“It is poison,” Kennedy said. “We need to stop poisoning our kids and making sure that Americans are once again the healthiest kids on the planet.”

Since then, states have passed laws banning certain food dyes and chemicals from school meals. The administration has also continued to promise reforms to the food system, culminating in the highly anticipated release of the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), which promoted “real foods” and discouraged highly processed items.

School nutrition directors contend the meals served at schools are some of the healthiest children receive on a daily basis, and already they are working to lower added sugar and sodium levels.

But to go further in reducing ultra-processed foods and increasing whole foods, the people working inside schools say additional investment is necessary. And they worry that under the Trump administration, rules will change faster than schools can keep up.

Last week, hundreds of school nutrition professionals gathered at the School Nutrition Association (SNA) legislative action conference. There they met with members of Congress and representatives of the White House to convey the work already underway to make school meals healthier, and to discuss the barriers in going further.

“We’re challenged with what we receive for reimbursement, through our funding programs and platforms,” said Ashley Powell, child nutrition director for Auburn City Schools in Alabama. “We just need more money to continue to offer fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Upcoming Rules on School Meals

The Dietary Guidelines have a direct impact on the National School Lunch Program and the National School Breakfast Program (NSLP/NSBP). Since 1995, these meals have been required to meet federal nutrition standards that adhere to the DGAs, and have been periodically updated with federal rule making, the most notable being the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has suggested it would propose a rule updating nutrition standards for school meals based on the latest guidelines as early as April. This would come as many schools are still working to implement the school meal rule released by then-President Joe Biden’s administration.

The rule came out April 2024 and set a gradual implementation date between fall 2025 and fall 2027. For the first time, it set limits on the level of added sugars served in school meals. By fall 2025, schools were to limit added sugars in cereals, yogurt, and milk. By fall 2027, schools must keep added sugars to less than 10 percent of the weekly calories.

Also under the Biden-era rule, schools are expected to reduce sodium in breakfast by 10 percent and 15 percent for lunch by fall 2027.

But schools are expecting that upcoming Trump administration school meal rules will go further on added sugars. The latest iteration of the guidelines, released in January, recommended no levels of added sugar to children under 10; raising questions the added sugar limits could increase. .

Schools that rely more heavily on scratch cooking, or meals that are prepared on site, have more control over the levels of added sugar or sodium. But many schools don’t have access to a full kitchen, and use satellite kitchens to prepare and deliver food, or offer pre-made meals.

Many schools also provide food through vending machines or to-go stations that offer snacks and beverages that must adhere to the USDA’s Smart Snacks nutrition standards, which since 2014 have set limits on calories, sodium, fat, and more. Following this Obama-era rule, food manufacturers reformulated some of their products to meet the new standards.

During a question-and-answer session with USDA officials at the School Nutrition Association (SNA) legislative action conference, Kaitlin Tauriainen, a child nutrition coordinator for a Wisconsin school district, said schools use revenue from Smart Snacks to boost funding for scratch cooking, staff, and equipment. Although these snacks are healthier than what children can buy at grocery stores, she said, there’s concern now that the USDA will revise the rule and make it more stringent, which could cut off a revenue stream.

“School breakfast and lunch is some of the healthiest foods that kids get in the country,” Tauriainen said. “Manufacturers are working to bring down the sugar levels in their foods as well . . . I think it’s super important, but we want to make sure that the food is actually getting into the kids’ mouths as well.”

USDA officials are looking at the Smart Snacks regulations, but they have said any proposed regulation would be open to public comment and potential impacts to revenue would be considered.

A Push Against Processed Foods

More broadly, school nutrition officials are anxious to see how an updated school meal rule would address ultra-processed foods. During a presentation for SNA members, Eve Stoody, chief policy officer at the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, said the DGA goal for highly processed foods is to discourage items high in salt and sugar, such as potato chips, soda, or candy.

But there’s currently no federal definition of ultra-processed foods. Last year the USDA issued a request for information, in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, to create the first definition. In recent appearances, Kennedy has suggested the proposed definition could be released in April.

Tauriainen said it’s important to have a clear definition of ultra-processed foods so schools can identify ways to reduce them in their offerings. But they also face a number of challenges serving food that meets today’s standards, mostly about costs. A SNA survey found that 98 percent of school meal program operators are challenged by food costs, and more than 90 percent of respondents also said they needed more staff, culinary training, equipment, and infrastructure.