The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recently released their scientific report to the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, providing their recommendations for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). The DGAs provide nutritional guidance and also serve as a roadmap for federal nutrition programs, including school meals. Last year’s school meal standards update better aligned school meal patterns with the DGAs.
The evidence-based recommendations outlined by the DGAC are a positive step forward in ensuring that school meals remain a healthy option for students across the country. The recommendations acknowledge plant-based foods such as beans, peas, and lentils as a protein source, and support health equity by recommending adapting dietary patterns across different social, economic, geographic, and cultural contexts.
The DGAC acknowledges the negative health effects of ultra-processed foods but states that a limited evidence base resulted in their exclusion of any recommendations limiting ultra-processed foods from the DGAs. We echo calls from the Committee and our partners for further research and funding to study ultra-processed foods so that consumers — particularly school food professionals — have clear guidance on identifying ultra-processed foods and dietary patterns that reduce their consumption, leading to better health outcomes for the nearly 30 million children that eat school lunch every day.
As the scientific evidence builds, we can't afford to wait to make healthy, scratch-cooked, and minimally-processed school meals a national priority.
