Michelle Obama’s Lunch Laws Are Now Being Forced on Day Cares: No More Treats Allowed!
As teachers lament seeing toddlers too large to fit in playground swings, a federal program that feeds millions of low-income children may be overhauled for the first time in almost 50 years, aiming to make the meals at day cares healthier and reduce obesity.
About 3.8 million young children are fed daily through the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which primarily reimburses day-care providers, and also provides food for children in emergency shelters and pays for after-school meals or snacks in areas where at least half the students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches.
Millions of more affluent children also are affected because at least 30 states — including North Carolina, Michigan, Oregon, and Virginia — require day cares to use the program’s nutrition guidelines to receive licenses. And beyond children, about 120,000 elderly or disabled adults are fed each day in programs designed to spell caregivers.
More vegetables and less sugar lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposals, developed with guidance from experts. Grain-based desserts, such as cookies and cakes, would no longer be reimbursable, and children younger than 1 would no longer be offered juice. Facilities wouldn’t be reimbursed when food is deep-fried on site, although prepackaged fried foods, such as chicken nuggets, could still be served, though recommendations urge that they be offered infrequently.
About one in eight low-income preschoolers is obese, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of 12.1 million children enrolled in federally funded nutrition programs from 2008 to 2011, the latest data available. (Read more from “Michelle O’s Lunch Laws Are Now Spreading to Day Cares: No More Treats Allowed!” HERE)
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