The proposed School Meals Proposed Rule issued by the USDA will allow greater flexibility in serving appetizing and healthy meals. Under the previous Administration more rigid standards were imposed, resulting in students rejecting meals and resulting in waste.
Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Sonny Perdue, noted “Schools and school districts continue to tell us there is still too much food waste and the more common-sense flexibilities needed to provide students, nutritious and appetizing meals. We listened and now we’re getting to work.” School meals are served to 30 million children each school day in 100,000 schools and institutions.
The Summer Food Service program, catering to 2.6 million children during summer when they are subjected to food insecurity, will undergo changes parallel to the school meals proposals allowing 
greater flexibility in meal offerings and adapting performance standards and eligibility requirements for individual locations.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs and co-develops the Dietary Guidelines for Americans based on science-derived nutritional recommendations.