What your kid eats at school could change. Here’s how Sacramento parents can have a say

What your kids eat at school could gradually change over the next few years, as the United States Department of Agriculture pushes for healthier meals with less sugar — but first, you can give the government feedback.

The USDA proposed a nutritional program on Feb. 7 that targets sugars, milk, sodium and whole grains in schools. The plan would be gradual, and if approved, would be fully in place by fall of 2029.

Here’s what the USDA proposed, how to submit feedback and what it could mean for Sacramento schools:

What is the proposed plan?

The proposed nutritional plan from the USDA has a two-phase implementation plan and is part of a larger push to address childhood obesity. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement in early February about the proposed changes to school meals.

“Following the science and listening to extensive feedback from all our school meal partners, FNS is proposing a gradual, multi-year approach to implementing the updates,” said Kevin Harris, a USDA spokesperson, in an email to The Bee.

“The recently published rule is a proposed rule; no changes will be implemented until a final rule is published.”

The USDA is required to set standards for foods and beverages distributed through schools.

Below is a breakdown of the current USDA requirements compared to what the new proposed expectations could look like at the end of the three-year phasing period:

Sugars

• Current requirement: There are no current sugar requirements in place.
• Proposed requirement: School districts would be required to limit sugar across the weekly menu to less than 10% of calories per meal for for both breakfast and lunch by the 2027-2028 school year.

Milk

• Current requirement: Schools can serve fat-free and low-fat 1% unflavored milk for breakfast and lunch. Flavored milk options are also available.
• Proposed requirement: There are two options for which the USDA wants feedback. 1. flavored milk would be allowed for high school students in grades 9 through 12 only. 2. Would allow flavored milk for K-12. There would be limits on added sugar.

Sodium

• Current requirement: Sodium targets range depending on grade level and meal and is already using transitional limits.
• Proposed requirement: Sodium weekly requirements would decrease by 10% increments over the span of multiple school years.

Whole Grains

• Current requirement: At least 80% of the grains offered at schools per week, during lunch and breakfast, must be whole grain-rich.
• Proposed requirement: The new requirements would keep already existing guidelines. Though the USDA is requesting feedback from schools to instead offer all grains foods four days a week.

How can I submit feedback?

The USDA is currently accepting feedback for the proposed plan. The open comment period is expected to close April 10. Anyone interested can weigh in on the new proposed guidelines by either submitting a comment online or mailing in a response. There are currently 3,121 public comments that have been made and will be used for public discourse, according to the USDA.

“These proposed standards are the next step in an ongoing effort toward healthier school meals that USDA and the broader school meals community have been partnering on for well over a decade,” Harris said.

Each proposal has questions the USDA is looking for feedback on. You can find them here:

• Milk questions can be found here
• Sugar questions can be found here
• Sodium questions can be found here
• Whole grain questions can be found here.

How could it affect Sacramento City Unified?

Sacramento City Unified School District already sent in its feedback: It’s “well intended,” Executive Director for Nutrition Diane Flores told The Bee, but “restrictive.”

“All the restrictions make them less wanting to sell to schools,” Flores said. “Because schools have tight margins, meaning we can’t afford to pay very much for food.”

Sacramento City Unified is the 10th largest district in California and serves 40,000 meals a day including breakfast lunch and dinner, Flores said.

Though the district already meets some of the requirements and has its own wellness policy, Flores sent in public comment on the proposed plan and said she feels that the rules could make the food unappealing to some.

“Some of the rules we are already aligned with and we did years ago, some we’re doing now and they’re great and I hope they stay,” Flores said. “Then some I think are just going to make school meals unpalatable for students, to the point where they’re just not going to eat.”

The district is already struggling with student participation in school meals, she said.

Harris said the USDA “recognizes that school meal operators have a tough job – especially with supply chain disruptions and higher food prices making it even more difficult to serve healthy meals over the last few years.” This is why, he said, the administration is “proposing these changes now so they can solicit feedback.”

Sacramento City Unified has a wellness policy that restricts sugary snacks, that don’t align with the nutritional guidelines, from being passed in classrooms. Flores said having wellness policies in place is a more effective approach to reducing sugar consumption in children, rather than targeting sugar in breakfast and lunch meals.

Sacramento City Unified has already eliminated flavored milk from their meal options, Flores said. The district also provides soy milk for children who are lactose.

The district has a $1.50 budget per student for lunch, and $1 budget per student for breakfast.