If current Senate legislation advances, the federal school lunch program may get back to doing what it was intended to do - feed hungry children.
As it is now, because of unpopular changes to lunch program guidelines championed in 2010 by first lady Michelle Obama, many kids go hungry because they would rather not eat food they detest. And, across the country, millions of pounds of food have gone to waste as a result.
"USDA data shows that since the new rules were implemented, 1.4 million fewer children choose school lunch each day," explained the School Nutrition Association, a professional organization representing about 5,000 school food service employees nationwide, in calling on Congress last year to correct its previous action. "Declining student participation reduces meal program revenue for schools already stressed by higher food and labor costs under the new regulations."
The organization went on to clarify that the program's calorie caps are restrictive, and the amount of sugar, fat and sodium in all food sold at schools has to be severely limited if the school takes federal money to pay for free and reduced-price lunches.
The new legislation is backed in a Senate agricultural committee by a bipartisan groups of senators, indicating there have been across-the-aisle complaints, and by Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who had to save face by claiming the new legislation still maintains most of the healthy food rules mandated by the original, ironically named Healthy, Hunger-Free Act of 2010.
The original legislation, passed when the Obama administration had filibuster-proof Democratic majorities, required school districts that took federal money to use whole grains at least 80 percent of the time. It limited proteins and carbohydrates and mandated the milk be skim or 1 percent fat.
Some wealthier school districts simply dropped out of the program, giving up their federal subsidies for the lunches.
The new legislation would ease the restrictions on purchasing whole grains and delay pre-set limits on sodium.
Michelle Obama, showing the same stubbornness her husband does in refusing to work with Congress, had vowed to fight "to the bitter end" to keep the original regulations in place but apparently saw the political handwriting on the wall.
If the legislation moves apace, new guidelines could be in place for the 2016-2017 school year, and the children the Obama administration claims it wanted to help may finally be able to go through the day without feeling hungry.