Washington Just Changed School Nutrition. Here’s What You Need to Know.

An Interview with the School Nutrition Association’s Diane Pratt-Heavner

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K-12 foodservice is the second-biggest channel across our customers. And we’ve gone on record saying we believe it’s a powerful one for manufacturers to tap into. 

But with recent news out of Washington, D.C., some folks have been wondering how that will affect K-12 meal programs. The short answer is that changes are on the horizon, though the impacts of recent legislation and other agency decisions aren’t fully clear yet.

What is clear is that nutrition directors and their school districts will be rethinking large portions of their meal programs and revisiting their procurement plans. As they do, they’ll turn to food company partners to find new, creative ways to continue to serve their students. 

And for brands looking to break into K-12, highlighting how your products will fit within new regulations, requirements, and cost constraints can provide nutrition directors with a novel path toward healthful, cost-effective solutions for the kids in their care.

All of this upheaval spurred us to reach out to our friends at the School Nutrition Association, to get their input on what manufacturers should watch for in the coming months.

Diane Pratt-Heavner, Director of Media Relations, called out three major forces that will affect school nutrition programs, and shared advice for how manufacturers can be helpful partners to school districts in this fast-evolving environment.

1. The One Big Beautiful Bill

The One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The 870-page document has implications for school meal programs, but how those changes will ultimately impact students and school districts remains to be seen.

At the individual level, some students will lose access to free and reduced-priced meals. Currently, students can be automatically enrolled in these programs through their family’s participation in SNAP or Medicaid.

As families lose access to these programs, they’ll have to apply to the free or reduced-price meal plan — something that creates confusion and demands time and attention from families.

Pratt-Heavner explains, “We do not have accurate figures on how many children will lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, but we know that certainly some will as a result of this bill.”

‍And the end of automatic enrollment will have knock-on effects for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a program that allows the highest poverty schools and districts to serve free breakfast and lunch at no cost to enrolled students without collecting household applications.

As Pratt-Heavner explains, “The fewer students directly certified, the fewer schools will be eligible for CEP because your Community Eligibility Provision participation is dependent on how many kids are automatically certified for free school meals.”

And these changes at the federal level may create a domino effect that impacts state-run programs.

“Many states have proactively expanded the number of families who can participate in SNAP through a program called broad-based categorical eligibility,” Pratt-Heavner says. “Our concern is that when the states are forced to pick up some of the costs — for the first time ever — associated with running this program, they will realize they don't have the budget to provide those extra services to families.”

So, while school meal programs will continue to feed students, how they do so and what percentage of students can access free or reduced-price meals will certainly shift. 

2. The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission

The next ongoing area of focus is the MAHA Commission’s plan to release new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) that will affect school meal standards. HHS Secretary Kennedy has said he intends to release them in August to go into effect for the coming school year.

This tight deadline creates uncertainty for nutrition directors looking to make purchasing decisions and set menus.

Pratt-Heavner shares that the School Nutrition Association is in contact with Secretaries Kennedy and Rollins (of the USDA) about any potential guideline changes: “SNA [has urged] them to meet with school nutrition professionals, both operators and industry, as they look at potential changes to school meal programs… to learn from our successes. We've got research showing school meals are the healthiest meals that Americans are eating.” 

The potential MAHA Commission changes are a black box at the moment, but again, this is a space where manufacturers can be in communication with K-12 decision-makers, discussing how to support them should they need to change procurement plans quickly, driven by new guidelines released in late summer.

3. New federal regulations for meal standards

In addition to potential announcements expected regarding the DGA in August, there are existing changes to federal regulations already on the horizon.

New school nutrition standards for added sugar went into effect on July 1, and sodium limits will tighten in 2027.

Pratt-Heavner highlights that SNA members are already looking to food company partners for support in meeting these new guidelines, plus whatever may be around the corner with food dyes and additives.

She points to effective partnerships SNA members have seen in places like Arizona and Texas, where state bills have introduced new restrictions on the use of food dyes and certain additives.

“The good news we’re hearing from our members [in relevant states]....is that not a lot of their menu items are impacted, and that their partners in K-12 have done a good job of introducing naturally dyed alternatives,” she says.

‍Districts will continue to seek support from food companies as guidelines shift. Brands that reformulate with clean labels and provide ingredient transparency will stand out in this environment.

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While the K-12 channel is facing volatility at the moment, it’s still a place where brands can see success in doing the vital work of providing healthy meals for kids. 

And at a time of uncertainty, nutrition directors and K-12 decision-makers are looking for additional support from their food company partners. The brands that step up and offer creative solutions to fit new guidelines and cost constraints are the ones that can make a real difference in the channel.

We’ll continue to watch how things develop in the coming months, and we encourage you to check SNA’s website, schoolnutrition.org, for their ongoing analysis and updates.