ALL of the things this bill will do! :)

What Does it Do?

Improves Nutrition and Focuses on Reducing Childhood Obesity

• Gives USDA the authority to set nutritional standards for all foods regularly sold in schools during the school day. 
• Provides additional funding to schools that meet updated nutritional standards for federally subsidized lunches. 
• Helps communities establish local farm to school networks, create school gardens and ensures that mold local foods are used in the school setting.
• Builds on USDA work to improve nutritional quality of commodity foods that schools receive from USDA and use in their breakfast and lunch programs.
• Expands access to drinking water in schools, particularly during meal times. 
• Sets basic standards for school wellness policies including goals for nutrition promotion and education and physical activity, while still permitting local flexibility to tailor the policies to their particular needs. 
• Promotes nutrition and wellness in child cares settings through the federally-subsidized Child and Adult Care Food Program. 
• Expands support for breastfeeding through the WIC program. 

Increases access

• Increases the number of eligible children enrolled in school meal programs by approximately 115,000 students by using Medicaid data to directly certify children who meet income requirements. 
• Helps certify an average additional 4,500 students/year to receive school meals by setting benchmarks for states to improve the certification process. 
• Allows more universal meal access for eligible students in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school-wide income eligibility.
• Expands USDA authority to support meals served to at-risk children in afterschool programs.

Increases program monitoring and integrity

• Requires school districts to be audited every three years to improve compliance with nutritional standards. 
• Requires schools to make information more readily available to parents about the nutritional qualities of meals. 
• Includes provisions to ensure the safety of school foods like improving recall procedures and extending hazard analysis and food safety requirements for school meals throughout the campus.
• Provides training and technical assistance for school food service providers.

Through this whole process I was constantly learning new things about this bill. This summary I was provided via Robert Kramer at Ben Chandler's office in Washington DC made the bill a lot clearer to me! Hope it helps you!

Rules and Regulations

I had posted earlier about a new rule regarding the incorporation of locally grown, unprocessed foods into the students diets. According to USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon, “This rule is an important milestone that will help ensure that our children have access to fresh produce and other agricultural products." 


I found the rules and regulations which were posted in the Federal Register. You can find the 6-page rule at the link below: 

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-9843.pdf

Water Accessibility is an Issue?

As dietetic students we are aware that the majority of fluids consumed by the American population contain excess sugar and additives. However, I never thought that the consumption of these beverages would impact children's water intake. As part of the new act that I wasn't aware of, schools are required to make clean water accessible in student eating areas.

Vista Middle School outside Los Angeles has approximately 1,700 students and four water fountains in the student eating area.
It's still to be decided if a school with those numbers -- 1,700 students, four water fountains and a 30-minute mealtime -- satisfies the new legislation.

The USDA is working with schools and committees to develop new ways to implement this part of the new legislation.

The UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, a CDC-funded prevention research program, has been test-driving a way to get children drinking more water at mealtime to help combat America's obesity epidemic. It's called a water intervention -- a five-week research program that includes a water filter and cups for five schools in the Los Angeles school district, provided free from the UCLA/RAND project.
The test includes these steps: Install a water filter in the school. Fill five-gallon jugs. Chill jugs overnight. Place in the eating area during mealtime. Serve with cups. The results will not be published until next year, but anecdotally, the program is a success, researchers say."We've seen students really gravitate towards the water out here and fill up their cups right before and after lunch to hydrate" says Burt Cowgill, the project manager. "The water is very popular and we have a lot of participation."

$$$

The biggest concern in recent news seems to be the increase in lunch prices through the National School Lunch Program. The average lunch rate will increase 5 cents in order to receive federal reimbursements. All schools participating the lunch and breakfast program will have to meet this criteria under the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and reauthorization bill.

I understand this is a huge concern for school districts but have they really thought about what the kids are receiving in return? HEALTHY FOOD! Of course everything reverts back to the almighty dollar. 

Healthy Recipe Competition Among Kids

Apparently, First Lady Obama is hosting a competition called Recipes for Healthy Kids! This competition was kick started last September as a way for schools to come together to develop easy and healthy recipes that could be incorporated into the school lunch schedule! This activity is inspiring! The competition allows for kids to get involved and make the changes they will be seeing in the future. It can provide positive outlooks for them making changes to their own lives.

The judging round for the 15 semi finalist schools will begin soon and the categories include whole wheat grains, dark green and orange vegetables and dry beans and peas.

I feel like it is vital to get the kids involved to make a lasting impact. This competition does just that and I hope the kids lifestyle choices will be changed for the better!

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2011/04/0179.xml&contentidonly=true

Increasing prices!

With the passing of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, the biggest concern for school districts are the increasing costs for food and school lunches. In an article posted online to the Quad-City Times many cafeterias are concerned with how they are going to pay for the healthier options. Many students buy items such as cookies, chips, sodas and french fries as part of their lunch options. However, schools are now making it a requirement that students chose the healthier options over the unhealthy options. According to the article, "Schools also will have to require students to take more vegetables and fruits on their plates at meals, even if they walk straight out of the checkout line and dump them in the trash. That's a big concern, and it doesn't just affect students' health. It also hurts their schools' food service budgets."Food costs are expected to increase by 8 cents to 23.5 cents a meal, but the federal government plans to reimburse that expense by just 6 cents a meal for the 11,765 lunches served per day.

I feel like many school districts are concerned with the increase in price. However, the difference in what is offered after the HHFKA and what was before will make a huge impact on the choices students make. What is the funniest part about the differences in food is half of the students won't even realize the difference. One school district in the article  has been offering whole wheat bread and hoagies for a year now just to see if students would notice! Also the price of wheat versus white isn't that big (11cents vs 9 cents).

The entire article is posted below:

http://qctimes.com/news/local/article_14c1e894-73a2-11e0-929c-001cc4c002e0.html

Interesting website!

I was messing around earlier today looking for some recent information and this website popped up on google!

http://www.insidetheschool.com/online-seminars/practical-ways-to-implement-the-healthy-hunger-free-kids-act/

It's a good resource for educators on tips for implementing the new act.

After the presentation Practical Ways to Implement the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act participants will be able to:

• Understand the new Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and the history of child nutrition law
• Identify the steps for enforcement of the new act
• Recognize the importance of a school wellness committee and a district-wide wellness policy
• Identify potential obstacles to implementing the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and ways to overcome the roadblocks
• Identify new opportunities for improved health, wellness, and academic achievement for students
• Identify opportunities and benefits of the new law