The finding comes as the US Department of Agriculture begins the implementation of “Smart Snacks in School” nutrition standards, which set nutritional limits on food and beverages sold in vending machines, school stores and a la carte cafeteria menus. The revision is the first national snack food and beverage guidelines update in more than 30 years. To meet the standards, a snack food must be a fruit, a vegetable, protein, dairy, or whole grain, have fewer than 200 calories, and be low in fat, sodium, and sugar.
The new standards for the most part address the findings in the Pew poll. Parents overwhelmingly support (91 percent) requiring schools to provide a serving of fruits and vegetables with every meal, and most parents (75 percent) think salt should be limited in meals.
The majority of parents are concerned with the state of children’s health (80 percent) and with childhood obesity (74 percent), while 72 percent support standards for school snacks.
