Campbell Soup Company, Dannon, Kraft Foods, Mars, and PepsiCo have collaborated with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to establish nutrition guidelinesthat will lead to healthier food choices for millions of children in schools across the nation.
This is another important step on the long road to ensuring that our children have healthier diets and an overall healthy lifestyle. Earlier this year, the Alliance announced an agreement with the beverage industry to provide healthier drink options to children in school. Combating childhood obesity requires a comprehensive approach on behalf of industry, government and the non-profit sector.
“I’m proud of these five companies for making an important statement about this health challenge and an even more important commitment to doing something about it. What we are setting in motion with these guidelines will dramatically change the kind of food that children have access to at school. It will take time, but through coalitions like this of industry and the non-profit sector, we are going to make a real difference in the lives of millions of children by helping them eat healthier and live healthier,” said President Clinton.
The new science-based and age-appropriate guidelines were developed in conjunction with nutrition experts at the American Heart Association and promote nutrient-rich foods, fat-free and low-fat dairy products and place limits on calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar and sodium.
This is a critical step that will change the food that children have access to at school. Companies will offer products that meet the new guidelines. The participating companies have committed to working with the Alliance to help encourage broad acceptance of these new guidelines by schools and food distributors alike, as well as to increase the range of qualifying products for schools, all with the aim to curb increasing trends in childhood obesity.
Read the statement from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Kids across America will benefit from today’s agreement,” said Raymond Gibbons, M.D., American Heart Association president. “Our goal is to point kids to foods that are healthier and that will contribute to a healthier lifestyle overall. By working with schools and industry to implement these guidelines, we are helping to give parents peace of mind that their kids will be able to make healthier choices at school.”
Over time – as schools, distributors and additional companies adopt these guidelines – millions of children will gain access to healthier foods, leading to healthier and more nutritious diets. The Alliance and the companies that have collaborated to set these new guidelines will work with schools, PTAs, school boards and food distributors to encourage their support of these guidelines.
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