US Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced the Healthy Food in Schools Act, which aims to improve nutrition in school-provided meals by offering more fresh produce to students.
“Childhood obesity threatens the health of one-third of American children,” Senator Boxer said in a press release.
“Passing the Healthy Food in Schools Act is a common-sense way to ensure our nation’s children can eat well at school. This legislation also supports farm-to-school programs, which are a proven method of improving children’s health while supporting local farmers and boosting local economies.”
The US Department of Agriculture spends more than US$10bn annually on school meal programmes, but only a small fraction of that funding buys fruits and vegetables, Senator Boxer said.
According to a report by the Institute of Medicine titled “School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children,” increasing the amount and variety of vegetables and fruits in schools is one of the best ways to make school meals healthier.
The Healthy Food in Schools Act will create grants for schools to increase the availability of fruits and vegetables to students, fund the implementation of farm-to-school programmes that connect cafeterias with local growers and provide school cafeterias with the equipment they need to prepare and serve healthier meals for their students.
The passing of the legislation has been welcomed by the United Fresh Produce Association.
“United Fresh is pleased to see Sen. Boxer’s bill reflect many of our own priorities for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization,” said president and CEO Tom Stenzel in a statement.
“Especially exciting is the bill’s prominent recognition of school salad bars as an effective strategy for increasing children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables.
