Make school-lunch partnerships transparent

OPINION:

School nutrition is among the many topics that have become politicized by the Biden administration.

Unfortunately, at this point in the process, contracts have already been agreed upon between schools and food manufacturers, such as Kraft Heinz. However, before any bills are voted on, amendments regarding the quality and type of foods and drinks need to be offered — and oversight regulations must be included.

As someone who works with students and parents, I’m often asked why unhealthful food continues to be the only option in many schools, and why the schools seem to have no say in the selections on offer. I’ve attended public discussions with agency officials and have been told that nongovernment entities are prohibited from taking part in the negotiations. 

The Department of Agriculture, which oversees the school lunch contracts for political reasons, continues to allow the manufacturers to dictate the terms. This results in what we are witnessing: harm to our children’s health.

For example, contract reauthorizations are in the billions, and no amendments have been provided to adjust the terms or conditions, such as the quality of the food offerings. These are normally 10-year agreements that, once approved, are ironclad, and state and local officials are warned of financial penalties for attempting to adjust any part of them. 

There is no third-party verification that the content submitted by the food manufacturers to the Department of Agriculture is what is actually delivered to the schools. Once the appropriations are complete, we once again will be trapped into a decade of poor school food choices and continued skyrocketing rates of obesity among children.

GREG RALEIGH

Washington