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IRON MOUNTAIN -- The Iron Mountain and Bishop Baraga School administrators began their first steps towards the USDA's new nutritional standards.

The standards are aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of 32 million kids nationwide.  

"We want to eliminate the preservatives from the food and give our kids a good running chance at their education," explains Bishop Baraga food nutrition director Jenna Zwick.

In the USDA press release, First Lady Michelle Obama said "When we send our kids to school, we expect that they won't be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we try to keep them from eating at home." 

New standards include: 

- Offering both fruits and vegetables daily
- Only offering fat-free or low-fat milk
- Limiting calories and portion size to children's age
- Reducing saturated fat, trans fat and sodium 

"It makes me, as the superintendent of the schools and an educator, feel proud that Iron Mountain's embraced it and gone a little above and beyond for the health and fitness of our students," said Iron Mountain School Superintendent Tom Jayne.  

In addition to the standards, the two schools added a salad bar to the cafeteria and began steaming all of their food. Also, rather than eliminate all drink machines completely, the school replaced all their sugary beverages with healthier alternatives.