New federal nutrition standards pose challenges for North Dakota schools

New national nutrition guidelines are pushing schools to serve healthier meals, but the changes require more than simply updating a menu.

In this episode of The Backstory, reporter Michael Standaert explains how new federal school meal standards are affecting districts across North Dakota. The updated rules emphasize reducing sodium and sugar while increasing the use of whole and minimally processed foods. For many schools, that would mean shifting from prepackaged items to more “from-scratch” cooking, and that can mean higher costs.

“Cooking from scratch is definitely labor-intensive… you’ll need to beef up staff, you’ll need to beef up equipment, and have bigger kitchens in your schools.” – Michael Standaert, NDNC

School nutrition directors and administrators say the changes are intended to improve student health, especially for children who rely on school meals as a primary source of nutrition. However, meeting the new standards can be difficult, particularly in rural districts where budgets are tight and facilities were not designed for large-scale scratch cooking.