Senate panel approves bill to make school lunches tastier

The bipartisan measure approved by a voice vote Wednesday is designed to help schools that say the Obama administration's healthier meal rules are too restrictive.

Leaders of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee introduced the legislation Monday after negotiating an agreement to ease requirements for whole grains and delaying a deadline to cut sodium levels.

School lunch directors who have lobbied against the standards endorsed the deal, saying it would help them plan meals that are more appealing to students.

Schools have long been required to follow government nutrition rules if they accept federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals for low-income students, but the new standards are stricter.

The bill does not spell out what changes would be made, but all parties — including USDA and the School Nutrition Association — have agreed that the department will write rules that scale back the whole grain standards to require that 80 percent of grains on the lunch line must be whole grain rich, or more than half whole grain.