Along with Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, First Lady Michelle Obama supports changes to school lunches and the items offered in snack vending machines. She’s always been an advocate for healthy nutrition and physical exercise, and new Smart Snacks in School standards fit perfectly with her stance of providing school-aged students with only healthy food and beverage choices.
The changes go along with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. It requires the USDA to implement several new features in school wellness policies. In addition to setting goals related to nutrition and physical activity, schools must inform parents of the school’s wellness policy and how it’s implemented. 
The new regulations will revamp lunch options and improve food marketing in school. According to Mrs. Obama, unhealthy foods, including snacks and beverages, at school undermine the hard work parents do at home. Healthy eating requires changes to the options that are available during meal time and in the school’s snack and soda vending machine.
Parents, educators and vending machine owners can learn more about the new policy when they visit the School Nutrition Environment and Wellness Resources website. Here, observers find more details about new nutrition guidelines and learn ways to implement the food marketing changes that affect new and existing food and drink vending machines.