Louisiana Families Brace for School Lunch and SNAP Overhaul Under Kennedy

SHREVEPORT, LA – Don’t be surprised if we start hearing about massive changes to the school lunch program in Louisiana and across the nation.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services and he is expected to move quickly to change what is served to children in schools. He’s also likely to make sweeping changes to what you can legally buy with SNAP benefits.

I will get processed food out of school lunch immediately. About half of all school lunches are now processed foods. About 70% of SNAP benefits goes to processed foods. 10% of SNAP benefits go to sugary drinks like sodas. We’re creating diabetes problems in our kids by giving them food that is poison and I’m gonna stop that.

 

Kennedy says these processed foods are making our children sick and leaving them with lifelong health issues.

But he adds, “I don't want to take food away from anybody. If you like a McDonald's cheeseburger or Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them,” he said. “But you should know what the impacts are on your family.”

Kennedy will have to work with the USDA in changing the school lunch program. That agency runs the school lunch program.

The last time there was an overhaul of school lunches was more than a dozen years ago when Michelle Obama led the charge to make the lunches healthier. These changes were made as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, but the changes were phased in beginning in 2012.

Those rules required more fruits and vegetables and a push to whole grains. But those whole-grain standards have been relaxed.

In 2020, the Obama rules were further relaxed and more things like pizza, hamburgers, and fries are now allowed.

You will probably see more strict changes to go back to healthier foods under Kennedy.