School lunch nutrition standards weakened
Enacted5/10
Federal · USDA interim final rule on school meal standards · Nov 30, 2017
Impact 5/10
A USDA interim final rule published November 30, 2017 relaxed Obama-era school nutrition standards, allowing flavored low-fat milk, extending exemptions from whole grain requirements, and delaying stricter sodium targets for children in the National School Lunch Program. A 2018 final rule made the rollbacks permanent but was vacated by a federal court in April 2020, and USDA issued updated nutrition standards in 2022 and 2024 that superseded the Trump-era changes.
Safety net & benefitsEducationChildrenLow-incomeStudentsImmigrants
Sources
✓ Verified against primary sources 2026-08-16