Schools
With First Lady in Des Moines, Marion Schools Talking Healthy Changes for Students
First Lady, Michelle Obama, spoke today in Des Moines on the second anniversary of her "Let's Move" initiative to curb child obesity, coinciding with new USDA guidelines for government subsidized school lunches.
On the two-year anniversary of Michelle Obama’s "Let’s Move" initiative, which is intended to help curb malnutrition and obesity in schools, the First Lady spoke this morning in Des Moines.
"I'm proud that you guys are eating your fruits and vegetables," she said, according to a White House press release. "I'm proud that you guys are walking to school instead of taking the bus."
It's part of a three-day, four-state trip that coincides with new U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for government subsidized lunches.
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The new USDA guidelines represent a significant overhaul for government subsidized meals, according to officials from the and the , who say they have already began to implement many of the changes.
"I think they made some very positive changes," said Susan Knight, nutrition services manager at the Linn-Mar School District.
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The plan outlines many changes to make government subsidized meals more healthy and nutritious, among the changes, according to a Huffington Post article:
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Increasing variety of vegetables served to include dark greens, red/orange and legumes.
Increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods -- half the grains must be whole grain-rich by July and all must be whole grain-rich by start of the school year in 2014.
Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties (flavored must be fat free).
Limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size.
Reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium
Though Knight, along with Marion Independent Superintendent Sarah Pinion, said they have already implemented many of the changes, in preparation of the new guidelines.
There are some downsides to the revised program, though.
Knight pointed out that schools will be required to test and file data on the caloric intake, sodium levels and many other aspects of the food into a computer system, which may be more difficult for schools that lack the resources of Linn-Mar and Marion Independent.
Lastly, there is no guarantee that this will have a significant effect on the health of the children, as they are not mandated to eat the healthy food.
Knight said that school meals only account for 17 percent of the meals a student eats per week, because of that, the school simply don’t have control of what they are eating at home, let alone during school hours.
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