Effective food policy actions are part
of a
comprehensive approach to improving nutrition environments, defined as those factors that influence food access.1
Improvements in the nutritional
quality of all foods and beverages served and sold in schools have been recommended to protect the nutritional health
of children, especially children who
live in low - resource communities.2 As legislated by the US Congress, the 2010 Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act (HHFKA) updated the meal patterns and nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program to align with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.3 The revised standards, which took effect at the beginning
of the 2012 - 2013 school year, increased the availability
of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits and specified weekly requirements for beans / peas as well as dark green, red / orange, starchy, and other vegetables.
Such
comprehensive improvements would cost an estimated $ 96 billion, according to the model, but could reduce HIV incidence in the U.S. by 54 percent and the mortality rate by 64 percent, at a cost - effectiveness ratio
of $ 45,300 per
quality - adjusted
life year, or QALY, a standard economic measure
of the value
of a medical intervention.