Last week the House passed the Senate version of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act; a reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Program. And...on the face of it, that's a good thing. As a mom it's important to me that my children get a healthy selection of nutritious food when they purchase lunch at school and we all know that a well fed child is better able to pay attention in class and to make better progress than a child who is hungry. Commonly noted provisions of the bill include:

• $4.5 billion additional dollars to improve the nutritional value of meals served in public schools.
• New criteria to provide more "good stuff" like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and to cut down on sugars and fats in the meals provided.
• New criteria to expand the number of families and schools that can participate in free and low cost lunches (although there are currently 31 million children participating in some aspect of the program today).
• $40 million Farm to School program has been added and participation is encouraged in order to provide fresh, local produce.
• Within two years the USDA will be allowed to mandate what goes into meals served at public schools as well as what types of food can be sold elsewhere on campus.

What is less well known though are these less than desirable effects of the legislation.

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