The Public Need to Know - Draft Version
Assignment 1.1 The Public Needs to Know – Draft Version
ENG 115
Marva J. Flowers
Instructor: Professor Martha Johnson Strayer University
Assignment 2.1: The Public Needs to Know – Draft Version
With the growing concern for obesity in the kids coming up today the government is calling for dramatic changes in school meals, including limiting french fries, sodium and calories and offering students more fruits and vegetables. About a third of children and adolescents — 25 million kids – are obese or overweight. Extra pounds put children at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other health problems (Hellmich, 2012). Legislation authorized funding and set policies for USDA’s core child nutrition programs: the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. For the first time in over 30 years, The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act allows USDA the opportunity to make real reforms to the school breakfast and lunch programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. The new meal standards are designed to improve the health of nearly 32 million children who eat lunch at school every day and almost 11 million who eat breakfast. Overall, kids consume about 30% to 50% of their calories while at school. “As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat and ensure that they have a reasonable balanced diet,” Mrs. Obama said in a statement. “And when we are putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria.”
Listed are some of the requirements for school meals outlined in the proposed rule: •Decrease the amount of starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn and
ENG 115
Marva J. Flowers
Instructor: Professor Martha Johnson Strayer University
Assignment 2.1: The Public Needs to Know – Draft Version
With the growing concern for obesity in the kids coming up today the government is calling for dramatic changes in school meals, including limiting french fries, sodium and calories and offering students more fruits and vegetables. About a third of children and adolescents — 25 million kids – are obese or overweight. Extra pounds put children at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other health problems (Hellmich, 2012). Legislation authorized funding and set policies for USDA’s core child nutrition programs: the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. For the first time in over 30 years, The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act allows USDA the opportunity to make real reforms to the school breakfast and lunch programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. The new meal standards are designed to improve the health of nearly 32 million children who eat lunch at school every day and almost 11 million who eat breakfast. Overall, kids consume about 30% to 50% of their calories while at school. “As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat and ensure that they have a reasonable balanced diet,” Mrs. Obama said in a statement. “And when we are putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria.”
Listed are some of the requirements for school meals outlined in the proposed rule: •Decrease the amount of starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn and
References: FRAC (2010) School Breakfast Outreach, Retrieved from http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/school-breakfast-and-lunch/outreach/ Hellmich,N, USATODAY.COM. (2011). USDA Calls for Dramatic Changes in School Lunches, retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/food/diet-nutrition/2011-01-12-schoollunch13_ST_N.htm Nixon, R (2012) New Rules for School Meals Aim at Reducing Obesity, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/us/politics/new-school-lunch-rules-aimed-at-reducing-obesity.html