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The Trump administration in January revised national dietary guidelines to emphasize nutrient-dense foods and reduced processed items. School districts participating in federal meal programs will need to align with updated nutrition standards once issued by the USDA.
U.S. school districts are reviewing the impact of revised federal dietary guidelines issued in January by the Trump administration. The changes, announced by Health Secretary Robert F. , urge Americans to avoid highly processed foods and prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein at every meal.
These guidelines will inform updated nutrition standards for schools in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Nichole Taylor, supervisor of food and nutrition services at the Great Valley School District in Malvern, Pennsylvania, said students now request meals inspired by social media.
Taylor has worked for a year and a half to incorporate more fresh food prepared from scratch while managing budget limits and labor shortages. She stated that federal and state funding cover staff wages, equipment, food and utilities in her district.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture sets a reimbursement rate of about $4.60 per meal this year for free lunches in the contiguous 48 states, $4.20 for reduced-price lunches and $0.44 for full-price meals, according to the School Nutrition Association.
Taylor said she supports the nutritional goals but needs adequate funding to meet them. "We want to follow the guidelines, because we are that voice that says, 'No, you can eat healthy and still eat really well,'" Taylor said. The National School Lunch Program fed 30 million children last year.
Mara Fleishman, CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation, said shifting away from processed items such as frozen chicken nuggets, which can contain about 35 ingredients, would require districts to use six or seven ingredients for items made from scratch but would add financial, labor and waste considerations.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a January press conference that improving school lunches was a priority. "Right now, that is going to be the single most important, from my perspective, move forward — is the school lunches and making sure that we're getting the right amount, the best amount and the most nutrient-dense foods into the schools," Rollins said.
March of last year the USDA ended the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, removing an estimated $660 million in funding that schools could use to purchase unprocessed or minimally processed foods from local producers. Stephanie Dillard, SNA president and nutrition director of an Alabama school district, said the termination represented a loss of money that could be spent on local farmers.
The USDA stated that both the Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance programs are being sunsetted at the end of their performance periods and that more than half a billion dollars was released through them last year. The department also paused the Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant program for fiscal year 2025 in response to an executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion programs but reopened it for fiscal year 2026 with up to $18 million in awards.
The USDA said it streamlined the application process and removed prior DEI components. Rollins said in a statement that the grants help deliver nutritious meals while strengthening local agriculture. School nutrition administrators have long sought higher reimbursement rates, which are adjusted annually based on the consumer price index.
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