School Nutrition

about school nutrition in the Healthy Schools Act

District students eat many of their meals at school every day. That means school meals – breakfast, lunch, snack, and sometimes even supper and D.C. Free Summer Meals – play an important part in making sure children have access to healthy food so that they can learn and thrive. This is especially true for the more than 70% of D.C. students who qualify for free and reduced-price school meals.

School meal programs are a great benefit to students and schools. And the Healthy Schools Act requires schools to make them healthier and more accessible for all D.C. students. It’s also important to teach students and staff about healthy eating, and to get the entire school food community involved in making the breakfast and lunch taste great.

The Act provides funding for schools to meet the School Nutrition requirements (pdf) and other requirements that pertain to school meals. And it empowers the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to withhold funds if schools fail to comply with the nutrition, access, information disclosure, and competitive foods requirements.

put the Act into action!

To comply with Title II of the Healthy Schools Act, your school must:

1. Enhance nutrition of school meals. School breakfasts (pdf) and lunches (pdf) are already nutritious. And beginning in fall 2010, meals will become even healthier. They will include more whole grains, a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, less fat, and less sodium.

The list below summarizes the new nutrition requirements for school meals.

Understanding Nutrition Requirements for Your School

All meals served in schools, including breakfast, lunch, and afterschool supper, must meet or exceed federal nutrition standards.

Lunches must meet the serving requirements of the USDA’s HealthierUS Schools Challenge Gold Award Level:

A. Vegetables

  • Offered every day
  • A different vegetable each day of the week
  • See examples of vegetables (pdf)

B. Fruits

  • Offered every day
  • A different fruit each day of the week
  • Fresh fruits at least 2 days per week
  • Juice (100% juice only) counts as a fruit serving only 1 time per week

C. Milk

  • Offered every day
  • Only fat-free or low-fat milk

D. Whole grains

  • At least 1 serving each day
  • Read all about whole grains (pdf)

Breakfasts and lunches must contain:

  • Limited saturated fat — fewer than 10% of calories
  • NO trans fat
  • Limited sodium — gradual reductions until 2020

Further, schools are strongly encouraged to participate in the Healthier US School Challenge and achieve Gold Level Certification (pdf) for nutrition and physical activity. The Challenge includes monetary incentives (pdf), awarded to schools that achieve HUSSC criteria.

2. Expand access to school meals. Nutritious meals are no good if students can’t access them or afford them. So the Healthy Schools Act requires schools to adopt nationally-recognized best practices for making sure all students have the opportunity to eat breakfast and lunch.

How will schools expand access (pdf)?

• Breakfast must be served free for all students

• Breakfast must be served in the classroom, at “grab and go” carts, or through other creative programs, at most schools

• Students no longer have to pay a co-pay for reduced-price lunch

The chart below shows which access requirements apply to each type of school.

understanding-breakfast

3. Promote healthy eating to students, faculty, staff and parents. Schools must solicit input from students, faculty and parents to come up with nutritious and appealing meals. Input can include taste tests, comment boxes, surveys, a student nutrition advisory council, or other means. And schools are encouraged to serve a vegetarian option each week.

4. Provide information about school meals. Schools must post menus, ingredients, and food origins information in school offices and on school websites to help students and families learn more about the breakfast and lunch options at school. [link to public disclosure info in Resources page]

5. Improve nutrition of competitive foods. Foods available in vending machines, a la carte lines, fundraisers, prizes, and other places can compete with school breakfast and lunch. They are known as “competitive foods.”

The Healthy Schools Act requires competitive foods to meet the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge Gold Award Level standards for healthier competitive food options (pdf).

6. Serve locally-grown fruits and vegetables. While not a requirement, Title III of the Act encourages schools to serve fresh, locally-grown foods in school meals from farms engaged in sustainable practices whenever possible. More information is available on the farm to school page.