Executive Summary

A bill introduced March 6 by Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would "update decades-old federal nutrition standards for snack foods sold in school cafeterias alongside the regular school meals," according to a press release. The "Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act," S 2592, would also apply those standards to foods sold in vending machines on school grounds. USDA's current standards "limit the sale of so-called foods of minimal nutritional value and only apply to cafeterias during meal times," meaning unhealthy snack foods are available to students at other times of the day, a statement from the Center for Science in the Public Interest explains. Harkin has long championed increasing availability of health foods to students. In 2005, he unveiled legislation that would provide federal funding for fresh fruits and vegetables as free snacks in public schools (1"The Tan Sheet" July 25, 2005, p. 14)...