Child Nutrition reauthorization bill moves out of House committee

The U.S. House of Representatives has released the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids (Child Nutrition Reauthorization) Act from the Committee on Education and Labor, with mark-up expected the last week of July, according to the School Nutrition Association (SNA), which praised the move.

SNA had advocated for key provisions in the bill, including strengthening the Community Eligibility Provision (CAP) and Direct Certification to increase student access to free school meals (for the 2022-23 school year, eligible families must apply for free and reduced-price meals). Additionally, the bill raises the federal reimbursement rate for school lunch and provides commodities for school breakfast.

“As rising grocery prices leave families nationwide struggling to put food on the table, the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act takes critical steps to expand access to free, healthy school meals,” says SNA President Lori Adkins. “Costs are rising for school meal programs as well, and this legislation acknowledges the need to increase funding for these programs, which support student success in and out of the classroom.”

However, SNA does question the bill’s mandate to establish additional school nutrition rules, which it has cautioned could be unachievable and result in fewer students eating healthy school meals. It notes that ongoing supply chain disruptions have increased costs and left school meal programs scrambling to secure menu items such as whole grain breads and low-sodium entrees that meet highly-specialized school nutrition standards. Meanwhile, food companies and distributors facing shortages of raw ingredients, labor and truck drivers have streamlined offerings and reduced the geographic areas they serve while short-staffed school nutrition teams have limited capacity to expand scratch preparation of meals.

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“Long-term labor shortages and consolidation in the K-12 industry have severely limited our capacity to meet any additional nutrition mandates,” Adkins explains. “With research showing children eat their healthiest meals at school, Congress and USDA should focus on expanding access to and promoting consumption of healthy school meals, rather than establishing additional program regulations.”

SNA’s 2022 Position Paper, released in January, urged Congress to permanently increase school meal reimbursement rates, offer free school meals to all students and ease regulatory requirements.