> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# U.S. releases new nutrition standards
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/nutrition_standards_0130121232/
- Published: 2012-01-30T13:26:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:50:46.000Z
- Description: USDA's first update to school meal rules in more than 15 years caps calories and sodium, requires fruit and vegetables daily in larger portions, sets weekly minimums for vegetable subgroups, phases in whole grains and limits milk to low-fat or fat-free.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Law & Regulations, Politics, #vivvo-import

By Maria Cendejas

The U.S. government released new nutrition standards for school meals that included cutting down on sodium, limiting calories and offering students a wider variety and larger portions of fruits and vegetables. These changes will raise the nutrition standards for meals for the first time in more than 15 years, according to USAtoday. 

"When we send our kids to school, we expect that they won't be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we try to keep them from eating at home," the first lady Michelle Obama said in a statement. She is announcing the new standards today along with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Tom Vilsack says this is an opportunity to improve the quality and quantity of the school meal programs.

The quality of school meals has been debated for years because one-thirds of children in the united states are overweight or obese. 

The changes are designed to improve the health of nearly 32 million children who eat lunch at school every day and almost 11 million who eat breakfast. The kids consume about 30% -50% of their calories while they are at school. 

The new standards for school lunches:

•to establish maximum calorie and sodium limits for meals.

•they require schools to serve a fruit and vegetable every day at lunch and in larger portions than offered before. Portion sizes vary by age group. 

•they require schools to offer a minimum number of leafy green vegetables, red-orange vegetables, starchy vegetables and legumes each week. 

•Require that after the two years of implementation, all grains offered to students must be rich in whole grains such as brown rice. Breads, buns, cereals and pastas must list whole grain as the first ingredient.

•they require milk to be either low-fat (1%) or fat-free. Flavored milk, must be now fat-free.

•and require that foods that are served contain no trans fats. 

The new standards for lunch take effect next school year. Changes for breakfast will be phased in.

Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said,“ The changes are landmark. These are the first-ever standards for sodium, trans fat and whole grains and the first time ever they've had an upper limit for calories."

Congress blocked the proposal to restrict starchy vegetables, and it required that pizza continue to count as a vegetable, she says.

The federal government will give schools an additional 6¢ a lunch to meet the standards. 

When the rules are fully enforced the cost of preparing a healthier lunch that meets the new rules is estimated to rise by about 11¢ , and the cost of preparing a breakfast is estimated to rise by 28¢ , the USDA says. The agency estimates that the high cost of producing meals will meet the standard, and will be $3.2 billion in the next 5 years.

Vilsack says,“ The companies that supply commodities to the USDA already are responding to the standards by offering foods that are lower in fat, sugar and sodium. Frozen fried potatoes are being replaced with potatoes that have been roasted or baked.”

Many schools already have made improvements. 

"These are all goals school nutrition professionals have been working toward, and these national nutrition standards will ensure that every student has access to a healthy meal in the cafeteria," says Diane Pratt-Heavner of the School Nutrition Association.

Schools must meet the standards to get federal reimbursements for meals, she says. They receive $2.77 from the federal government for every child who’s on the free-lunch program.