In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new nutrition rule aiming to improve school meals. The rule builds upon the efforts of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which Michelle Obama championed as first lady, to improve school nutrition. That law was met with criticism, followed by attempts to roll back nutrition standards under the Trump administration and a relaxation of certain provisions by President Biden during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, will align the nutritional quality of public school meals served in schools nationwide more closely with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. However, it is important to note that several proposed provisions, initially released in February of 2023, were weakened after the USDA received feedback from food companies, school food professionals and more than 136,000 members of the public.
