States Sue Trump Administration for School Nutrition Rollbacks

Cecily Upton, FoodCorps co-founder and Chief Strategist, contributed a supportive statement for the New York Attorney General’s press release announcing the lawsuit.

NEW YORK – Attorney General Letitia James, leading a multistate coalition, today announced a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for illegally weakening key federal nutritional standards for breakfasts and lunches served to nearly 30 million  schoolchildren in the United States. The coalition contends that the Trump Administration’s Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) rollback of sodium limits and whole grain requirements for school meals lacks legally-mandated scientific basis, and, in further violation of law, was adopted without public notice and opportunity to comment.  

“Over a million children in New York – especially those in low-income communities and communities of color – depend on the meals served daily by their schools to be healthy, nutritious, and prepare them for learning,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “The Trump Administration has undermined key health benefits for our children – standards for salt and whole grains in school meals – with deliberate disregard for science, expert opinion, and the law. My office will use every tool at our disposal to fight back against these shameful rollbacks and ensure our children our protected.” 

“Our organization has seen that working alongside school and district leaders to meet and exceed school meal expectations, rather than weakening standards, leads to better outcomes for our kids. This should not be a time to play political football with the school nutrition program, as the USDA rollbacks are attempting to do,” said Cecily Upton, Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, FoodCorps. “We support and celebrate the school nutrition leaders across the country who have committed to maintaining the original, dietary guidelines aligned nutrition standards and thank Attorney General James for her leadership on this critical issue. Our team at FoodCorps works with school nutrition professionals to ensure students are excited to eat healthy food in cafeterias across the country, but there is more work to do. Our children are worth it.”