USDA updates school nutrition standards for all cafeterias, including in Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas — With three million kids eating school breakfasts and lunches in Texas, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is cracking down on making them more nutritious for kids all over the country.

The USDA has recently updated the school nutrition standards on added sugars, sodium and meal modifications.

While this rulemaking went into effect on July 1, 2024, the USDA is gradually phasing in required changes over time.

Deputy Under Secretary with the USDA, Cindy Long, said program operators are not required to make any changes to their menus as a result of this rulemaking until school year 2025-26 at the earliest.

“They’re really focused on making gradual reductions in the amount of sugar and the amount of sodium that are in those meals,” Long said. “What you’ll see next fall is some immediate reductions in the amount of sugar in some popular breakfast items like flavored milk, breakfast cereal and yogurt and that’ll be followed over the next several years.”

Long said their research shows these kinds of foods are having an impact on how students behave outside the cafeteria and inside the classroom.

“It shows the kids are more attentive and better behaved when they have breakfast,” Long said. “We have heard over and over from parents and teachers that we need to get the amount of sugar in breakfast down, nobody wants a kid to have a sugar crash in the middle of their math lesson in the morning.”

According to an implementation timeline on the USDA website, breakfast foods will see the most changes in the new update come Fall 2025, including limits on added sugars in cereals, yogurt, and milk. Flavored milk will also face limits on added sugar.

Also, by 2027, for added sugars, there will be no more than 10% of the weekly calories, a 10% reduction in sodium for breakfast and a 15% reduction for lunch.

Long said with these changes, they expect to see a healthier future for kids in school as they develop better eating habits at younger ages.

“We look around at the state of health in this country and so many Americans are suffering from diet-related disease,” Long said. “Which can be dealt with if we can help kids get on a good path early in their life and have healthy diets again with lower amounts of sugar and lower amounts of sodium, they’ll be in a much better place.”

The implementation timeline also indicated additional menu options make it easier for schools to offer local, vegetarian, and culturally appropriate menu items.

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