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Trump Administration’s School Meals Rollbacks Face Legal Challenges

Back in December, we publicly opposed the Trump administration’s plans to roll back some of the nutrition standards for school meals. The changes are slated to go into effect this fall, but earlier in April, a coalition of state attorneys general and two non-profit organizations separately filed lawsuits to stop these rollbacks. FoodCorps’ Cecily Upton added a supportive statement to the New York Attorney General’s press release announcing their lawsuit. Both lawsuits contend that the rollback of sodium limits and whole grain requirements for school meals lacked legally-mandated scientific basis and violated the legally-required process for proper public notice and opportunity to comment.

Related reads:

From The New Food Economy: Trump administration claimed lunch reforms weren’t working. New research says otherwise.

From the Associated Press: With Trump rollback, school lunch could get more white bread

Congresswoman DeLauro Visits FoodCorps School in Connecticut

In late April, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro visited Macdonough Elementary School, a FoodCorps site in Middletown, CT. Rep. DeLauro is a longtime advocate of healthy eating and nutrition and, as a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, is in a key position to push for greater funding for AmeriCorps and programs that support food and agriculture education.  

Many thanks to Rep. DeLauro and her staff, our site partners, and FoodCorps staff who made the visit a success.

Funding Opportunity: Apply for the Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program

The USDA recently issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for the second round of funding for the Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program (FASLP). Applications are due by June 4, 2019.

The FASLP provides grants to organizations working to improve kids’ health by: supporting food, gardens, agriculture, and nutrition education in schools; complementing and building on farm-to-school programs; and fostering community engagement through national service and volunteer opportunities.

FoodCorps worked to create the program as part of the 2014 farm bill and has since led the advocacy for its funding. Thanks to your voices of support, the program received its initial $1 million in funding in the FY18 appropriations bill and received the same amount in the FY19 appropriations bill. Based on strong demand to the first RFA, we are now asking Congress to increase their investment in the FASLP to $5 million for the FY20 appropriations bill, currently in progress.