NCL praises USDA for improved school lunch guidelines – National Consumers League
January 25, 2012
Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org
Washington, DC—Today the United States Department of Agriculture announced final guidelines on school meal nutrition. Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of The National Consumers League (NCL), has issued the following statement on these new guidelines:
“Today, USDA announced finalized guidelines for the meals children eat at school. The new guidelines represent an important step forward in ensuring that our children have access to healthy, wholesome foods at school. These guidelines are especially important because children consume up to half of their daily calories at school.”
“The new guidelines will provide more fruits and vegetables, offer more whole grain options, set upper and lower calorie limits based on age, and set important limits on the amount of saturated fat and sodium allowed in school meals. NCL commends USDA on the strength of the new guidelines and applauds the agency’s decision to craft these rules based on the strong science of the Institute of Medicine.”
“Besides setting new guidelines, which will change how American children eat at school, the new rules also increase funding to schools for the first time in 30 years. NCL praises USDA for recognizing that resource-strapped schools need additional funding if they are to implement these necessary changes to meal patterns.”
“NCL congratulates USDA on the strong stance it has taken to protect and promote children’s health and encourages the agency to continue its work to see that the new guidelines are implemented in a timely manner.”
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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
