Lobbyists want to reverse Michelle Obama’s healthy school lunch program
School Nutrition Association is asking the Department of Agriculture to reverse changes made to school lunches spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama.
One of Michelle Obama’s accomplishments as first lady was her successful championing of healthier school lunch programs as part of a larger push to combat obesity in the United States.
However, that may be reversed, thanks to the efforts of a nonprofit organization called the School Nutrition Association.
According to the association, the lobbying group is calling for “practical flexibility under federal nutrition standards to prepare healthy, appealing meals,” meaning it is asking the the US Department of Agriculture not only to allow saltier foods but also to halve whole grain requirements.
While the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” has been celebrated for bringing the focus on school lunches to health and nutrition, it has also been derided as not impacting participation levels for school meals as well as for having the unintended consequence of meals that the students simply didn’t want to eat, resulting in food being thrown out.
In fact, there was an entire sarcastic hashtag of #ThanksMichelleObama that went viral as students posted pictures of their gross-looking school lunches.
“Overly prescriptive regulations have resulted in unintended consequences, including reduced student lunch participation, higher costs and food waste. Federal nutrition standards should be modified to help school menu planners manage these challenges and prepare nutritious meals that appeal to diverse student tastes,” the association said in its recommendations.
