What's that Mystery Meat

Photo courtesy of creativmarket.info

There has been a lot of talk about children and obesity rates and what kids are eating. An issue that has always been in the forefront is school lunches. We all have personal memories of scary school lunches and now our kids are dealing with the same issues.  When they are in school sometimes they do not have control over what they are eating but on Monday President Obama signed the federal child nutrition act.  This act is expected to expand the nation's school lunch programs to include more fruit and vegetables.

According to the Southeast Missourian, this act authorizes funding for federal school meal and child nutrition programs and increases access to healthy food for low-income children. It reauthorizes child nutrition programs for five years and includes $4.5 billion in new funding over 10 years. Among its provisions, the act:

* Gives the USDA the authority to set nutritional standards for all foods regularly sold in schools during the school day, including vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines and school stores.

* Provides additional funding to schools that meet updated nutritional standards for federally subsidized lunches, boosting the school lunch reimbursement rate by 6 cents. Currently, on average schools are reimbursed $2.72 per meal.

"This is a historic investment, the first real reimbursement rate increase in over 30 years," according to a White House fact sheet.

Photo courtesy of www.gourmet.com

* Adds 115,000 children to free and reduced-price meal programs.      

* Helps communities establish local farm-to-school networks, create school gardens, and ensures that more local foods are used in the school setting.

* Expands access to drinking water in schools, particularly during meal times.

* Sets basic standards for school wellness policies, including goals for nutrition promotion and education and physical activity.

With all of this being said, I just wanted to share some information about this new program since my blog is about fruit and veggies.  Hopefully this new program will allow children to get a more nutritious lunch rather than looking at their plate and asking "what is that mystery meat."

What are your thoughts? or memories?