The reforms, delivered through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, are improving the nutritional quality of school meals and bolstering the entire school environment.
Concannon also announced that schools nationwide reached First Lady Michelle Obama’s goal of 1,250 schools receiving Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) honours for expanding nutrition and physical activity opportunities.
“The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is a great win for our kids and the health of our nation,” said Concannon. “I want to recognise the hundreds of schools that have already made great progress toward achieving school meals reforms, and can serve as models for others seeking to make improvements. By fuelling our nation’s children with the healthiest foods possible while at school, we can reinforce the healthy lifestyles that many parents are already teaching their children at home, which will put them in a position to thrive, grow and ultimately reach their full potential.”
USDA also took the opportunity to launch the Healthy Access Locator, a web-based resource that geographically pinpoints HUSSC award-winning schools and features built-in data on diet-related diseases.
The web-based map allows users to search Healthier US School Challenge awards by geography (national, regional, local), school type (elementary, middle, high), award type (bronze, silver, gold, gold award of distinction) and date of award.
Since President Obama signed the HHFKA into law on 13 December, USDA has worked aggressively to implement the Act’s historic reforms including provisions to simplify programme administration and expand children’s access to school meals.
These school food improvements will be supported by other changes in the school environment, such as physical activity and nutrition education reforms, and strengthened local school wellness policies.
School meals reach nearly 32 million children each school day nationwide, and many children consume as many as half their daily calories at school.
Source: USDA
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