First Focus on Children submitted the following comments in strong opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “Simplifying Meal Service and Monitoring Requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs” proposed rule (85 FR 4094), which would weaken school nutrition standards.

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First Focus on Children is a national, bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families the priority in federal budget and policy decisions. As an organization working to support the healthy development of America’s children, we remain concerned that the rollbacks of current standards would have negative consequences for children’s health and future success. These rollbacks fail to put children’s health first, which is the clear goal of school nutrition programs under statute. If finalized, this rule would jeopardize the progress schools are making to provide healthier food to vulnerable children and decrease the overall healthfulness of school meals.

Read the full comment.