Committee Democrats Applaud Administration’s Commitment to Improve Access to Nutritious Meals
WASHINGTON – This week, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and members of the Committee wrote in support of the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed rule for child nutrition programs.
The new proposed rule establishes standards for milk, whole grains, and sodium for school years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 and begins a longer-term process for ensuring children across the nation who participate in the federal child nutrition programs are fed meals that align with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).
“Substantially conforming the meal patterns to the evidenced-based recommendations in the DGAs ensures that children receive quality, nutritious food and beverages,” the Members wrote. “Healthy school meals also represent an important opportunity to address health disparities and support racial equity with nutrition standards that conform to scientific recommendations. A commitment to ensuring robust science-based standards for school meals will dramatically improve Black and Hispanic children’s access to nutritious meals and will help all children thrive.”
The USDA’s rule comes after the Department provided temporary and limited flexibility in meeting certain programmatic requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the new rule goes into effect July 1, 2022, the USDA will continue to develop long-term nutrition standards and expects to publish a proposed rule on the updated standards in the Fall of 2022.
To read the letter, click here.
The letter was led by Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and signed by Representatives Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Gregorio Killili Camacho Sablan (Northern Mariana Islands At-Large), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Mark Takano (CA-41), Alma S. Adams, PhD. (NC-12), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Pramilla Jayapal (WA-07), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Kathy Manning (NC-06), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Kweisi Mfume (MD-07).
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