School Lunch Politics, Part 2

by Jill Richardson · 2009-04-11 16:18:00 UTC
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vending machineThis is the second post in a series intended to demystify the politics of school lunch. This post is about "competitive foods." In any school, you'll find the federally-reimbursable school lunch. That's the food that the kids who qualify for free lunch get and the USDA sets nutrition standards for that food. All other foods are called "competitive foods" because they compete with that school lunch.

So what are schools allowed to sell or serve as competitive foods? Just about anything, actually. I went to high school 10 years ago and the laws over competitive foods weren't very different back then. Our school sold chips, fries, and pizza every day. And ice cream, candy bars, soda, and pretty much else whatever you wanted. They sold some of it in vending machines so it was available all day long. Kids began chugging Mountain Dews by 7am every day.

I would have never guessed that there were ANY rules over competitive foods based on my experience in high school, but there are. Minimally. Schools are not allowed to sell foods of minimal nutritional value IN the lunchroom DURING lunchtime. Outside of the lunchroom, anything is fair game. Or in the lunchroom before and after lunch. This is referred to as the "time and place" rule. In the hearings the Senate Ag committee held about school lunch recently, school lunch directors asked them to get rid of the time and place rule. They want ONE set of rules for ALL foods served or sold in schools.

(Photo credit: Andrew Maiman on Flickr)

Jill Richardson
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