Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments to the committee on the issue of competitive foods in the schools. I am the Program Administrator for The Child Nutrition Program in Newport News. With an enrollment of 29,000 we have approximately 61% of our students qualifying for free or reduced priced meals.  Our goal has always been to provide healthy meals to our students. Research has shown the school meals are healthier than meals brought from home and the students who eat school meals have healthier weights than those who don’t.

On the business side, our programs must remain financially healthy. Our programs are expected to pay salaries, benefits, food, equipment, supplies, etc. In our district we also pay indirect costs to support the general operating funds.

When the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) passed in December 2010, our programs encountered stringent new regulations that are still being implemented and some rules have not yet been released. These regulations have increased the cost of doing business in our programs.

Currently, the federal competitive foods regulations are set to be implemented in July 2014 which will mandate the nutrition requirements of competitive foods and beverages for calories, fat and saturated fat, sugar and sodium along with portion sizes. These rules apply not only to a la carte foods sold by the school nutrition programs, but to all foods sold during the school day. If Virginia implements separate standards, our programs will potentially be regulated by 3 sets of standard for the same food and beverage items. This will drive up our food costs as manufactures will have to make different products that meet Virginia’s standard but not necessarily other states standards.  

I support the School Nutrition Association of Virginia’s position that federal competitive foods regulations should govern school nutrition programs. Separate states standards are not needed. Thank you for this opportunity