A report from No Kid Hungry Virginia shows a significant increase in school breakfast participation in the state, with 388,172 students eating breakfast on campus during the 2024-25 academic year. The Breakfast After the Bell initiative, providing breakfast in classrooms and via kiosks, has helped overcome barriers such as late transportation and social stigma, and, officials say, has contributed to a drop in chronic absenteeism.

Nutrition professor Lindsey Smith Taillie says that many state efforts to restrict ultraprocessed foods in schools are ineffective because narrow definitions, such as Arizona's focus on a few additives, leave most packaged snacks untouched. Smith Taillie writes that broader approaches like California's law, paired with investments in school meal programs and better access to minimally processed foods, are needed to improve children's diets.

Each year, Heath Wilson, the custodian at Cedar Ridge Elementary School in Arkansas, transforms the cafeteria into a festive winter wonderland during Thanksgiving break. The tradition, now in its 34th year, features 14 Christmas trees, sparkling lights and elaborate holiday scenes.

About 1 million children in the US became obese during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the obesity rate from 21% to nearly 23%, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics. The study found that minority and disadvantaged youth, as well as those already overweight, were particularly affected.

Three-quarters of US consumers are actively trying to reduce or avoid sugar, according to an International Food Information Council survey, with most opting to limit rather than completely cut out the sweetener. Strategies include choosing water over caloric beverages, which has remained the top choice for the sixth consecutive survey, as well as increased reliance on the Nutrition Facts Panel and labels like "reduced sugar" and "sugar-free." The findings indicate that consumer interest in sugar reduction remains strong, even though overall concern has decreased since its 2015 peak.

The Supreme Court has ordered the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a decision that upheld a New York law eliminating religious exemptions for school vaccinations. The order comes after the Supreme Court's decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which affirmed parents' rights to challenge school curricula on religious grounds. The Supreme Court has declined to review a case involving the removal of books from a Texas public library, leaving in place a ruling that makes it harder to challenge such removals.