Senate Committee Considers New Regulations For School Food

WASHINGTON — The National School Boards Association director of federal relations recently urged a Senate committee to not support legislation that would expand federal standards for food and beverages provided to students.

Under current regulations, the federal government imposes requirements on food and drinks supplied with the national school lunch and school breakfast programs. However, other food items sold on campuses are exempt.

At the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing, “Beyond Federal School Meals Programs: Reforming Nutrition for Kids in School,” Reggie Felton, NSBA director of federal relations, said legislation would hamstring the authority and flexibility of local school boards.

“Without question, NSBA believes that child nutrition is vitally important to fostering a healthy and positive learning environment for children to achieve their full potential,” Felton says. “However, the issue is whether child nutrition would be significantly improved by additional federally mandated nutrition standards on all foods and beverages. To this question, the answer is no.”

More rules on food and beverages would push students, especially in high schools with open campuses, to buy foods off school grounds, cause fights between school administrators over what should and should not be allowed, and increase complaints from parents who view school administrators as “culturally incompetent,” Felton says.

New regulations could also impact local budgets, which are already strained by the current economy, according to the NSBA.

Instead of trying to impose new rules, the federal government should work with local school boards to promote national policies within a framework that supports states and local communities, according to the NSBA.

“Beyond child nutrition, the federal government must acknowledge more broadly that the efforts over the previous decade to employ a top-down approach have not worked,” Felton says. “The federal role must be one of partnership and support to the states and local communities.”

In 2004, Congress passed the Child Nutrition and Women, Children and Infants Reauthorization Act, which required school districts in the federal school meals program to adopt a wellness policy by the 2006-07 school year. Citing that 91 percent of school districts now have functioning wellness committees, Felton argued there is no need for more laws regarding school nutrition.