Today Michelle Obama announced major changes to nutritional standards for school lunches.

School lunches will now contain less sodium and more grains, and there will be a wider selection of vegetables and fruits. Other guidelines also require that milk be low in fat, and that there also be a limitation on the number of calories in a given meal.

The First Lady made the announcement at Parklawn Elementary School with Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack and celebrity chef Rachel Ray by her side.

Today’s announcement comes at the end of a surprisingly long battle in Congress over school lunch reform.

From NewsOne:

“The new rules aren’t as aggressive as the Obama administration had hoped. Congress last year blocked the Agriculture Department from making some of the desired changes, including limiting french fries and pizzas.

A bill passed in November would require the department to allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The initial draft of the department’s guidelines, released a year ago, would have prevented that. Congress also blocked the department from limiting servings of potatoes to two servings a week. The final rules have incorporated those directions from Congress.

Among those who had sought the changes were potato growers and food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools. Conservatives in Congress called the guidelines an overreach and said the government shouldn’t tell children what to eat. School districts also objected to some of the requirements, saying they go too far and would cost too much.”

Read the rest of this article at NewsOne.com!

 

Are you happy about these new school lunch guidelines?

Is it important that we make school lunches healthier, or is that none of the Government’s business?

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