WASHINGTON — Schools that were proactive in improving the healthfulness of school meals before the new nutrition standards went into effect are not having problems complying with the stricter standards or experiencing plate waste, Phil Muir, president and chief executive officer of Muir Copper Canyon Farms in Salt Lake City told a Senate panel on the school nutrition standards.

The only industry representative, Muir, a former United Fresh Produce Association board member, joined a small panel of school nutrition officials who fielded questions during a two-hour hearing July 23 before the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Phil Muir, president and CEO of Muir Copper Canyon Farms and a former United Fresh Produce Association board member, testifying at a July 23 Senate panel on school nutrition standards. (Photo courtesy of United Fresh)Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the powerful Senate panel, said healthier meal options are being well received by school children.  

“I have had the opportunity to visit many schools in Michigan and I have been impressed to see elementary school students enjoying broccoli and pineapple from salad bars, and students learning about where their food comes from through farm-to-school garden efforts,” Stabenow said.

The school nutrition standards, which went into effect July 1, have become polarizing on Capitol Hill ever since the School Nutrition Association began reporting some schools are struggling to meet the new standards and more children are dumping their trays of food rather than eating healthier meals.

SNA complained at the hearing of a decline in school lunch participation since schools began implementing the new requirements and that, for example, schools are having difficulty finding appealing tortillas, biscuits and crackers that meet the new whole grain-rich test.

“Food companies serving the school nutrition industry have worked hard to introduce new foods that  meet the standards and student tastes, but some of these products are simply not available or  affordable for all districts, especially small and rural districts,” said Julia Bauscher, SNA president and director of school and community nutrition services for Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools.

But Muir painted a different picture from a distributor’s point of view after providing fresh produce to 52 rural and urban school districts in Utah, Idaho and western Wyoming, and three Indian reservations in Utah and Idaho.

“We consider ourselves more than just a supplier or bid winner — we are a partner with our school customers,” he said. “Our goal is to be a solution provider through information, training and consultation assisting schools to successfully implement all of the new fruit and vegetable requirements.”

He recounted some of his observations: Schools that made incremental changes are having an easier time complying with the new regulation, and schools with the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program are successfully implementing the new nutrition standards because they have already introduced their students to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The director of food services for Detroit Public Schools, Betti Wiggins, said change is not easy, but that she’s been able to work with food distributors, farmers and others to feed high-quality meals to some 50,000 school children each day. Nine out of 10 school districts already comply with the law, she noted.

 “Change is always a little difficult and, in this case, it’s well worth the effort,” Stabenow said in closing the July 23 hearing.

United continues to be a leading advocate for improving school children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables through a variety of strategies, including more healthful standards for school meals, the Smart Snacks in School standard, the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program and the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative.

Additionally, Muir and other United Fresh members participated in United’s first-ever “Ask the Experts: Produce Solutions Center” at the School Nutrition Association annual conference, held July 13-16 in Boston.

The center brought produce industry veterans together with school nutrition directors from across the country for discussions about ways to provide a wide variety of high-quality produce items to students. United also presented two educational workshops at the conference to help school nutrition directors plan menus, understand seasonality and efficiently add more fresh produce to their schools’ meals.