Rep. Rodney Davis says state dinners, like the one held for
French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday night, should meet the same strict dietary guidelines the government imposes on school lunches.
Hollande's dinner packed a whopping 2,500 calories, with 153 grams of fat. School lunches are limited to 850 calories for high school students, and fewer than that in younger grades.
The Illinois Republican has a problem with those restrictions because he says they make it difficult for school lunchroom managers to prepare a proper variety of meals that meet the rules while also coming up with meals that children will eat.
"They're forcing kids to basically throw food away they are not going to eat. And many more children are losing opportunities to have a good, nutritious meal," Davis said Wednesday on
Fox News Channel's "Your World with Neil Cavuto."
First lady
Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" campaign and new USDA rules have brought about the changes. They are based on the increasing obesity problem in the United States.
But Davis noted that the National School Lunch Association reports that 1 million fewer students are participating in the school lunch program since new regulations were put in place. Many school districts who used to make a profit on their school lunch programs are now in the red, Davis said.
Davis' proposed law, the School Nutrition Fairness Act, was introduced in December and also would apply to the White House and USDA cafeterias.
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