Federal officials stopped by a Birmingham school Thursday to talk about the importance of healthy school meals, local agriculture, and changes possible in local lunchrooms.

Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture visited John Herbert Phillips Academy to celebrate National School Breakfast Week.

“We are visiting school breakfast programs all across the country to… make sure that families in the community know the incredible role their schools are playing in feeding and nourishing children,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean.

Last school year, a total of 49,024,641 school breakfast meals were served to Alabama students.

The visit comes as the USDA has proposed changes to school meals, including reducing sugar and sodium content in meals.

“We right now have put out a proposal to strengthen the nutrition standards. I want everyone to understand that they’re great right now, we’re just looking to keep enhancing them,” said Dean. “And so we would welcome comments from parents and the community to let us know what they want to see in school breakfast and school lunch for the future.”

Changes could include:

• Limiting added sugars by changing cereal and yogurt
• Increasing whole grain options
• Removing flavored milk as an option

If enacted, proposed changes would take a year or two to take effect.

Read more Ed Lab: How Alabama programs are elevating local agriculture, food for children.

At the state level, child nutrition staff are still “trying to digest” the proposed changes.

“You know we are still struggling with school staffing and support staff,” said Anjelice Lowe, director of Child Nutrition Programs at the Alabama State Department of Education. “It sounds good, but it may not be as practical as we think it is. So we’re going to see where the industry is gonna land and then how we’re going to be able to adjust to that.”

When asked whether lawmakers should be discussing school meals during the legislative session that began this week, Dean said the state can help in very practical ways.

“So what I think we want to see are investments in school equipment so you can have scratch cooking and investments in facilities where kids have space and really that time to eat. Those are the things that local leaders can lift up,” Dean said. “And of course there is the commitment to local agriculture. Are we sourcing from local producers? School food is an incredible market. Let’s find ways to connect our emerging farmers in Alabama with the schools that are feeding their kids.”

Following the visit to Phillips Academy, Dean, along with Lowe, child nutrition program workers, Mayor Randall Woodfin and Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Mark Sullivan toured Jones Valley Teaching Farm, a nonprofit that grows produce for local schools and teaches students about the importance of healthy foods.

According to Lowe, schools mostly have rebounded from food shortages caused by pandemic supply chain issues, partly thanks to partnerships across the state with farms like Jones Valley.

“We’re trying to gear more towards fresh fruits or vegetables in school and thankfully this year, the USDA provided farm to school grant monies so we can increase that initiative.”

Parents who want to learn more about the USDA’s proposed changes to school meals and provide feedback can do so here.