Nutrition Standards for Competitive Foods in Schools: Implications for Foodservice Revenues

Across America, meals provided through USDA's National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) supply most of the foods and beverages obtained by children at school. Most schools also sell competitive foods, or "à la carte" items, alongside USDA school meals, in vending machines, or in school stores and snack bars, with proceeds going to the school foodservice or fundraising school groups. These foods have been widely criticized as being of low nutritional value, undercutting public efforts to improve children's diets and prevent obesity. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires schools that offer USDA school meals to limit competitive foods to those that meet updated nutrition standards, under development by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).