In an effort to inform USDA as it updates nutrition standards for foods and beverages that are sold outside of the school meal programs, and to better understand how standards might affect student health and school finances, the Kids’ Safe & Healthful Foods Project and the Health Impact Project, both collaborations of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, worked with Upstream Public Health, a nonprofit research and policy organization, to conduct a health impact assessment (HIA). The HIA found that higher national nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold in schools could help students maintain a healthy weight and help schools increase food service revenue.
This is the first HIA in the U.S. to inform a federal rule.