Federal Nutrition Guidelines
Introduction
The federal government, through Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has a long history of providing nutrition and dietary guidelines for its food and nutrition programs, as well as providing them in an advisory capacity for the population as a whole. This chapter provides background information for Chapter 4’s discussion of the federal government’s food and nutrition programs, many of which rely on the USDA’s nutrition guidelines and advice. Specifically, this chapter discusses the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans and nutrition guidelines relevant to school food programs. Both are developed at the federal level by the USDA. The school food programs are administered in most states by state education agencies through agreements with school food authorities.
The USDA has several agencies within it that work to meet its many mission areas.[1] The division of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services comprises two agencies: the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). CNPP is responsible for developing and promoting the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines.[2] FNS is in charge of the USDA’s food assistance programs, including the school food programs. Each of these will be discussed in turn.
