USDA updates nutrition guidelines for Texas school meals that include less sodium and added sugar

Nearly 30 million children eat meals at school every day. In Texas, that number sits at just over three million. For more than half of those kids, it's their most nutritious meal of the day.

Over the next few years, nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sodium and added sugar. The changes build on progress made over the last 10 years and also include more flexibility with menu planning.

Cindy Long, a deputy undersecretary for USDA's Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, spoke with ABC13 to explain what school meals will look like for your children this year and as we move forward. She said this year is for planning and preparation. Next fall, she said the first thing students will notice is less sugar in popular breakfast foods like flavored milk, cereal, and yogurt. Over the next several years, additional gradual reductions will be made in other foods with added sugar and salt.

Long said their goal is to get school meals in line with the USDA's dietary guidelines in a way that all the stakeholders can support.

"We spent a year talking to everyone who is impacted: parents, teachers, kids, school nutrition professionals, the industry that sells the food to schools, and we really took in that feedback," Long said. "We really did work hard, and I think we have standards that not only move the needle forward in nutrition, but will also provide delicious meals that schools can realistically serve in schools and that kids will eat."

For more information on the USDA's plan, visit their website.

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