Smart Snacks: Return of the Hard-Boiled Egg

Back in 2014, I noted that many House Republicans were decrying the inability of schools to sell hard-boiled eggs (banned under Smart Snacks because of their fat content) as a prime example of federal “nanny state” overreach. But given these same representatives’ dogged quest to gut healthier school meal standards, this talking point struck me as more than a little disingenuous. That was particularly true when I discovered that one school superintendent lamenting the egg ban—frequently mentioned by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) in his campaign to roll back meal standards— hailed from a district making almost $3 million a year by selling junk food and fast food to kids. (“I’m Getting *Really* Sick of Hearing About Those Hard-Boiled Eggs”)

But now I’m eating crow—along with a few hard-boiled eggs—because apparently enough commenters complained to USDA about this issue that the final Smart Snacks rule expressly allows the sale of “whole eggs with no added fat.” Other similarly minor changes to Smart Snacks include allowing the sale of low-sodium canned vegetables and tweaking nutritional requirements to allow for the sale of “paired exempt foods” such as peanut butter and celery or reduced-fat cheese with apple slices.

Noting that the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans don’t suggest a daily limit on total fat, and because many healthy foods such as avocados and legume dips currently exceed the Smart Snacks total fat limit, USDA is also seeking comment on whether to remove the total fat standard entirely. Comments on this issue must be submitted within 60 days of the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register.

In short, the final Smart Snacks rule closely tracks the interim final rule that’s been in effect on campuses since the 2014-15 school year. And while the rule’s nutritional standards are certainly not perfect (a lot of “better-for-you” junk food sneaks in, so long as it’s “whole grain rich”), they’re still an enormous improvement over the glut of junk food commonly seen on school campuses prior to their implementation.

Community Eligibility Provision and Administrative Review

In yesterday’s media call, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Wilson and other speakers used the opportunity to reiterate their strong support for the CEP, which brings free meals to children in high-poverty areas without paperwork or stigma. Donna Martin, the school nutrition director in Burke County, Georgia, noted, “In school, kids are transported for free, we give them free books, we give them free access to teachers. So why not free meals? It’s as important as everything else in the school day.” The current CEP isn’t significantly changed by the final rule, which codifies previous policy guidance.

Changes to current administrative review process can be found here (scroll to the chart on page 45).  According to the USDA, these tweaks will help “establish a unified accountability system designed to ensure that school food authorities offering school meals comply with program requirements” and are “expected to strengthen program integrity through a more robust, effective, and transparent process for monitoring school nutrition program operations.”

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With the finalization of these four rules, the historic work of the Obama administration in improving children’s school food environment is now complete. But, of course, we’re already one year overdue for the next CNR, a process which could easily roll back or weaken these reforms – many of which have already been overtly threatened by House Republicans.

Stay tuned.

This post originally appeared on The Lunch Tray.