WASHINGTON (AP) - The Agriculture Department is responding to
criticism over new school lunch rules by allowing more grains and meat
in kids' meals.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told members of
Congress in a letter Friday that the department will do away with daily
and weekly maximums of meats and grains. Several lawmakers wrote the
department after the new rules went into effect in September saying kids
aren't getting enough to eat.
School administrators also complained, saying set maximums on grains and meats are too limiting as they try to plan daily meals.
"This flexibility is being provided to allow more
time for the development of products that fit within the new standards
while granting schools additional weekly menu planning options to help
ensure that children receive a wholesome, nutritious meal every day of
the week," Vilsack said in a letter to Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
The new guidelines were intended to address
increasing childhood obesity levels. They set limits on calories and
salt and phase in whole grains. Schools must offer at least one
vegetable or fruit per meal. The department also dictated how much of
certain food groups could be served.
While nutritionists and some parents have praised
the new school lunch standards, others, including many conservative
lawmakers, refer to them as government overreach. Yet many of those same
lawmakers also have complained about hearing from constituents who say
their kids are hungry at school.
Though broader calorie limits are still in place,
the rules tweak will allow school lunch planners to use as many grains
and as much meat as they want. In comments to USDA, many had said grains
shouldn't be limited because they are a part of so many meals, and that
it was difficult to always find the right size of meat.
The new tweak doesn't upset nutritionists who fought for the school lunch overhaul.
Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center
for Science in the Public Interest, says the change is minor and the new
guidance shows that USDA will work with school nutrition officials and
others who have concerns.
"It takes time to work out the kinks," Wootan said. "This should show Congress that they don't need to interfere legislatively."
Congress has already interfered with the rules.
Last year, after USDA first proposed the new guidelines, Congress
prohibited USDA from limiting potatoes and French fries and allowed
school lunchrooms to continue counting tomato paste on pizza as a
vegetable.
The school lunch rules apply to federally
subsidized lunches served to low-income children. Those meals have
always been subject to nutritional guidelines because they are partially
paid for by the federal government, but the new rules put broader
restrictions on what could be served as childhood obesity rates have
skyrocketed.
School kids can still buy additional foods in other
parts of the lunchroom and the school. Congress two years ago directed
USDA to regulate those foods as well, but the department has yet to
issue those rules.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democratic among the lawmakers who wrote to USDA about the rules, praised the move.
"Schools need flexibility to make sure kids get the nutrition they need to focus on their studies," he said.
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