Work Sample

To: President Donald Trump

From: Faith Boehm, Future Policy Advisor

Date:12/11/18

RE: “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010”

Executive Summary:

  • The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 expanded students’ access to both nutritional meals and information. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was tasked with setting and implementing the law’s new nutritional standards. Overall, the law has been scrutinized for not increasing children’s fruit and vegetable consumption, just the amount of fruits and vegetables students throw away. President Trump’s administration has made adjustments to the law in an effort to accommodate the wishes of both members of Congress and school administrators.

1. Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (P.L. 111-296):

  • Signed into law by Former President Barack Obama on December 13, 2010
  • Goal: to provide more nutritious meals to food-insecure and overweight/obese children
    1. In 22 states, more than 20% of children live in food-insecure homes (Schanzenbach 2015)
    2. Since the 1970s, childhood obesity has more than tripled
  • 1 in 5 children (ages 6-19) had obesity between 2015-2016 (“Healthy Schools,” 2018)
  • Provided $4.5 billion for five programs: National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer and Food Service Program, Afterschool Meal Program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed)
  • Called for more technical training for school food service providers and increased student and parents’ access to nutritional information

2. Who’s Impacted:

  • Approximately 115,000 children became eligible to enroll in school meal programs (“CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION…” 2010)
  • $375 million grant for SNAP benefits
    1. All children in the foster care system became immediately eligible for the lunch program
  • USDA gained authority to set stricter nutritional requirements for school meals (“HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT…” 2011)

3. Results (Eunjung 2015):

  • Students’ vegetable consumption increased by 16.2% after P.L. 111-296 was passed
  • On average, students throw away about 40% of fruit and 60-75% of vegetables on their lunch tray
  • L. 111-296 did not affect school meal participation over time but did not substantially increase participation

4. Rollbacks (Aubrey 2018):

  • In December 2018, Agriculture Secretary Perdue announced a rollback of USDA whole-grain policy which called for 100% of grain-based dishes to be 100% whole-grain
    1. Schools now free to make grain-based food 50% whole-grain rich
    2. Meant to accommodate schools in South that prepare biscuits, flour tortillas
  • Perdue relaxed sodium restrictions which will now take effect during 2024-2025 school year rather than the previous Obama-decided deadline of the 2023-2024 school year
  • Rollbacks supported by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R – Alabama)

Conclusion and Implications (Eunjung 2015):

  • Nationally, 95% of schools are now serving healthier meals because of P.L. 111-296
  • 9 out of 10 Americans believe healthier meals for students are the right thing to do
  • Continuing to deregulate components of P.L. 111-296 is in direct opposition of 90% of Americans’ opinions
    • Deregulations allow schools in the South, the most food-insecure region, to serve less nutritious food

Works Cited

Aubrey, Allison. “More Salt, Fewer Whole Grains: USDA Eases School Lunch Nutrition

Rules.”NPR, NPR, 7 Dec. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/12/07/674533555/more-salt-in-school-lunch-fewer-

whole-grains-usda-eases-school-lunch-rules.

“CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF

2010.”Obamawhitehouse.archives.gov, 2010,

obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/Child_Nutrition_Fact_Sheet_12_10_10.pdf.

Eunjung, Ariana Cha. “Why the Healthy School Lunch Program Is in Trouble. Before/afterPhotos of What Students Ate.” The

     Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Aug. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your

health/wp/2015/08/26/schoolchildren-are-tossing-an-average-of-more-than-a-third-cup-of-fruits-and-veggies-in-the-

trash-each-lunch/?utm_term=.0e18fa61ccc2.

“HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010 (P.L. 111-296) SUMMARY.” Ncsl.org,

Ncsl.org, 24 Mar. 2011, www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/healthy-hunger-free-kids-act-of-2010-summary.aspx.

Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore, and Lauren Bauer. “Food Insecurity among Children in 2015.”Brookings.edu, The Brookings

Institution, 19 June 2017, www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/06/19/food-insecurity-among-children-in-201

5/.