An Educational Approach to School Food: Using Nutrition Standards to Promote Healthy Dietary Habits

Reforming school food is a prominent issue on the nation’s food policy agenda. A longstanding concern of reform advocates has been the abundance of foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt. These items—pizza, burgers, french fries, cakes, snack foods, soda, and candy—are sold in cafeterias, vending machines, and school stores. In addition, students sell these foods to raise funds for extracurricular activities, parents provide them for in-class birthday parties, and teachers give them out as rewards.

Critics allege that overconsumption of these foods in school contributes to increasing rates of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes and fosters bad dietary habits that increase the risk of health problems later in life, such as heart disease.