To get their whole milk and 2 percent products back into the nation’s schools, dairy farmers may have to accept some competition from non-dairy alternatives.
According to the Plant Powered School Meals Coalition, under current law, students are only guaranteed a substitute for cow’s milk, such as fortified soy milk
Continue Reading After a 13-year ban, Congress looks to open up schools to milk options and alternatives
Lunchable brand food kits have found their way into the National School Lunch Program. But the pre-packaged food kits contain relatively high levels of sodium, lead, and cadmium, according to Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports and a group called “Perfect Union” have delivered nearly 50,000 petition signatures to USDA, which runs
Continue Reading Consumer Reports says USDA should remove food kits from National School Lunch Program
A bipartisan pair of U.S. Senators have introduced legislation banning the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) from including cell-cultivated meat products on its menu.
The NSLP is the federally assisted meal program in public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions. It serves more than 4,9 billion lunches annually
Continue Reading National school lunch program could be banned from serving lab-cultivated meat
The Fresh Produce Procurement Reform Act, legislation that would increase and improve USDA’s procurement of fresh fruits and vegetables, is now in the hopper with many supporters.
The bill would order USDA to partner with growers, distributors, and food hubs to provide fresh, U.S.-grown fruits and vegetables to community organizations
Continue Reading Bill calls for the USDA to buy more fresh produce from growers and distributors in U.S.Nearly half of public school cafeterias in New York City racked up at least one dangerous health code violation this past year, including evidence of rats and mice, roaches and flies.
An analysis of city Health Department data conducted by student journalists at the City University of New York Graduate
Continue Reading Nearly half of NYC schools had critical food violations in 2017
There’s good news for millions of children who participate in the program daily: The National School Lunch Program’s strict food safety standards work.
A study led by researchers from the University of Connecticut and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that food safety standards for ground beef supplied to the
Continue Reading National School Lunch Program aces ground beef safety review
ELK POINT, SD — It would probably not be accurate to say Professor Mindy Brashears speaks with a Texas twang or that ABC’s attorney Dane Butswinkas
Continue Reading ABC strikes back by churning up BPI’s earlier history
Controversial federal legislation to limit funding for subsidized school lunches and change some of the program’s nutritional standards passed a House committee on a 20-14 vote May 18, and the proposal is being hammered by critics who believe it would endanger the health of American school children. 
The bill’s sponsor,
Continue Reading Legislation to revise school lunch program passes House committee
I spent a couple of hours last week watching Thomas James (Tom) Vilsack wrap the House Education and Workforce Committee around his little finger. It came on his 2,338th day as United States Secretary of Agriculture. He is the boss of 85,000 USDA employees. Those who promote the narratives for
Continue Reading Letter From the Editor: Agriculture’s Most Popular Man
When it comes to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the partisan brouhaha has been about the menu. Later this year, however, Congress will reauthorize the Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, mostly by agreeing to pick up the check. The outline of just such an ending became
Continue Reading Letter From the Editor: It’s All About the Money, Fruit Cup
