�°IJʿ������

SNA President Julia Bauscher, SNS, testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee today on challenges school meal programs have faced as they work to meet new nutrition standards for school meals and snacks.

In advance of the Annual National Conference (ANC) Exhibit Hall grand opening, a panel of school nutrition professionals shared insight on school cafeteria trends, including successes and challenges related to recent and newly implemented national nutrition standards.

Approximately 1,000 school nutrition professionals from across the country have gathered in Washington, D.C., for the SNA’s 42nd annual Legislative Action Conference (LAC).

SNA participated in a U.S. Department of Agriculture roundtable discussion on the need to find practical solutions to support school meal programs as they struggle to meet new federal nutrition standards.

SNA is calling on Congress to include language in the Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations Bill to provide flexibility under USDA regulations for foods and beverages sold in schools.

The House Appropriations Committee has released the Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which will be considered by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.

SNA welcomed the announcement of Agriculture Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon that school meal programs that “demonstrate significant challenges in serving whole grain rich pastas can now continue serving traditional enriched pasta products for up to two more years.”

SNA is calling on Congress to provide reasonable flexibility to help schools plan healthy meals that students will eat. Some critics of providing relief to struggling school meal programs have released misleading information about the challenges schools have faced under the new regulations.

SNA welcomes calls by the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide schools with the flexibility they need to prepare healthy meals that will increase student consumption of nutritious choices.

As First Lady Michelle Obama invites a select group to the White House to discuss school nutrition issues, SNA is urging the Administration to hear the concerns of school cafeteria professionals challenged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) overly prescriptive school meal regulations.

With the House Appropriations Committee set to discuss school food standards tomorrow, school nutrition professionals are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Congress to provide meal programs with flexibility to plan healthy school meals that students will eat.

SNA urged Congress and the Administration to take immediate steps to provide school nutrition professionals the flexibility they need to plan healthy, appealing meals while maintaining fiscally solvent programs.