At the NSBA 2014 conference, one of the issues that I wanted to learn more about was the issue of Federal Regulation of what snacks can be sold in schools. At this lecture, Julie Brewer from the USDA gave a presentation about changes to the snacks that can be offered in schools under the interim final rule: nutritional standards for all foods sold in school. This rule stems from the Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010.
I have been vocal in my opposition to the increasing levels of Federal Intervention in schools, and in particular with respect to this topic, which I discussed here, here, and here.
What right does the Federal Government have to tell any school what foods it can sell via fundraisers outside of the lunchroom and in times other than lunch periods? I'm amazed at the willingness of so many to just go along with this. Two important issues came out of this conference.
1. According to Julie Brewer from USDA--States can implement their own fundraiser exemptions, and as an example one Board Member in attendance from Wyoming stated that her state had implemented a "no more than five non-compliant fundraisers per school per year policy"
