Miller Statement on Proposed USDA Nutritional Standards for Competitive Foods
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced proposed new standards to ensure that children have access to healthy “competitive food” options in school. Competitive foods are those sold outside of the normal breakfast and lunch programs, such as through vending machines, a la carte lines, and school stores.
“Student well-being should always be front-and-center in any conversation about food served in schools. Today’s announcement by the Department of Agriculture is a significant step forward in that conversation, to improve children’s health, reverse the trend of childhood obesity, and increase access to healthy meals at school for all students,” said Miller. “I urge USDA to move expeditiously to a final rule that maintains high standards on calorie, sugar, sodium and fat requirements, to improve the nutritional quality of all foods available for purchase at schools across the country.”
In 2010, a Democratic-led Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The law aims to dramatically improve children's access to nutritious meals, enhance the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, implement new school food safety guidelines and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools. The law required the Department of Agriculture to update the national nutrition standards for competitive foods.
For more information on the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act click here.
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