Senate Passes Child Nutrition Bill. Now What?

UPDATE 12/02/10: The House voted in favor of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, ushering in school lunch reform. The move came after more than 15,000 Change.org members signed a petition supporting the Child Nutrition Act and more than 1,000 members urged Congress to reform school lunch without cutting future funds to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), aka food stamps.  While the bill still includes SNAP cuts, President Obama and Congressional leaders have promised to fix these reductions. Read the full story here.

In a big victory for students everywhere, school lunch may finally be moving away from gross goods towards sustainable fare. Yesterday, the Senate passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. If signed into law, the bill will provide $4.5 billion over ten years to federal child nutrition programs — namely, school lunches.

The bill aims to reform school lunch through two main changes: Increasing the number of kids who can receive free or reduced-cost meals, and improving the quality of the food served. Under the Senate's bill, $1.2 billion will go towards increasing food access, with the rest of the funds allocated to meal quality. If school lunch reforms do get signed into law, that extra funding will come not a moment too soon—Congress hasn't upped the dough spent on school lunch since 1973. No wonder cafeteria lunches are so, well, vile.

Many high-profile folks like Michelle Obama have been pushing Congress to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, legislation that currently funds school lunch programs and is set to expire on September 30th. So now that the Senate's passed its bill, what must be done to ensure that school cafeterias start serving up healthier, more sustainable lunches?

Well, now that the Senate's passed its bill, the House must vote on its version, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act. It's unclear whether the House will vote on the bill before or after Congress' summer recess, but for pushing forward school lunch reform, the sooner the better. If the House does pass its version of the bill, the Senate and House versions will then be conferenced. Sustainable foodies, parents, and health advocates are crossing their fingers that all goes swimmingly and President Obama will sign the legislation into law before the Child Nutrition Act expires on September 30th.

This may be the first time since 1973 that Congress will allocate more money to school lunch, but the lunches themselves won't actually see that much more dough. Each lunch will get an extra six cents of federal funding. And while that lack of a bonus is one of the legislation's downfalls, the bills outline other initiatives that would significantly improve the school food landscape.

For one, the bills will beef up farm-to-school programs, providing more fresh, local produce in school cafeterias. They also set the stage to eliminate junk foods from schools — the new legislation requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set science-based nutrition standards for foods sold in vending machines. The legislation will also increase the number of kids eligible for free or reduced-cost meals, expand nutrition education programs, and create more opportunities for schools' physical activity and wellness programs.

America's kids have been chowing down on gross, processed fare since 1973. It's time to turn the tables on school lunch. Sign our petition asking Congress to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act as soon as possible.

Photo credit: DOliphant via Flickr