelines for diet. They also state the findings are based on information received by public comments, as well as over 50 listening sessions the agency held with parents, school nutrition professionals, public health and nutrition experts, tribal nations and the food industry.
The USDA recommends a gradual implementation of the changes and updates to the guidelines. First, by the fall of 2024, they propose to implement more products with whole grains.
Then by the fall of 2025, they propose to implement limits on “high sugar” products like cereal and yogurts. At the same time, they will allow some flavored milk with “reasonable limits” of added sugars. As for sodium, the aim is to limit it by 10% for both breakfasts and lunches per week.
The next target is to limit sugar by less than 10% of calories for both breakfasts and lunches per week. They hope to achieve this by the fall of 2027. And lastly, by the fall of 2029, the aim is to limit sodium by an additional 10% for lunches only per week.
“USDA understands that thoughtful implementation of the updates will take time and teamwork,” Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, said in the statement.
The new proposals are under review for public comment and feedback from schools and nutritional experts.
All interested people who would like to comment on the proposal are encouraged to do so during the 60-day period, which began, Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Shauna Lund, the Iron County Schools District communication and foundation coordinator, relayed a response from their child nutrition personnel, who said since it is still a proposal, they will get more guidance from the state on the changes required if it becomes regulation.
“There may be a few changes that we would need to make to a few of our breakfast items under the new regulations,” Lund said, “which should not be too difficult.”
She said they had to make changes when the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act passed, but added that they quickly complied with the nutritional requirements and passed a state audit for reimbursement with flying colors.
Both school districts said the most challenging aspect of the proposed changes is the guideline for whole grains. Dunham said, for example, the noodles for chicken noodle soup have been difficult to obtain and will be difficult for the manufacturer to provide due to the limited stock of the product.
Both districts also reported they have been doing more than what is required by the national guidelines.
Lund said that their schools are serving flavored milk but it is fat-free where the regulations say they are allowed to serve 1% milk. They also serve an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as serving some meals that use only whole grain products.
“Our nutrition services teams do a great job adapting to the requirements and planning menus that are healthy and also appetizing for the students,” Lund said.
The FDA is putting $100 million toward the Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, which rewards schools for following guidelines, provides grants to schools who qualify for them and provide two summits on healthy meals.
At the moment, the school districts said they do not know if they will qualify for any grants under the proposed changes.
Photo Gallery
The United State Dept. of Agriculture proposed stricter guidelines for school lunches which includes whole grains, way less sugar and sodium, St. George, Utah, Time and Location not specified | Photo courtesy of USDA, St. George News
The United States Dept. of Agriculture proposed sodium amounts for breakfast per week, St. George, Utah, Time and Location not specified | Photo courtesy of USDA, St. George News
The United States Dept. of Agriculture proposed sodium amounts for lunch per week and timeline, St. George, Utah, Time and Location not specified | Photo courtesy of USDA, St. George News
The United States Dept. of Agriculture proposed stricter guidelines for school lunches which includes whole grains, way less sugar and sodium, St. George, Utah, Time and Location not specified | Photo courtesy of USDA, St. George News
The US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced proposed stricter guidelines for school lunches which includes whole grains, way less sugar and sodium, St. George, Utah, Time and Location not specified | Photo courtesy of USDA, St. George News
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