Nutrition Bill Designed To Help Bay Area Lunch Programs

OAKLAND (KCBS) - A federal child nutrition bill, that's designed to remove greasy foods and sugary drinks from school cafeterias, is expected to help Bay Area school districts in adopting stricter lunch programs.

Many schools have already adopted stricter programs, with salad bars filling middle and high school cafeterias.

At some schools, there's even food for vegetarians and for those with strict diets.

KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:

The $4.5 billion child nutrition bill is aimed at greatly improving school lunch programs for low-income students.

And East Bay Congressman George Miller said the legislation has broad support from the entire nutritional community.

"They understand the importance of this to the well-being of these children and to the budget of our nation when we spend over $147 billion dealing with obesity and diabetes in our society," said Miller. "And we know that much of it starts with a bad diet."

First Lady Michelle Obama has lobbied for new school lunch standards through her "Let's Move" campaign, which is aimed at fighting childhood obesity.

In crafting the bill, lawmakers made more than $2 billion in cuts to the food stamp program, something that angered anti-hunger advocates.

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