New school lunch rules bolster rice component

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) latest nutrition standards took effect July 1 for all schools opting to participate in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. A new requirement is that grain foods served in school meals be 100 percent whole grain or contain a blend of whole grain and enriched grain, of which at least 50 percent of the product must be whole grain.

The House Appropriations Committee passed its 2015 Agriculture Appropriations bill with a provision that grants a one-year waiver to school districts struggling to comply with requirements of the new school meal rules during the 2014-15 school year. The waiver measure was strongly supported by members of the School Nutrition Association (SNA), that represents school cafeteria professionals. They contend high costs and lack of product availability and/or product functionality issues are making it impossible to meet the new requirements in the timeframe set out by the rules.

According to USDA, more than 90 percent of schools report they are successfully meeting the updated nutrition standards. USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama oppose any changes to the new standards, saying changes would undercut important gains in child nutrition the healthier school meals have achieved. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL), who authored the House language on the wavier, has indicated he is open to further clarifying that the waiver is temporary and is not intended to become permanent law.

This will all come to a head later this summer when the House and Senate meet in conference to negotiate spending bills. It promises to be a contentious issue, especially since the Senate did not include a similar waiver in its agriculture spending bill.

"Utilizing rice to improve child nutrition in schools has become an important aspect of USA Rice Federation domestic promotion programs," said Gary Reifeiss, member of the USA Rice Foodservice Subcommittee. "In fact, brown rice sales to school systems nationally have significantly increased over the past four years. This tells us that schools are working diligently to incorporate whole grain brown rice into their menus to comply with the new national school lunch program requirements."