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Diving overview:
- To limit reliance on ultra-processed foods in school meals, most school nutrition directors reported needing additional resources, including funding, menu development, culinary training, staffing, equipment and infrastructure, according to survey data released Tuesday by the School Nutrition Association.
- Last September, the Trump administration emphasized in its ‘Making Our Children Healthy Again’ strategy report that ultra-processed foods should be reduced in school meals as a way to solve chronic diseases in children.
- To do this, schools must prepare more scratch-prepared meals, SNA said in its research report. The association also found that 71% of school nutrition directors already provide pre-prepared main courses daily or weekly.
Dive Insights:
As the federal government’s focus on school nutrition continues to target ultra-processed foods, school nutrition leaders are increasingly reporting concerns about the future of their meal programs compared to previous years.
More directors (95%) said they were seriously or moderately concerned about the financial sustainability of school nutrition programs three years from now during the 2025-26 school year. This is an increase from 92% of board members who expressed the same concerns in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
The survey, conducted in October, involved 1,240 district respondents.
SNA said in a statement Tuesday that it expects federal recommendations to limit ultra-processed foods when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services jointly issue updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans this year.
In a statement released Tuesday, the association added that current federal nutritional standards, which limit calories, sodium and added sugars, ensure school meals are the “healthiest” meals Americans eat. SNA said the K-12 food suppliers it partners with are also actively eliminating artificial dyes, additives and other related ingredients used in school meals.
“New regulations limiting UPF in schools should allow meal programs to serve nutritious, pre-prepared foods,” SNA’s position paper said. “Schools do not have the equipment to prepare all menu items from scratch. More than 93% cited a need for more staff, culinary training, equipment and infrastructure to reduce reliance on UPF.”
There is currently no uniform definition of ultra-processed foods. But HHS, USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a request for information in July while the agencies worked to define the term. The public comment deadline was set for September but was later extended to October.
Ultra-processed foods typically contain additional ingredients such as sugar, salt, fat, artificial colors, or preservatives, as defined in a 2020 article by Harvard Health Publishing.
California has become the first state to ban ultra-processed foods in K-12 with a recently signed bill that will phase out the products from school lunches starting in 2029. The state has previously enacted legislation to ban food coloring in school cafeterias and implemented universal school lunches to make food healthier and more accessible to students.
SNA’s position paper says cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid under the “One Big, Beautiful” budget law passed by Congress in July will reduce the number of children automatically certified for free and reduced-price meals. As a result, fewer schools will be covered by a federal program known as the Community Eligibility Provision, which helps high-poverty schools and districts provide free meals to all students.
To protect universal school lunch programs, like the community eligibility provisions, SNA urges Congress to pass S.3281, a bill to repeal the SNAP provisions of the “One Big, Beautiful” Budget Act. The association also urged Congress to pass legislation that would increase federal reimbursement rates for school lunches and fund equipment and infrastructure upgrades in school cafeterias.
