The Trump Administration has taken aim at food standards for public school lunches, a program championed by former First Lady Obama, and Virginia’s First Lady, Dorothy McAuliffe, is non-too-pleased about it.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in his first duty since being appointed by Trump and approved by the Senate last week, spoke at a Leesburg-area public school yesterday to announce the changes.
“I wouldn’t be as big as I am today without flavored milk,” Perdue said to reporters according to ABC News.
The new guidelines aim to offer “regulatory flexibility” in a program which requires students have subsidized access to fruits and vegetables every day as well as foods that are whole grain-rich. Fat-free or low-fat milk as well as meals with reduced sugars and sodium were also the target. But the new guidelines stall requirements put in place by the Obama Admin.
“Try eating a biscuit made with whole grains,” Republican Senator Pat Roberts (Kansas) told ABC. “It just doesn’t work!”
But Dorothy McAuliffe, wife of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, spoke out against the proposed adjustments in a statement sent out shortly after Perdue’s announcement.
As a long time advocate for healthy school lunches, she said Virginia’s public school system was 100% compliant with the food requirements so far. “We must balance the need for administrative flexibility with evidence-based nutrition research.”
“Food is the best preventative medicine and when it comes to our children, it’s our responsibility to do the best we can on their behalf,” she said. “We will work closely… ensuring that they [schools] the resources they need to provide nutritional and good-tasting meals, and set our kids up for a lifetime of healthy eating.”
While McAuliffe was optimistic because of the work already done, American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown was less enthused about the proposed changes.
“Improving children’s health should be a top priority for the USDA, and serving more nutritious foods in schools is a clear-cut way to accomplish this goal,” Brown told NBC News over the weekend. “Rather than altering the current path forward, we hope the agency focuses more on providing technical assistance that can help schools get across the finish line, if they haven’t done so already.”
