1. USDA's Latest Update to Nutrition Standards for School Meals. CRS Report R47522, Version 4. Updated
- Author
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Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service (CRS) and Kara Clifford Billings
- Abstract
The federal government has prescribed nutritional requirements for school meals since the authorization of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in 1946. Such requirements have changed throughout the course of history. Current law requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe "minimum nutritional requirements" based on "tested nutritional research." In addition, school meal nutrition standards must be "consistent with the goals of the most recent Dietary Guidelines [for Americans]" (DGAs). Under these parameters, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established detailed nutritional requirements in regulations. This report discusses the latest revision of nutritional requirements for school meals, as promulgated by the USDA in a final rule on April 25, 2024. According to USDA, the rule was informed by the DGAs and feedback from stakeholders on a proposed rule. In addition to summarizing the contents of the final rule, this report provides a recent history of changes to the nutrition standards and discusses reactions to and potential implications of the rule. While the report covers most of the finalized changes, it does not detail every requirement included in the final rule.
- Published
- 2024