School lunch gets healthier

The USDA gets stricter

By Culinate staff

January 19, 2011

As the Washington Post reported earlier this month, the federally funded school-lunch program is about to get healthier:

The guidelines . . . would require schools to cut sodium in those meals by more than half, use more whole grains and serve low-fat milk. They also would limit kids to only one cup of starchy vegetables a week, so schools couldn’t offer french fries every day.

Overall calorie totals would drop, too, and nearly all trans fats would be banned. Will the plan work? It’s supposed to be phased in over time, so it’ll be years before the verdict is in.