The new Smart Snacks rules require that snacks sold during the school day must be a fruit, vegetable, dairy or protein food, or be whole-grain rich. That sounds great on paper, right?
But we’ve discussed before on TLT how that “whole-grain rich” opening allows food manufacturers to keep highly processed snack foods and cereals front and center in school cafeterias. And because of “copycat” packaging, these products look exactly like their less healthy counterparts sold in supermarkets, so we continue to teach children that these less healthy foods should be part of their regular diet.
Here’s a particularly vivid example I recently came across:
More on “copycat snacks” — and a proposal to keep them out of schools — here.
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Casey says
I was very excited about the Smart Snacks rules on paper but have been disappointed with the offerings that are still basically junk food. Thanks for letting parents know about this so they can beware. I’ll continue to pack my kids’ lunches and snacks until we can truly loosen the grip of junk food companies on our children’s schools.
Linn L says
Thank you for the example. As parents we need to understand how the conversation about snacking and the new guidelines is taking place between manufacturers and schools.
Georgianna says
Thank you for sharing! I’m floored by this. The guidelines, as you and many others have said, are wonderful on paper but it’s not going to change dietary patterns if the children are still focused on brand recognition and fed “healthier” versions of the junk food in schools. This is ridiculous! I can’t wrap my head around it. My research focuses on the effects of these rules in high-poverty middle schools.. so we will see what happens!