1981:
reagan administration
slashes federal school lunch
spending by $1.5 billion
The Reagan Administration’s cuts to the National School Lunch Program resulted in smaller
lunches that cost twice as much. During this time, Congress declared ketchup a vegetable
so that meals would meet nutrition standards. However, lunches were already providing
too little nutrition to support child growth. The cuts pushed school districts to look for ways
to economize lunches, and corporate contractors (like Sodexo, Aramark, and Compass
Group) saw a new market for their food. The National School Lunch Program, which was
once seen as an outlet for excess commodity foods, became a major market for food and
service industries.
2010:
healthy hunger-free kids act
Also known as the “Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill”, this act reintroduced government
funding for child nutrition programs over 5 years. The goal of this act was to support schools
and childcare centers to be able to focus on nutrition, to reduce the rate of childhood
obesity across the country. School districts started implementing Wellness Policies. These
policies show schools how to guarantee support of a healthy lifestyle for all students. This
includes offering healthy food, frequent physical activity and access to drinking water. It
also encouraged connecting schools with farms to get good, local food on the menu.
Local timeline event:
42