The federal government is slated to come up with rules governing the food sold at school thats not part of the regular meals.

Those foods are often called competitive foods, because whats sold in the student store or in vending machines or other spots at schools often competes with the meal programs.

Ensuring that schools sell nutritious foods is critical to improving childrens diets, a report issued Tuesday says. This is one of the goals of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

That law, passed in 2010, directs the federal government to update standards for all foods sold at school by bringing them into alignment with dietary guidelines.

An assessment of what those new rules might do for kids health and the schools bottom line was released Tuesday by two projects from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The projects argue for standards that require competitive foods and beverages to be healthy. Many districts have implemented standards already: In Los Angeles, for example, no soda can be sold and there are fat, salt and sugar standards for snack foods sold at schools.

The federal standards to come from the Department of Agriculture would be the minimum required, and some districts already have high standards, says Jessica Donze Black, director of one of the projects, the Kids Safe & Healthful Foods Project.

Theres frequent complaining that kids wont eat healthful food at school, but Black says thats not so. Given the choice between carrots and chips, they might choose the chips, but if the choice is carrots or celery, kids will eat.

If they have fewer unhealthy options, they are far more likely to choose heathier school lunch options, she said in a telephone interview Monday.

She also says that school districts can help get kids interested in healthful food with taste tests, free samples and other marketing tricks.

The rest is here:
Nutrition, finances win with healthful school snacks, report says