<\/p>\n
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, helps serve lunch with cafeteria manager Samantha Atkins-Estrada and Austin ISD Executive Director of Food Service and Warehouse Operations Ryan Mikolayciok during a tour of the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
When U.S. Health Secretary Robert\u00a0F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> visited Austin Independent School District on Friday to learn more about the district\u2019s school lunch program, parents protested his \u201cvery unhealthy\u201d views and lack of support for schools.<\/p>\n Kennedy, who oversees the federal Department of Health and Human Services,\u00a0toured the cafeteria of Cunningham Elementary in South Austin as part of his efforts to promote whole foods and\u00a0healthy school lunch programs<\/a>.\u00a0While there, he celebrated lawmakers’ recent efforts to boost the Make America Health Again, or MAHA movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The visit sparked backlash and concern from\u00a0campus\u00a0families, about 30 of whom marched outside Cunningham to protest his anti-vaccination\u00a0views and other health policies that many medical experts say aren\u2019t based in science.\u00a0<\/p>\n During a tour of Cunningham\u2019s cafeteria, Ryan Mikolaycik, Austin\u00a0ISD\u2019s executive director of food services and warehouse operations, described how the district\u2019s decade-long food service initiative is unique in prioritizing locally-sourced foods, low waste and preparing as much of a meal \u201cscratch,\u201d or on-campus, as possible. He said the district reduces waste and costs by cutting down on the number of containers and utensils given out in each meal.<\/p>\n U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, listens to Austin ISD Executive Director of Food Service and Warehouse Operations Ryan Mikolayciok and AISD Executive Chef Diane Grodek during a tour of the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman Sarah Espiritu, center, demonstrates outside Cunningham Elementary School during a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, Kennedy toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. washes his hands before helping to serve lunch during a tour of the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. puts on his apron before helping to serve lunch during a tour of the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits students during lunch in the cafeteria at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. He toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits students during lunch in the cafeteria at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. He toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman A protester who asked to be identified only as J.R. demonstrates outside Cunningham Elementary School during a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, Kennedy toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman Austin ISD Director of Food Service Operations Linley Danner hangs a poster in the cafeteria ahead of a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, Kennedy toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, arrives for a visit at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, he toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, arrives for a visit at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, he toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. greets Principal Stacy Foss as he arrives for a visit at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, he toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman Catharine Wall demonstrates outside Cunningham Elementary School during a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, Kennedy toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, listens to Austin ISD Executive Director of Food Service and Warehouse Operations Ryan Mikolayciok and AISD Executive Chef Diane Grodek during a tour of the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tours the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman The lunch menu is displayed in the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits students during lunch in the cafeteria at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. He toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman Jenny Medford demonstrates outside Cunningham Elementary School during a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, Kennedy toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, listens to Austin ISD Executive Director of Food Service and Warehouse Operations Ryan Mikolayciok during a tour of the kitchen at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Kennedy visited the campus to discuss federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits students during lunch in the cafeteria at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. He toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n But\u00a0Mikolaycik also raised a concern that that the federal government only reimburses the district about $4.50 per meal.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat has to cover labor, equipment,\u201d Mikolaycik said. \u201cIt really shrinks down to 30% of that goes to food. Its $1.25 per meal and that includes a protein, a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mikolaycik’s comment about costs came in response to Kennedy’s question about whether the district regularly served foods like chicken with sauces and without breading. Kennedy nodded as he listened but did not directly respond to the concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Friday, district officials\u00a0showed Kennedy a frito pie, steamed broccoli, berries, apples, salads, peppers and cucumbers that students could choose from for lunch. Kennedy touted the food program at Cunningham as a model for other schools and said that American children aren\u2019t healthy enough.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits students during lunch in the cafeteria at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. He toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not because American kids suddenly got indolent or lazy or hungry,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cIt\u2019s because we\u2019re poisoning them at a mass scale.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The district could have\u00a0invited the health secretary to any school\u00a0in Austin ISD to showcase the food service program, because the strategy is district-wide, Mikolaycik said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason we\u2019re able to do more is because we have a larger team, which allows us to procure the foods,\u201d Mikolaycik\u00a0said. \u201cWe have a chef. We have a dietitian. Some small districts don\u2019t have that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Over the past 10 years, the district has worked to source ingredients from local or regional farms and shifted to making some items on campus when practical, Austin ISD\u2019s Chief\u00a0Operations Officer Christine Steenport said. With more funding, the district could do even more, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Agriculture develops the food pyramid and school lunch guidelines but collaborates with HHS. Kennedy has taken a special interest in healthy school lunches as part of his\u00a0MAHA\u00a0initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n The health secretary also expressed support Friday for Texas’ own 2025\u00a0MAHA law<\/a>, which required food manufacturers to put a warning label on products made with certain additives and dyes. Kennedy joined Gov. Greg Abbott last August at the legislation\u2019s signing.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re getting the food dyes out of the school lunches, the toxins,\u201d Kennedy said. Children are unhealthy \u201cbecause they were eating bad foods.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Vegetables are offered in the lunch line at Cunningham Elementary School in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy during a visit to the campus.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n School lunches are generally much healthier than they were 20 years ago, and programs like the one in Austin ISD provide even more benefit to students, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association, a national nonprofit that advocates for workers in the school nutrition industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cKids are far more likely to try an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable if they\u2019re involved in growing it,\u201d\u00a0Pratt-Heavner said.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s school lunches and breakfasts meet whole grain and sodium limits, but often aren\u2019t prepared wholly on campus because of cost, time, space, equipment and personnel constraints faced by school districts, she said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Protein\u00a0\u2014 which was heavily emphasized in the newly revised food pyramid, released last month\u00a0\u2014 also tends to be more expensive,\u00a0Pratt-Heavner said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which writes school lunch standards, hasn\u2019t yet released new lunch standards in response to the\u00a0health guidelines.<\/p>\n For millions of Texas students, the quality of a school lunch is\u00a0tremendously important because they rely on that in-school meal to fill them up. Feeding America estimated that in 2023 that almost 1.7 million Texas children experienced food insecurity.\u00a0 Last year,\u00a0public\u00a0schools served on average about 3.2 million free lunches and 1.7 million free breakfasts per day, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. The federal government reimbursed Texas for $2.8 billion for school nutrition.<\/p>\n Parents protest Kennedy\u2019s visit<\/p>\n Sarah Espiritu demonstrates outside Cunningham Elementary School during a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Austin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. During the visit, Kennedy toured the school\u2019s kitchen facilities and spoke about federal dietary guidelines and nutrition policy.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n During Kennedy\u2019s tour inside Cunningham Elementary, a group of\u00a030\u00a0parents and community members protested his visit outside the school.\u00a0They booed and yelled \u201cshame\u201d as two unmarked cars that they assumed carried Kennedy drove out of the parking lot at the end of his visit. Only a small handful of parents agreed to let their children be photographed by media as part of the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Some parents said they wished Austin ISD had declined the visit, while others said\u00a0they felt like the district and school were trying to navigate a difficult situation. The federal department reached out to Austin ISD and asked to visit, according to the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n Julia Ross, who loves Cunningham for her fourth grader, felt angry that Kennedy came to the school for what felt to her like a photo opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so disingenuous for them to claim credit for a program that\u2019s thriving in spite of lack of support,\u201d Ross said. \u201cSchools are in survival mode. They\u2019re\u00a0spread so thin. They\u2019re having to make impossible decisions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Karan Shirk kept her grandson home from prekindergarten at Cunningham on Friday because of the secretary\u2019s visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe stands, to many of us, for things that are very unhealthy and very unsavory and very frightening,\u201d Shirk said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Health and medical experts find Kennedy\u00a0controversial because of his longtime anti-vaccine beliefs, including a claim widely debunked by medical research that vaccines cause autism.<\/p>\n Though Kennedy on Friday said \u201cwe encourage people to comply with the vaccine schedule,\u201d last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0\u2014 which falls under the Kennedy\u2019s department\u00a0\u2014 removed seven immunizations from its universal recommendations for children. <\/a><\/p>\n These vaccines\u00a0\u2014 which include immunizations for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, COVID-19 and the flu\u00a0\u2014 are now only recommended for children at high risk of serious illness, which runs contrary to guidance from the American Academy\u00a0of\u00a0Pediatrics<\/a>. The CDC also labeled some vaccines as requiring \u201cshared decision making\u201d rather than \u201crequired,\u201d which is also contrary to academy. \u00a0Funding for vaccine research has been slashed under Kennedy\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Kennedy appeared at a press conference in September with President Donald Trump claiming that acetaminophen, a pain reliever found in Tylenol, could cause autism in babies if taken by pregnant mothers<\/a>. This claim was widely criticized by doctors and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists<\/a>, a professional association.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n