Nutrition Standards in Schools

The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs supply students with age-appropriate, well-balanced meals to enhance their diet and health and to help mitigate childhood obesity and malnutrition. As a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the meal patterns and standards of these programs align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and require participating schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free and low-fat milk. The standards also set age-appropriate calorie limits and support a reduction in the sodium, saturated fat and trans fat content of school meals.1