Cafeteria, school lunch

U.S. agriculture officials announced new nutrition standards for school meals that will limit added sugars for the first time. The Department of Agriculture issued final rules for the program that serves breakfast to more than 15 million students and lunch to nearly 30 million children every year. Limits on added sugars in foods such as cereal, yogurt and flavored milk will start in 2025. By 2027, added sugars will be limited to no more than 10% of total calories per week in the school meals. The new rule also trims sodium in kids' meals.

The U.S. consumer watchdog has found that low-income families typically pay as much as 60 cents per dollar in fees when paying for school lunches electronically. As more schools turn to cashless payment systems, more school districts have contracted with payment processing companies that charge fees of as much as $3.25 per transaction. Though legally there must always be a fee-free option to pay by cash or check, there's rarely transparency around it. Payment companies maintain that school districts may negotiate the fees when they form their contracts.