Best Syndication News

[Best Syndication News] The American Dietetic Association expressed a warm interest in a report that was issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) this week that would encourage standards for the federal school meal programs to attain a certain amount of nutrition balanced with a limit on the amount of calories in a meal served to children attending public schools. The IOM report is titled, “School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children.”

The IOM are very much in line with what the American Dietetic Association (ADA) has been recommending for the last few years to help improve the quality of the child school lunch program.

The recommendations in the IOM report address the National School Lunch Program as well as the School Breakfast Program. The IOM also suggested that the US Department of Agriculture fund future research on the success of school meal programs.

The goals recommended by the IOM report are to:

- Issue a standard for meal planning.

- Serve more fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods

- Reduce sodium content and Reduce saturated fat content

- Reduce the amount of trans fat served

- Offer only low-fat or non-fat skim milk.

The ADA would like to see the healthier foods implemented in the school lunch program in a timely manner. They also realize that the healthier food could cost more money. They also would like to see nutritional education being a part of the learning process in schools. They would like to see additional funding for the Team Nutrition Network authorized in the last Child Nutrition Re authorization.

By: Marlene Donor