ScratchWorks Blog, April 2026
By Vanessa Cruz
On January 7th, 2026, the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released with an inviting website, a short memo, and a catchy motto: eat real food. At the same time, school food professionals across the United States were gathered in Austin for the School Nutrition Industry Conference with a closing session hosted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As attendants listened to the USDA presentation, one question surfaced again and again: How will this affect the meals we serve every single day?
Three months later, many of those questions remain unanswered.
In the meantime, ScratchWorks asked our participants about their reactions to the Dietary Guidelines. What we heard was nuanced and complicated.
Overall, there is broad alignment with the direction of the guidelines. In fact, 77.2% of respondents shared a favorable or neutral view. Our participants shared strong enthusiasm for the focus on reducing added sugar and ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), but had concerns about the lack of a unified definition of UPFs. In youth populations, 61.9% of all calories consumed come from ultra-processed foods, which have been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. The FDA and USDA held a joint public comment period to establish a federal definition for ultra-processed foods from July through October 2025, and with the guidance of our Advisory Committee, ScratchWorks submitted our own comment; read it here.
Our participants were also concerned about the protein intake recommendation increasing from 0.8 gram per kilogram to 1.2-1.6 gram per kilogram. Considering the larger public health context, most Americans consume more than the recommended daily intake of protein, even after the proposed increase. Comparatively, less than 15% of American adults meet the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. When we consider adolescents, the fruit and vegetable intake becomes even more dire at less than 8%. The nuance is perhaps best captured in our participants’ own words:
“The direction toward reducing ultra-processed foods and limiting added sugars aligns with the long-term goals our district is already working toward.”
“I am in favor of parts and not in favor of parts, but overall balance is unfavorable. I think the balance of vegetable subgroups is important to variety and exposure. I’m in favor of increased protein but not specifically from animals. Budgets and reimbursement levels need to change to make the guidelines sustainable. We already do so much to build great meals on a tight budget. I’d love portion sizes to go up, but the sodium and sugar and fats and everything is going to double as well. I can’t serve a flavorless hockey puck of blended meat.”
This nuance continues when we asked participants about their confidence to implement potential changes to their school food program*:
- Reducing sugars: 73.7% confident
- Reducing seed oils: 45.6% unconfident
- Reducing ultra-processed foods (UPFs): 42.1% unconfident
- Doubling protein**: 54.4% unconfident
*answer options were confident, neither confident or unconfident, and unconfident– the top answer is shown.
** we asked participants about their confidence to implement double the protein, which is the higher end of the protein recommendation.
Our participants indicated they would feel more confident to make the changes if they had significantly more support and resources. The top areas of support identified were:
- Increased reimbursement funding (93%)
- Flexibility to use USDA entitlement funds for local, whole foods (82.5%)
- A clear definition of ultra-processed foods (78.9%)
These top areas of support mimic our statement about the DGAs we released in early February.
Ultimately, the shift toward more real food in schools is not the result of a singular change; it’s a complex process that requires coordination, investment, and trust in the people doing the work on the ground.
At ScratchWorks, we are ready to be part of that process. As the administration reviews school food nutrition standards, we remain poised to contribute our expertise and on-the-ground experience. Together, we can build a school food system that truly supports the health and well-being of all students.
ScratchWorks is a growing collective, actively in the process of unprocessing school meals.
ScratchWorks is supported thanks to generous funding from the From Now on Fund, Life Time Foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation, Wellness in the Schools, and Whole Foods Market Foundation.