«Carrie Forrest is a graduate student in public health nutrition, author of the popular blog, Carrie on Vegan, and creator of the best -
selling app for iPhones and iPads, Vegan Delish, featuring
healthy recipes using
whole food ingredients.
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.