Tag: History of school meals

Following the signing of the National School Lunch Act in 1946, a federally assisted meal program was established to provide nutritious and low-cost or free lunches to children across the nation. While this law expanded access, the notion that all school lunches were free in the 1950s is a common misconception.

In the early 2010s, studies found that millions of American children were consuming excess sodium, saturated fat, and sugar in their school meals. This alarming data provided a critical impetus to answer the question: when did school lunches become healthier? The answer lies in a decades-long effort culminating in key legislative changes and shifting societal attitudes toward child nutrition.