UNITED STATES - Timing is essential, and access is everything. These words pool in my thoughts when I consider those formative years of a child’s diet—how they provide peak opportunities for impacting the habits, lifestyle, and lifetime of our peers, beginning at the earliest of developmental ages. Those leading the charge, including the USDA’s School Breakfast Program and The Foundation for Fresh Produce, are taking their commitments to creating healthier food options for today’s youth to the masses as the National School Breakfast Week, March 4-8, quickly approaches.

The USDA's School Breakfast Program ensures that children are able to begin their school day with a healthy breakfast. Why, you ask? It might seem obvious to us, but a healthy breakfast is linked to better academic performance, attendance, and graduation rates, as the foundation tells me.

Addressing the sugar concerns in today’s menus will be a large component of reaching our industry’s nutrition goals, as Mollie Van Lieu, Vice President of Nutrition and Health, Foundation for Fresh Produce, shares. Currently, breakfasts in schools follow nutrition standards based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), but a new rule proposed in 2023 will seek to revise the nutrition standards from DGA, including an added sugar limit.

“An added sugar reduction provides an opportunity to incorporate more fruits and vegetables, and to use them to help provide an overall boost of flavor. The new guidelines won't be an easy change for many schools, as Americans of all ages consume too many added sugars,” Mollie says. “American breakfasts in particular (even outside of schools) are often high in sugar—think sweetened grains like pancakes, cereal, and chocolate milk. In fact, the U.S. leads the world by far in our consumption of added sugars. As schools look for naturally occurring sweet items that appeal to children, this is an opportunity for fruits, and an opportunity to introduce new dishes that feature vegetables as well.”

Two phases to the newly proposed rule will roll out through 2028 to ensure no more than 10 percent of calories will be from added sugars. One study found most schools exceed DGA in both breakfast and lunch.

When we look at how excessive sugar intake is linked to weight gain, poor diet, dental problems, and heart disease, it's hard to turn away from such a cause.

So, I asked Andrew Marshall, Wholesaler-Distributor Relations and External Partnerships, how foodservice companies can build on this new advantage in partnership with the foundation and schools.

“Industry partners, such as foodservice distributors, can certainly work with school customers to consider dishes that incorporate fruits and vegetables, enabling them to offer foods with limited added sugars. Our recipes are certainly a good start, offering on-trend food items that can easily incorporate a variety of produce choices. The recipes feature kid-friendly items that include produce that many schools are already ordering or could easily request,” he says. “We encourage the International Fresh Produce Association’s distributor members to consider sharing the recipes with their school customers, or even speak with their school customers about how to share the recipes more broadly within the school community. Collaborating on new menu ideas can help to strengthen the relationship between school menu planners and their supplier partners.”

Speaking of collaboration, The Foundation for Fresh Produce partnered with Healthy School Recipes to develop fruit and veggie-forward recipes that would meet the new DGA limits. A win-win for both students and the industry.

“Companies that are interested in learning more about selling to schools and connecting with menu planners from some of the nation's largest school districts, should consider supporting IFPA's K-12 School Forum. This is a programming track at the Foodservice Conference, which brings together school nutrition leaders, providing an opportunity for them to discuss strategies for sourcing, serving, and promoting fresh fruits and vegetables to children at school,” Andrew continues.

With these conversations driving change and commitment in school breakfast platforms, rest assured that the upcoming National School Breakfast Week will be helping the country turn a corner and turn more toward fresh.