Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed rollbacks of nutrition standards for school meals. In comments filed with the USDA, the coalition argues that the proposed rule substantially weakens existing standards for the school meals that tens of millions of children rely on every day and lacks any sound basis in nutrition science.

“School meals are a main source of nutrition for many kids across Connecticut and nationwide. With millions more parents now unemployed due to the COVID-19 crisis, these meals are even more critical. All kids need access to healthy fruits and vegetables and foods not laden with processed fats, sugar and salt. This rule change ignores basic nutrition science to the detriment of children and should not proceed,” said Attorney General Tong.

In 2012, the USDA adopted healthier nutrition standards for school meals. According to the USDA’s own research, these standards have demonstrably improved the nutritional quality of the school breakfasts and lunches on which so many children in this country rely. Unfortunately, the proposed rule would significantly weaken these standards. Specifically, the coalition opposes the USDA proposals to:

• Reduce the required minimum weekly servings of the “red/orange” and “other” vegetable groups in school lunches, such as tomatoes and carrots;
• Cut in half the minimum daily requirements of fruit servings in school breakfasts served in settings other than cafeterias;
• Eliminate the prohibition on synthetic trans fats in school meals without assurance that they have been prohibited in the U.S. food supply;
• Allow smaller school districts to, in effect, serve their youngest students meals with calorie and sodium levels appropriate only for older students; and
• Allow schools to offer students flavored water that contains artificial, calorie-free sweeteners and other artificial additives and that might undercut important milk consumption by students.

Established in 1946, the National School Lunch Program is a federally subsidized program that provides students with healthy, balanced meals in schools at low- or no-cost. In 1966, the School Breakfast Program was added. Since that time, Congress has taken action to ensure that program’s nutritional guidelines keep current with the best scientific evidence with the most recent modernization occurring in 2010 with the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which led to the 2012 USDA regulations.

In 2019, nearly 30 million children consumed nearly five billion school lunches and more than 14 million children ate school breakfasts under the national school lunch and breakfast programs. School meal programs are especially important for children in low-income families; in 2019, more than 74 percent of school lunches and 85 percent of school breakfasts provided to schoolchildren in the United States were offered free or at a reduced price. That number is likely to increase as a result of the contraction of the U.S. economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that even more children will be dependent on school meals as their primary source of nutrition. Further, according to USDA’s own figures, a disproportionately high share of students participating in the national school lunch and breakfast programs are black or Hispanic.

In addition to Attorney General Tong, the comment letter, led by Attorney General James includes the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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