Nutrition is the most essential primary consideration in the physical and mental health of growing kids. And so the implementation of healthy school menu reforms by the USDA has been an extremely popular move for all families who are truly interested in the health and welfare of their kids. Nutrition Horizon has reported "USDA Implement Ground-breaking School Meal Reforms."
New standards for school meals that will result in healthier meals for kids across the country have been unveiled by First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The improvements in meal requirements are a primary component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was part of First Lady Obama's Let's Move! campaign which has been signed into law by President Obama. Improving child nutrition is the primary point of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).
First Lady Obama has commented "As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat, and ensure they have a reasonably balanced diet. And when we're putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria. When we send our kids to school, we expect that they won't be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we try to keep them from eating at home. We want the food they get at school to be the same kind of food we would serve at our own kitchen tables."
The First Lady's insights into the critical importance of good nutrition for the healthy development of our kids is right on target. A child's immune system and brain simply can not develop and function well without good nutrition which can leave a child vulnerable to a myriad of serious illnesses and set-backs in life or even premature death.
The initiatives of this new law include "making certain students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week, substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods, offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties, limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size, and increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium." The program is expensive and as pointed out by Nutrition Horizon is expected to cost $3.2 billion over the next five years. But the expense is worth it because without good nutrition for good overall health kids simply do not have a fair chance in life.
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