Washington ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of child nutrition standards Monday , enacting a law meant to encourage better eating habits in part by giving the federal government more authority to set standards for food sold in vending machines and elsewhere on school grounds . Among other things , the $ 4.5 billion measure provides more money to poor areas to subsidize free meals and requires schools to abide by health guidelines drafted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture . To help offset the higher cost of including more fruits and vegetables , the bill increases the reimbursement rate for school lunches . The bill is about `` giving our kids the healthy futures they deserve , '' the president said during a bill signing ceremony at a Washington elementary school . `` Right now across the country too many kids do n't have access to school meals . '' Even when they do , he added , too often the meals are n't sufficiently nutritious . As a result , he said , one out of every three children in America is overweight or obese . Some Democrats had objected to the bill because it is funded in part by stripping $ 2.2 billion from the federal food stamp program . Congress also voted over the summer to take money from the program to fund legislation sending money to cash-strapped states to avoid teacher layoffs . The cuts largely negate a spending increase provided to the food stamp program by the 2009 economic stimulus plan . Administration officials reportedly have promised anxious liberals that they will work to find ways to restore the higher funding levels . The measure has been a top priority for first lady Michelle Obama , who has championed it as part of her `` Let 's Move '' initiative to combat child obesity in the United States . `` Had I not been able to get this bill passed , I would be sleeping on the couch , '' the president joked shortly before signing the measure into law . `` We wo n't go into that , '' the first lady said . `` Let 's just say it got done . Do n't have to go down that road . ''
President Obama signs a bill meant to encourage healthier eating habits among children . The measure gives the government more power to set standards for schools . Score: 6