2010 required USDA to update nutrition standards for school lunches and breakfasts and add standards for other food sold in schools, known as competitive foods. In response, USDA set new nutrition requirements, including limits on calories, sodium, and fats. Previously, GAO reported on the implementation of changes to school lunches in school year 2012-2013. Since then, additional requirements for lunches have taken effect, as well as new requirements for breakfasts and competitive foods. GAO was asked to review implementation of the nutrition changes to school food. GAO reviewed (1) recent trends in school meals participation, (2) challenges SFAs faced in implementing the new requirements for school meals, (3) challenges SFAs and districts faced in implementing new requirements for competitive foods, and (4) USDA assistance in implementing the changes. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and guidance; analyzed federal school meals participation data from school years 2000-2001 through 2013-2014; reviewed implementation in the same eight school districts visited for the report on school year 2012-2013 lunch changes, selected to provide variation in geographic location and certain district and food service characteristics; and interviewed USDA and state officials, as well as food industry and stakeholder groups

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update nutrition standards for school lunches and breakfasts and add standards for other food sold in schools, known as competitive foods. In response, USDA set new nutrition requirements, including limits on calories, sodium, and fats. Since 2013, additional requirements for lunches have taken effect, as well as new requirements for breakfasts and competitive foods. This report reviewed (1) recent trends in school meals participation; (2) challenges that School Food Authorities (SFAs) faced in implementing the new requirements for school meals; (3) challenges that SFAs and districts faced in implementing new requirements for competitive foods; and (4) USDA assistance in implementing the changes. Tables and figures. This is a print on demand report.

" The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 required USDA to update nutrition standards for school lunches and breakfasts and add standards for other food sold in schools, known as competitive foods. In response, USDA set new nutrition requirements, including limits on calories, sodium, and fats. Previously, GAO reported on the implementation of changes to school lunches in school year 2012-2013. Since then, additional requirements for lunches have taken effect, as well as new requirements for breakfasts and competitive foods. GAO was asked to review implementation of the nutrition changes to school food. GAO reviewed (1) recent trends in school meals participation, (2) challenges SFAs faced in implementing the new requirements for school meals, (3) challenges SFAs and districts faced in implementing new requirements for competitive foods, and (4) USDA assistance in implementing the changes. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and guidance; analyzed federal school meals participation data from school years 2000-2001 through 2013-2014; reviewed implementation in the same eight school districts visited for the report on school year 2012-2013 lunch changes, selected to provide variation in geographic location and certain district and food service characteristics; and interviewed USDA and state officials, as well as food"

This three-volume work examines all facets of the modern U.S. food system, including the nation's most important food and agriculture laws, the political forces that shape modern food policy, and the food production trends that are directly impacting the lives of every American family. Americans are constantly besieged by conflicting messages about food, the environment, and health and nutrition. Are foods with genetically modified ingredients safe? Should we choose locally grown food? Is organic food better than conventional food? Are concentrated animal feed operations destroying the environment? Should food corporations target young children with their advertising and promotional campaigns? This comprehensive three-volume set addresses all of these questions and many more, probing the problems created by the industrial food system, examining conflicting opinions on these complex food controversies, and highlighting the importance of food in our lives and the decisions we make each time we eat. The coverage of each of the many controversial food issues in the set offers perspectives from different sides to encourage readers to examine various viewpoints and make up their own minds. The first volume, Food and the Environment, addresses timely issues such as climate change, food waste, pesticides, and sustainable foods. Volume two, entitled Food and Health and Nutrition, addresses subjects like antibiotics, food labeling, and the effects of salt and sugar on our health. The third volume, Food and the Economy, tackles topics such as food advertising and marketing, food corporations, genetically modified foods, globalization, and megagrocery chains. Each volume contains several dozen primary documents that include firsthand accounts written by promoters and advertisers, journalists, politicians and government officials, and supporters and critics of various views related to food and beverages, representing speeches, advertisements, articles, books, portions of major laws, and government documents, to name a few. These documents provide readers additional resources from which to form informed opinions on food issues.

" The National School Lunch Program served 31.6 million children in fiscal year 2012, in part through $11.6 billion in federal supports. The most recent reauthorization of the program, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 required that nutrition standards for school lunches be updated. As a result, USDA issued final regulations aimed at providing lunches high in nutrients and low in calories that better meet the dietary needs of school children and required that they be implemented beginning in school year 2012-2013. The new rules provide detailed requirements for meal components-fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, and milk; update requirements for calories, sodium, and fats; and require that each student's lunch contain a fruit or vegetable. To provide information on challenges that school districts have faced, this testimony draws on work GAO conducted as part of its ongoing study of implementation of the changes. Specifically, GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, as well as USDA regulations, guidance, and studies; interviewed USDA officials and groups of food service officials and relevant industry representatives; and visited eight school districts. The districts varied by geographic location, size, and certain student and food services characteristics. "

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update nutrition standards for school lunches and breakfasts and add standards for other food sold in schools, known as competitive foods. In response, USDA set new nutrition requirements, including limits on calories, sodium, and fats. Previously, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported on the implementation of changes to school lunches in school year 2012-2013. Since then, additional requirements for lunches have taken effect, as well as new requirements for breakfasts and competitive foods. GAO was asked to review implementation of the nutrition changes to school food. This book reviews recent trends in school meals participation; challenges School Food Authorities (SFAs) faced in implementing the new requirements for school meals; challenges SFAs and districts faced in implementing new requirements for competitive foods; and USDA assistance in implementing the changes.

These hearing transcripts provide testimony on a rule proposed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), "Nutrition Objectives for School Meals," that would require meals served under the national school lunch program to be consistent with federal dietary guidelines. The majority of the testimony addressed the content of school meals and efficacy of the proposed rule, either supporting the USDA's guidelines or calling for more local autonomy in planning meals to meet nutrition guidelines. Testimony was heard from: (1) Representatives Charles W. Stenholm, Pat Roberts, Steve Gunderson, and Dan Glickman; (2) Ellen Haas, the Assistant Secretary, Food and Consumer Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture; (3) the Wheat Foods Council; (4) the National Milk Producers Federation; (5) the American Cancer Society; (6) the Society for Nutrition Education; (7) the National Food Processors Association; (8) the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; (9) the Food Research and Action Center; (10) the American School Food Services Association; (11) the National Parent-Teacher Association; (12) Public Voice for Food and Health Policy; (13) the National Cattlemen's Association; (14) the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association; (15) the Canadian Pediatric Society; (16) the American Heart Association; (17) the California Department of Education; (18) the Produce Marketing Association; and (19) the International Dairy Foods Association. (MDM)

The childhood obesity epidemic and related health consequences are urgent public health problems. Approximately one-third of America's young people are overweight or obese. Health problems once seen overwhelmingly in adults, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, are increasingly appearing in youth. Though the health of Americans has improved in many broad areas for decades, increases in obesity could erode these and future improvements. The IOM report Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation recognized the importance of the school environment in addressing the epidemic and recommended making schools a focal point for obesity prevention. The development and implementation of K-12 nutrition benchmarks, guides, or standards (for a discussion of these terms, see the next section of this chapter) would constitute a critical step in achieving this recommendation. National nutrition education curriculum standards could have a variety of benefits, including the following: Improving the consistency and effectiveness of nutrition education in schools; Preparing and training teachers and other education staff to help them provide effective nutrition education; Assisting colleges and universities in the development of courses in nutrition as part of teacher certification and in updating methods courses on how to integrate nutrition education in subject-matter areas in the classroom and in materials; and Establishing a framework for future collaborative efforts and partnerships to improve nutrition education. Nutrition Education in the K-12 Curriculum: The Role of National Standards is a summary of the workshop's presentations and discussions prepared from the workshop transcript and slides. This summary presents recommendations made by individual speakers.