How Competitive Foods in Schools Impact Student Health, School Meal Programs, and Students from Low-Income Families

Improving the dietary intake of our nation’s children is of critical importance given that
one-third of school-age children are overweight or obese.2 The school nutrition
environment, including school meals and competitive foods, has appropriately received
great attention because children consume, on average, one-third of their daily caloric
intake at school.3 This brief is part of a series of issue briefs about Child Nutrition
Reauthorization from FRAC. The first brief in the series addressed school meal quality and
access.4 The current brief focuses on competitive foods, which are widely available in
schools, largely exempt from federal nutrition standards, and have a negative impact on
the health and well-being of all students, especially students from low-income families.