WASHINGTON — New school lunch regulations implemented during the 2012-13 school year that doubled the amount of fruits and vegetables served every day may be in jeopardy as a House subcommittee voted May 20 to allow schools to apply for waivers from the new requirements.

Attached to the fiscal 2015 spending bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a provision that would grant the Secretary of Agriculture authority to establish a waiver process and allow schools demonstrating an economic hardship to pass on complying with certain nutrition regulations during the 2014-15 school year.

The controversial provision cleared the first hurdle during subcommittee markup and is scheduled for a full committee vote next week. Similar language does not appear in the Senate version.

"I continually hear from my schools in Alabama about the challenges and costs they are facing and their desperation for flexibility and relief so they can operate a program serving healthy foods the kids will eat," said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over USDA's budget, who supports the waivers.

"If your schools are successfully implementing the nutrition standards and operating in the black, they would not qualify for or need a waiver," Aderholt said at the session. "However, for schools suffering economic hardship and needing more time to implement and adjust to the new standards, this waiver gives them that flexibility schools are asking us to provide."

The legislative fix was met with fierce opposition from Reps. Sam Farr (D-CA) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) during the subcommittee markup.

Farr called the change in nutrition standards "hard to swallow," and pointed out that schools could stop serving added fruits and vegetables and keep the federal money. More than 90 percent of schools are having no trouble meeting the new nutrition standards and USDA has pledged to work with the other schools, he said.

"Members of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee who voted to roll back school meal nutrition standards that benefit the health of millions of American children should be embarrassed," Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of the United Fresh Produce Association, said in a statement issued after the vote.

USDA also wasted no time reacting to the latest vote on Capitol Hill. Soon after the subcommittee action, USDA announced it would give schools that demonstrate significant challenges in serving whole-grain rich pastas the option to continue serving traditional enriched pasta for up to two more years.

USDA also issued a fact sheet and cited a Harvard study that concluded kids are now eating 16 percent more vegetables and 23 percent more fruit at lunch under the updated standards.