As parents, my wife and I raise our kids to be concerned about their health—among a laundry list of other things. When they’re little, we focus on hand washing to ward off germs and prevent illnesses, teeth brushing and flossing for good oral health, activity to ensure energy balance and to keep our kids strong, and making sure they eat more than chicken nuggets at the dinner table. But especially as our kids get older, we have another concern to worry about: the food they have access to during the school day.

In 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act updated nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold as part of the reimbursable meal in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. While we heard a lot in the media about the nutrition guidelines—nutrition standards for school meals have been around for decades—but only recently caught up to nutrition science that meets the needs of our kids. The updated meal guidelines were helpful in addressing the full meal, but for many middle and high school kids across the country, their options go far beyond the traditional school meal. Because of that reality, the 2010 act also did something else; it put in place nutrition guidelines, now known as “Smart Snacks,” for foods that are commonly found in snack bars, school stores, à la carte lines, and vending machines. Whatever you want to call the new guidelines, I for one am pleased with the change and the even better news is that I am not alone.

Recently, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Heart Association released their findings of a poll regarding parents’ opinions of school nutrition standards. Their findings reveal that 72 percent of parents favor federal nutrition standards for school meals and 72 percent of parents also support nutrition standards for school snacks or competitive foods. In addition, 80 percent of parents are concerned about the state of children’s health and furthermore, 74 percent of parents are concerned about childhood obesity.

As parents, it is not enough to simply support the standards—we must also support our local schools in their efforts to transition to healthier meals and snacks in school. We must teach our kids the importance of healthy eating through the consumption of fruits and vegetables so when they are presented these options in the lunch line they are at least receptive to the new foods. As parents, we must join together to support nutrition standards and the school food environment as an extension of the learning experience so that our kids can reach their full potential in school and develop healthy habits for life.

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