The Biden administration is set to boost the health standards of meals provided in public schools across the U.S.
The plan is to reduce the amount of sugars, salt and fat used to prepare foods for meals like school lunch and breakfast. It's a similar plan to that of the Obama administration's Health, Hunger Free Kids Act, which required schools to provide more fruits, veggies, whole grains and fat free or low fat milks.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said raising the nutritional standards of school meals is key to children's overall success.
"This is a national security imperative. It's a healthcare imperative for our children. It's an equity issue. It's an educational achievement issue. And it's an economic competitiveness issue," he said.
The new rules are set to roll out over the next several years with the hope that by 2024, 80 percent of grains in schools will be whole.
"School meals happen to be the meals with the highest nutritional value of any meal that children can get outside the home," Vislack said.
However, the plan to increase the health benefits of foods for youth is not universally shared. Advocates for the dairy industry say they are concerned. Some school officials also say the rolled back ingredients will limit which food menu options, which could ultimately push students toward less healthier options.
"Most districts allow students to leave campus. They'll be hitting the convenience stores, the fast-food restaurants," Michael Gasper, nutrition services supervisor for Holmen, Wisconsin school district, said.
From April 3 to April 6, YouGov polled 1,274 adults online in the U.S. regarding their interactions with and perception of telemedicine as a followup to the same questions asked in November.
Though New York recorded 799 deaths, a record-high number for the third day in a row, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the novel coronavirus has not killed anyone due to a lack of care and said hospitalizations in the state are nearly flat.
Three astronauts have arrived at the International Space Station, after departing the virus-plagued planet. The two Russians and one American reached the orbiting lab in their Soyuz capsule Thursday, six hours after blasting off from Kazakhstan.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has new guidance for essential workers as it takes a small step toward reopening the country.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that 779 people in the state have died in a single day, marking another solemn milestone as the state fights to slow down the devastation of COVID-19.
Wayne County, where Detroit is located, is the third deadliest county in the nation, as its coronavirus death toll has recently climbed to 346, with African Americans accounting for more than 40 percent of that total
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday asked President Donald Trump to transition the USNS Comfort, docked at New York City, to begin transitioning to treat coronavirus patients.
Gov. Cuomo revealed that 731 people had died on Monday, the largest single-day increase, bringing the state's total reported death toll to 5,489, roughly half of the nation's total.
As large swaths of the U.S. are stuck in place as the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the country, experts warn that consuming too much news media could heighten the growing anxiety among the populace.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivered a message of cautious optimism on Monday while relaying the latest COVID-19 data gathered by the state.
