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USDA announces new school nutrition standards

Beau Wade
/
Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced new federal nutrition standards for schools Thursday. The new rule targets food sold in vending machines, snack bars and school stores.

Columbia Public Schools Spokesperson Michelle Baumstark thinks the Columbia School District is well-positioned to make meet the new standards

“We’re in pretty good shape as a school district when it comes to that,” Baumstark said. “You know they’re giving school districts across the country a year to implement the changes. I don’t think it will take us that long to be able to make whatever minor changes we do need to make, specifically looking at what our vending machines are doing.”

Baumstark also said Columbia Public Schools are already well above minimum federal nutrition guidelines and the district is supportive of the new policy.

School districts will have until 2014-15 to implement the new standards.