President Trump’s administration has been constantly changing things over the last several years, causing controversy and raising countless questions. The latest change comes in rolling back on school lunch regulations.
Last month U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the proposal saying, “These improvements build on the 2018 reforms that preserve strong nutrition standards while providing schools the additional flexibilities they need to best serve America’s students.”
This proposal takes aim at the 2010 Hunger-free Kids Act created by former First Lady Michelle Obama. Along with the act, the former first lady started the “Let’s Move” campaign, urging children to get active and exercise on a regular basis.
The ultimate goal of this act was to ensure a healthier generation of young people.
“If somebody is doing that, they don’t care about your kid. And we need to demand everyone to care deeply about our kids,” Michelle Obama said when asked about the new proposal.
One of the main reasons the change is coming is due to the amount of food being thrown away by cafeterias across the country.
“Schools and school districts continue to tell us that there is still too much food waste and that more common-sense flexibility is needed to provide students nutritious and appetizing meals,” Secretary Perdue said.
According to the USDA, the school meals proposal will continue to ensure children receive a nutritious and tasty meal all while offering increased flexibility for local school districts.
“This proposal is simply ridiculous and it unfortunately sets our children back and gives them a huge disadvantage. I don’t understand why this administration would want our kids to not have healthy options at school,” local parent Autumn Banks said.
“We should all want the best for our kids, and if that means they are eating apples instead of French fries then so be it,” Banks added.
The proposal also includes the Summer Food Service Program that serves millions of children when school is not in session and many students are at a higher risk of food insecurity. The USDA encourages those who are interested in school meal programs to comment on the proposals at Regulations.gov.