USDA, First Lady Propose School Wellness Standards

USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama have announced proposed guidelines for local school wellness policies. One of the First Lady’s top priorities is ensuring unhealthy food is not marketed to children – which is why she believes it’s important for schools to reinforce the importance of healthy choices and eliminate marketing unhealthy products. The First Lady says the idea is simple – that classrooms should be healthy places where kids aren’t bombarded with ads for junk food. She says parents are working hard to teach their kids healthy habits at home – so that work shouldn’t be undone by unhealthy messages at school. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the food marketing and local wellness standards proposed yesterday (Tuesday) support better health for children and echo the good work already taking place at home and in schools across the country. Vilsack says USDA is committed to working closely with students, parents, school stakeholders and the food and beverage industries to implement the new guidelines and make the healthy choice the easy choice for America’s young people. USDA has launched a new School Nutrition Environment and Wellness Resources website to help with implementation of school wellness policies. For more information visit www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals.

Source: NAFB News Service

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