As USDA prepares to release a second nutrition rule for school foods, First Lady vows action to guarantee that goals of child nutrition legislation are met... First Lady Michelle Obama today marked the one-year anniversary of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010 by issuing a strongly worded statement about the importance of the legislation, which boosts child health initiatives by, among other things, improving school meals and altering school environments. Noting that America's future depends on the successful implementation of the Act, Mrs. Obama vowed to take "bold steps" to achieve its objectives. (Above: The President listens to Mrs. Obama speak during last year's signing ceremony for the Act)
"As we celebrate the many accomplishments of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act's first year, we also pledge to continue taking bold steps forward to advance this goal," Mrs. Obama said.
Making schools healthier is one of the five pillars of Mrs. Obama's childhood obesity campaign, Let's Move!. She was the most-high profile champion of the sweeping legislation as it moved through Congress, where it had bipartisan support. Today's pledge comes on the heels of recent efforts by Congress to dilute the US Department of Agriculture's proposed school nutrition standards that are part of the Act.
"We've seen the connection between what our kids eat and how well they perform in school," Mrs. Obama said today. "And we know that America's success in the 21st century means having the best-prepared and best-educated workforce around."
Many children get up to half their daily calories in school; more than 32 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program, with about 12 million in the Breakfast program. One in three children is overweight or obese, according to the Administration.
"So it is critical that we work to ensure that all children have the basic nutrition they need to learn, grow, and to pursue their dreams," Mrs. Obama said.
But Congress has performed poorly on the basic nutrition front. In October, under much pressure from lobbyists and big food corporations, Congress mandated that potatoes and other starchy vegetables can be served in schools in unrestricted quantities each week; USDA had proposed restricting these this to once weekly, to make more room for dark green and dark orange vegetables on cafeteria menus. In November, Congress officially made pizza sauce "a vegetable."
More battles ahead...
The final nutrition rule will be released in early 2012, USDA said today. But there are more battles over nutrition standards looming on the horizon, because USDA is not done. It must release a second set of proposed nutritional guidelines for what are called "competitive foods," those sold in vending machines, at school stores, and in a la carte lines. Once USDA unveils its guidelines, these will be open for public comment. Setting these standards could be even more contentious than creating the first set of standards, which garnered USDA more than 130,000 public comments, as well as PR campaigns from food companies and lobby groups.
And while the First Lady didn't give examples of what her "bold steps" will be, Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass (l) told Obama Foodorama that the First Lady will continue to be tireless in her advocacy for improving child nutrition, whether in school settings or elsewhere. Noting that Mrs. Obama has taken on the work both as a mother and as the First Lady, Kass was adamant."This is an issue she will continue to work on while she is in the White House--and for the rest of her life," Kass said.
Mrs. Obama's efforts to champion the child nutrition legislation before it was passed included meetings with members of Congress and stakeholders, writing an op-ed about the legislation for the Washington Post, and speaking about it constantly during public appearances. Kass was among the many senior officials at the White House who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get the legislation passed.
For today's anniversary of the legislation, USDA released a list of this year's "key accomplishments," as well as a list "key accomplishments" for next year and beyond. These are below.
The First Lady's full statement:
"The success of our nation tomorrow depends on the choices we make for our kids today. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is vital to the health and welfare of our kids, helping them build the healthy futures they deserve," said First Lady Michelle Obama. "We've seen the connection between what our kids eat and how well they perform in school. And we know that America's success in the 21st century means having the best-prepared and best-educated workforce around. So it is critical that we work to ensure that all children have the basic nutrition they need to learn, grow, and to pursue their dreams. As we celebrate the many accomplishments of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act's first year, we also pledge to continue taking bold steps forward to advance this goal."
The President and Mrs. Obama during the bill signing ceremony:
USDA's list of Key Accomplishments from the Act in Year 1:
*Nutrition Standards for School Meals: USDA proposed new meal patterns and nutrition standards that align school meals with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, analyzed over 130,000 public comments, and used them in drafting a final regulation for publication.
*Common Sense Standards for Revenue: USDA issued new rules to ensure that all revenues from school food sales keep pace with the Federal commitment to healthy school meals and properly align with costs, providing local schools as much as $7.5 billion over 5 years to invest in healthier meals for children.
*Nationwide Expansion of At-Risk Afterschool Meals: USDA worked closely with states to expand the availability of afterschool meals across the nation through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. USDA estimates this expansion could provide supper to an additional 140,000 kids in low-income areas.
*Categorical Eligibility for Foster Children: USDA issued guidance and provided technical assistance to states to ensure that more than 400,000 children in foster care are certified to receive free meals in all USDA child nutrition programs.
*Strengthening Direct Certification: USDA provided guidance, technical assistance and grant funding to states to improve their direct certification systems to help more children already receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).
*Implementing Community Eligibility: USDA is working with three states – Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan – to implement a "community eligibility" approach to reimburse schools for meals without the need for paper applications.
*Simplified Area Eligibility for Family Day Care Homes: USDA provided guidance to states to simplify the kinds of information that family day care home providers can use to qualify for participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
*Improved School Wellness Promotion: USDA provided guidance to enhance local wellness policies in schools in order to promote healthier lifestyles for children.
*Bolster Farm to School Connections: New USDA policy ensures that children have access to fresh produce and other agricultural products and give a much-needed boost to local farmers and agricultural producers.
USDA's list of Key Accomplishments for Year 2 and beyond:
*Nutrition Standards for School Meals: USDA anticipates finalizing the actual standards to align school meals with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in early 2012.
*Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School: USDA plans to propose new standards for foods sold in school other than reimbursable meals, such as those in school stores, a la carte lines, and vending machines.
*Implementation of Performance-Based Reimbursement: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act included the first real reimbursement rate increase for school meals in roughly 30 years. These funds are tied to performance in meeting the updated nutrition standards for school meals. USDA plans to begin issuing these funds in 2012.
*Implementing Direct Certification using Medicaid Data: USDA will select states to participate in a demonstration project to test the use of Medicaid data for connecting eligible children with free school meals.
*Nutrition Standards for the Child and Adult Care Food Program: USDA will propose updated standards for child and adult care settings, as well as other early learning settings that participate in CACFP, to better align the meals served with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
*Implementing Community Eligibility: USDA plans to continue evaluating the current States participating in community eligibility and expanding to others.
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Related: Statements from high-profile advocates after the signing of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act 2010.
*Photo at top by Chuck Kennedy/White House, taken on Dec. 13, 2010 at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, DC. Kass photo by Obama Foodorama
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