Bibb County School District will fully implement USDA new school meal standards by 2027

Less sodium and fewer sugars are two school meal standard changes students will see once the new menu is fully implemented by the 2027-2028 school year.

BIBB COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Less sodium and fewer sugars are two school meal standard changes students will see once the new menu is fully implemented by the 2027-2028 school year.

The Executive Director of School Nutrition for the Bibb County School District, Condus Shuman, says the district’s efforts are underway to meet the new requirements.

“We’ve already been working with our recipes and working with some of our vendors to look at how we can decrease those sugars and sodium so that by 2027 we will be compliant with all of our meal patterns,” Shuman said.

In the 2025-2026 school year, students in Middle Georgia and across the country will see more items like breakfast cereals, yogurt and flavored milk in the cafeteria line. Shuman said, right now, the district is working with dietitians and vendors to reduce the amount of sodium and sugars in recipes. U.S.D.A officials say the amount must be less than 10 percent by the 2027-2028 school year.

Shuman says these changes could help in fighting diseases like childhood obesity.

“Many of our students are high in obesity,” she said. “80% of the children in this country eat more sodium then what’s required of them.”

Octavia Gant, a parent of a sixth grader who attends a Bibb County middle school, says these healthy changes are welcomed and that they will only benefit students.

“It makes me proud to see that the system is working with us to make that our children is eating properly, not just in the school system but to make sure the parents will make sure that their kids will do that at home,” Gant said.

Shuman says one of the only drawbacks she can foresee is convincing students.

“Our biggest challenge will be able to get the student to get used to that change and taste because they do consume most of their meals here,” she said.

She added she hopes they’ll come around after being taught the health benefits.