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Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, delivering on a promise he
made when he took office in May 2017, said schools under the
current rules faced challenges serving meals that were both
appetizing and nutritious.
"If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not
benefiting, and food is being wasted," Perdue said in a
statement.
The Trump administration has vowed to slash regulations, which
it says are burdensome for industries such as oil and coal, and
has already rolled back a number of Obama-era rules as part of
its business-friendly agenda.
The 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was championed by
Michelle Obama and became a rallying cry for her critics after
it set school lunch maximums for calories, cut sodium and
artery-clogging trans fat, and required more fruits, vegetables
and whole grains.
The new rules will provide the option to offer flavored, low-fat
milk to children and more time to reduce sodium levels in school
meals.
Healthy-lunch proponents expressed the most concern about
relaxing efforts to reduce excessive dietary sodium, which is
linked to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
The federally funded U.S. school lunch program, started by
President Harry Truman in the 1940s, is overseen by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and feeds more than 30 million, mostly
low-income, children.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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