By Yazmin Avila,
Staff Writer.
The “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, under the Trump administration, just made updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. On Jan. 7, 2026, the notorious food pyramid was reintroduced, alongside other changes to recommendations.
The change that was most discussed was the inverted nature of the new pyramid. The old food pyramid prioritized grains as the base, then vegetables and fruits, and the foods that were least recommended to eat large servings of were meat, fish, eggs, milk, beans, nuts, fats, oils and sweets. The new pyramid, however, has practically flipped the previous pyramid. Foods that were previously recommended to be eaten in small amounts are now the foundation of the pyramid while fruits and vegetables stay in the middle and grains are now in the smallest tier.
This new pyramid is designed to help reduce the amount of processed and sugary foods, promoting whole foods in return. It also serves as the new face of dietary standards, but how will this impact students in schools? Schools are required to follow federal dietary guidelines. At the moment, schools are still following the standards from 2025. With the new standards, school menus will now be able to include whole milk with the rest of the milk options. Schools were previously required to have only low-fat options, but now they will be able to order whole milk as of fall 2026.
Some Americans are feeling skeptical about how much this will really change our diets. Junior Eva Savin y Juarez said, “I don’t personally believe that this will necessarily change [Americans’] diets, it’s just another option.” It is important to keep in mind that these are only recommendations for Americans and will not force anyone to change their diet. English teacher John Gregory also feels doubtful about the recommendations changing people’s minds: “Our diets will stay horrible anyway.”
Whether these new recommendations will prove to be effective in promoting student health is still yet to be seen. There is time yet until the “Make America Healthy Again” commission is finished with implementing new standards.
