![A young student at Piedmont Year-round Elementary School in Charleston, West Virginia gets ready to enjoy a nutritious breakfast.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021140544im_/http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/7983628696_703c6ef208.jpg)
A young student at Piedmont Year-round Elementary School in Charleston, West Virginia gets ready to enjoy a nutritious breakfast.
Recently, I joined students and staff there for breakfast and was delighted to see the youngsters start their day with a delicious parfait along with cereal, juice, milk, fresh-baked muffins and sliced oranges. While balancing the tall plastic containers of fruit and granola parfait proved just a bit challenging for a few of the younger kids carrying breakfast trays to their tables at Piedmont Year-round Elementary School in Charleston, West Virginia, the meal itself was exactly the type of healthy, well-balanced meal envisioned with the recent improvements to school meal standards issued by USDA. Read more »
![US Kevin Concannon and Miami-Dade County School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho talk with students from North Beach Elementary School, Miami, FL, on August 23, 2012, during lunch. (USDA photo by Debbie Smoot).](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021140544im_/http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/7977062282_868bee903d.jpg)
US Kevin Concannon and Miami-Dade County School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho talk with students from North Beach Elementary School, Miami, FL, on August 23, 2012, during lunch. (USDA photo by Debbie Smoot).
I recently had the pleasure of visiting North Beach Elementary School in Miami to recognize 177 schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District for their efforts to promote good nutrition and physical activity to their students. All 177 schools achieved Bronze Awards in the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC). Miami-Dade now has the honor of having the second largest number of HUSSC awards in any one school district in the entire nation. Read more »
The school day just got healthier! This year, thanks to the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, students can expect to see healthier and more nutritious food on school lunch trays across the country.
To help navigate what these changes mean, you are invited to join National PTA President Betsy Landers, White House Chef Sam Kass, the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, and USDA’s Administrator for the Food and Nutrition Service Audrey Rowe for a live discussion about the exciting new meals coming to school cafeterias. Use the hashtag #schoolfoodsrule to ask questions, give feedback, or just follow along! Read more »
Today I hosted my very first twitter chat. Seeing all the conversations fly by in real-time on Tweetdeck was overwhelming at first but I quickly got the hang of it. I was happy to see so many tweeters send questions to our @USDA Twitter account for me to answer. I really hope that the chat was informative and interesting to all of you who participated. It certainly was for me!
As a mom, grandmother and someone who spent many valuable years working in schools, I understand—first-hand—the great feedback that people provided. There are challenges in meeting the needs of growing children, and I believe the improvements we’ve made to school meals will go a long way toward meeting those challenges. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do so far. Read more »
As a new school year begins, I’m proud to say that the Obama Administration is taking historic steps to make the school day healthier for kids in schools across the country. I’m excited about the changes showing up in cafeterias this school year – more fruits, vegetables and whole grains; low-fat and fat-free milk choices; and fewer salty and fatty foods.
In addition to those changes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with parents, teachers and school cafeteria managers to ensure our kids get the right amount of food. Menus are planned for grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 and the meals are “right-sized” so that kids get the appropriate amount of calories and the correct portions of different foods. To further improve menu changes, we’re increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of sodium, saturated fat and trans fats available in those meals. Read more »
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021140544im_/http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7838742816_583bbd9a2f.jpg)
Now that the school year has started, everyone is abuzz about the healthier meals being served at schools all over the country. As a result of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, starting this fall, school meals are featuring more whole grains, both fruits and vegetables at every meal, and less sodium and trans fat. Portion sizes are adjusted for age, among other improvements.
As a result, you may have questions like:
What kinds of new foods will my child’s school offer?
What prompted the changes?
What can I do to help my child eat healthier at home? Read more »