Meal Pattern Flexibilities and Smart Snacks Revisions (including 2020 Final Rule “Simplifying Meal Service and Monitoring Requirements in the NSLP and SBP”)

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Ban Junk Food Lobby Influence in School Lunch Programs

AKA “Keep School Meals Local—Not Corporate”


Which agency/agencies promulgated the regulation? *
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
Which title, parts, and/or sections of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) should be rescinded? *
7 CFR § 210.10(c) and 7 CFR § 210.11 – specifically language and waivers influenced or inserted via lobbying by processed food manufacturers and industry groups that weakened nutritional standards and broadened Smart Snacks exemptions.
What is your name?
—OPTIONAL--
Is your proposed rescission a notice of proposed rulemaking, final rule, direct final rule, interim final rule, or interpretive rule? *
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
What is the name of the regulation being rescinded, if applicable? *
Meal Pattern Flexibilities and Smart Snacks Revisions (including 2020 Final Rule “Simplifying Meal Service and Monitoring Requirements in the NSLP and SBP”)
Please provide a short summary of the justifications for the rescission. *
Industry-backed changes to school lunch rules have prioritized corporate profit over children’s health. Starting in 2018 and finalized in 2020, USDA relaxed sodium limits, whole grain requirements, and allowed branded “Smart Snacks” that meet minimal nutritional metrics while promoting ultra-processed food. These rollbacks were championed by industry groups like the School Nutrition Association, in coordination with major food manufacturers. Rescinding these carveouts would restore the science-based standards originally established under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
Please insert the address of the agency. [NPRM, DFR, and IFR only]
U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service 1320 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314
Please insert the contact information for the agency. *
USDA FNS Headquarters: (703) 305-2062 Email: fnscommunications@usda.gov
What is the background for the regulation being rescinded? *
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 established robust nutrition standards for school meals, aligned with public health guidance. These included sodium reductions, whole grain requirements, and restrictions on junk food. However, intense lobbying from processed food companies led to USDA rollbacks between 2018–2020, codified under 7 CFR § 210.10 and § 210.11. These changes prioritized commercial convenience and industry relationships over the health of students—especially low-income children who rely on school meals.
Explain the reasons for the rescission. *
USDA’s regulatory weakening of school meal standards—driven by junk food lobbyists—has harmed public health and enabled the mass marketing of processed foods to children in public schools. By embedding corporate carveouts into Smart Snacks and meal pattern regulations, USDA has allowed major brands to dominate school cafeterias with “technically compliant” junk. Rescinding these lobby-driven rules would return control to science-based nutrition standards and local decision-makers, ensuring that schools serve real food—not corporate marketing experiments.
Describe the text of the relevant C.F.R. provisions as it will exist after the rescission. *
Rescind: • § 210.10(c) sodium and whole grain waivers added post-2018 • § 210.11 Smart Snack compliance exemptions based on “product reformulation” Restore: • Full implementation of 2012–2016 nutrition targets under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act • Ban on brand-based marketing and product-based loopholes in competitive foods
Please insert the name of the current agency head. *
Brooke Rollins
Please insert the title of the agency head. *
Secretary of Agriculture

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