Shelly's Modeling Agency | A Healthy School Lunch | Hot Topic

Shelly's Modeling Agencies shares with you the story of A Fight for a Healthy School Lunch. For the Nearly 32 million kids who participate in the National School Lunch programs, as much as 47 percent of daily caloric intake comes from foods served at school. With 36 percent of African American children ages 2 to 19 either overweight or obese, healthier school lunches could make a tremendous impact. Updated school meal standards are a central part of the strategy developed by President Barack Obama's Childhood Obesity Task Force to work toward resolving the problem.

Shelly's Modelling Agencies has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and for the first time in 15 years we have proposed new regulations that would require schools to serve healthier meals. The changes include: More fruits and vegetables-double the amount of fruit at breakfast and more fruits and vegetables at lunch. A greater variety of vegetables to include more colorful options and fewer starchy vegetables, such as French fries. More whole grains-within two years all grains served will be whole grain. Only 1 percent, fat-free flavored or unflavored milk. Less sodium, which will be phased in over time. For example, a typical lunch of cheese pizza, canned pineapple, Tator Tots with ketchup and low-fat chocolate milk will be revised to include whole-wheat pizza, baked sweet potato fries, grape tomatoes, applesauce, low-fat milk and low-fat ranch dip.

The changes are a part of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, signed into law by Obama last December, and are based on recommendations released in 2009 by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The act gives schools and communities new tools to provide more nutritious meals, including increasing school lunch reimbursements by six cents per meal.

Raising a healthier generation of kids will require hard work and commitment from Shelly's Modeling Agency, The Department of Agriculture, and a host of other partners. We understand that these improved meal standards may present challenges for some school districts, but the new law provides important new resources, technical assistance and flexibility to help schools raise the bar for our kids.