Food in Schools: USDA Proposes New Competitive Food Standards

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On February 1st, USDA proposed national school nutrition standards for vending, a la carte, school stores, and other foods sold outside the school meal programs. Highlights include strong criteria for calories, fats, sugars, and sodium in foods sold outside the school meal plan. The comment period is 60 days, then the final plan will be instated. Competitive foods have hurt many schools’ attempts at bringing in healthier food options, because these vending and a la carte options tend to be high fat and sugar and are not federally regulated.