School Meals

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink -- or so the old saying goes. That wisdom might also apply to school children required under law to be served healthier lunches.

You may recall that Congress passed a law mandating more fruit and vegetables in school lunches, in an effort to stem the alarming rise in child obesity. It banned past high-calorie favorites and replaced them with green beans and kale.

Any parent who has tried to persuade a child to eat their vegetables could have predicted the result. In this case, University of Vermont researchers produced a study that confirms the suspicions of school officials – many students are putting the fruits and vegetables they're now required to take straight into the trash, consuming fewer than they did before the law took effect.

Photographic evidence

The study reached that conclusion by using digital imaging to capture students' lunch trays before and after they exited the lunch line. The researchers says it is also one of the first studies to compare fruit and vegetable consumption before and after the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was passed.

It concludes fruit and vegetable consumption at school has declined since the mandate was put in place in 2012, while waste of these food items has increased 56%.

"The basic question we wanted to explore was: does requiring a child to select a fruit or vegetable actually correspond with consumption," said Sarah Amin, Ph.D., a researcher in Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont and lead author on the study. "The answer was clearly no. It was heartbreaking to see so many students toss fruits like apples into the trash right after exiting the lunch line."

The research team installed cameras over lunch lines at two elementary schools in the northeast and photographed lunch trays before the law went into effect. The researchers returned on multiple occasions after lunch lines began serving up the mandated fruits and vegetables.

Kids like processed food

Amin and her colleagues also looked at what kinds of fruits and vegetables children selected before the stricter mandates went into effect. They found that kids liked processed fruits and vegetables such as the tomato paste on pizza or 100% fruit juice instead of an orange or apple.

The researchers conclude those previous options should be returned to the school lunch menu. They also offered up these suggestions to encourage children to eat a healthier lunch:

• Cut up fresh vegetables and serve them with dip
• When you serve orange and apples, cut them into slices, don't serve them whole
• Adopt trendy farm-to-school programs that make it “cool” to eat heathier, fresh food
• Find ways to encourage parents to serve more fruits and vegetables at home, instead of grabbing take out for dinner each night

Amin says policymakers shouldn't give up on the mandates, believing they will eventually take hold, especially if schools make some adjustments in how they implement them.

"An important message is that guidelines need to be supplemented with other strategies to enrich fruit and vegetable consumption,” she said. “We can't give up hope yet."

Obesity trends in children have been on the rise in recent years. Some states have very loose laws when it comes to what they serve their children in school lunchrooms, but others are adopting more rigid standards to try and provide healthy options for students. Massachusetts is an example of the latter, and after a year of implementation many schools are getting on board.

Food standards within schools have been a tricky subject, since they are subject to change depending on what part of the country you live in. While some states have good standards set in place for school lunches, they may not be up to par on their standards for competitive foods, which are the types of snacks and drinks that may be offered in vending machines, school stores, or at fundraising events.

New standards

In 2012, Massachusetts implemented new standards in their schools in order to ensure that competitive foods were healthier. At the time, many schools were not performing up to the new standards: only 13 percent of competitive middle schools and 28 percent of high schools were already compliant with the new legislation.

Many people were unsure about how Massachusetts’ schools would react to the changes. Completely adapting to new food standards is bound to take some time, and many schools and students may have been against the change, due to matters such as cost, taste, effort, etc. Jessica Hoffman, who is an associate professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at Northeastern University, decided to conduct a study to see how many schools were able to adapt.

Hoffman and her team visited 74 middle schools and high schools in 37 Massachusetts school districts over an 18-month period. They collected data on the competitive foods that were being offered after the legislative changes, including brand names, packaging, and serving size.

Surprising turnaround

The researchers found that the new legislation was adapted very quickly in Massachusetts schools. After just one year, middle schools that complied with the new standards jumped from 13 percent to 69 percent. High schools showed an even more drastic improvement, jumping from 28 percent to 80 percent. This turnaround was completely unexpected due to the strictness of the new standards. Hoffman went so far as to say that they were “some of the strictest standards in the whole country”.

So why did this change come so quickly? Is it that easy for schools to change their nutritional strategies to make things healthier? Apparently so. Hoffman notes that changes to beverages made a big impact in schools.

“It’s easier to make the changes in beverages because categorically things are compliant or not compliant… For example, the sugar-sweetened beverages are easy to recognize and eliminate,” she said. The new state regulations also mandated that only non-fat or low-fat milk could be served, and that fruits and vegetables must be offered wherever food products were sold. This gives students a healthy option to turn to wherever they decide to eat.

The researchers stress that other states would do well to learn from the new standards that Massachusetts has implemented. Doing so might go a long way toward curbing obesity trends in the country. The full study has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

America's students will be offered healthier food options during the school day, thanks to the Agriculture Department's (USDA) new " Smart Snacks in School" nutrition standards.

"Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Parents and schools work hard to give our youngsters the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong, and providing healthy options throughout school cafeterias, vending machines and snack bars will support their great efforts."

Establishing nutrition standards

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires USDA to establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools -- beyond the federally-supported meals programs. The the new nutrition standards, reflect USDA's consideration and response to the nearly 250,000 comments received on the proposal earlier this year.

"Smart Snacks in School" balances science-based nutrition guidelines with practical and flexible solutions to promote healthier eating on campus, drawing on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine and existing voluntary standards already implemented by thousands of schools around the country, as well as healthy food and beverage offerings already available in the marketplace.

Nutrition highlights

The "Smart Snacks in School" nutrition standards include:

• More of the foods that should be encouraged. Like the new school meals, the standards require healthier foods, more whole grains, low fat dairy, fruits, vegetables and leaner protein.
• Less of the foods that should be avoided. Food items are lower in fat, sugar, and sodium and provide more of the nutrients kids need.
• Targeted standards. Allowing variation by age group for factors such as portion size and caffeine content.
• Flexibility for traditions. Preserving the ability for parents to send their kids to school with homemade lunches or treats for activities such as birthday parties, holidays, and other celebrations; and allowing schools to continue traditions like fundraisers and bake sales.
• Ample time for implementation. Schools and food and beverage companies will have an entire school year to make the necessary changes, and USDA will offer training and technical assistance every step of the way.
• Reasonable limitations on applying the standards. Ensuring that standards affect only foods that are sold on school campus during the school day. Foods sold at after-school sporting events or other activities will not be subject to these requirements.
• Flexibility for state and local communities. Allowing significant local and regional autonomy by only establishing minimum requirements for schools. States and schools that have stronger standards than what is being proposed will be able to maintain their own policies.

Students heading back to school will be getting twice the amount of vegetables and fruits on their meal trays, as well as more whole grains, and less salt and unhealthy fats. 

The updated school meal standards, unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in January, have been highly praised by health and education groups, including the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. The standards set calorie maximums for the first time and lower calorie minimums to better ensure that school meals address obesity, as well as hunger. 

"The new school meal standards are one of the most important measures to promote children’s health in decades," said Center for Science in the Public Interest director of nutrition policy Margo G. Wootan. "With one out of every three children in America overweight or obese, 31 million children eating school lunch, and 15 years since the last update, it was time for a change. School food service professionals are working hard to implement the new standards, and they need the support of parents, teachers, administrators, and food manufacturers." 

A job for everyone 

Parents can help by reinforcing healthy eating at home, and encouraging their kids to try the new menu options, says CSPI. Teachers can try the new school lunches and speak supportively about them with students. School administrators can support the program by showing leadership and support for the programs and help ensure the new standards are fully implemented. State child nutrition programs can continue to support school efforts and provide ideas for menus and recipes. And companies can produce products with more whole grains and less salt. 

The updates to school meals were required by Congress in the bipartisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in late 2010. The law also provides additional funding for school meals through several provisions, including the first increase in reimbursement rates (above inflation) in years and reasonable pricing requirements for school lunches and a la carte items. 

Beginning October 1, schools will be eligible to receive an additional six cents for each healthy lunch they serve.

America’s school-aged children will have twice the amounts of fruits and vegetables on their school lunch trays, as well as more whole grains, and less sodium and trans fat, under the new nutrition standards for school meals unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite heavy lobbying by the food industry and Congressional interference, the new standards are the best ever, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“The new school meal standards are one of the most important advances in nutrition in decades,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. “They’re much needed, given high childhood obesity rates and the poor state of our children’s diets.”

Approximately 32 million children eat school lunches and breakfasts, providing half of many children’s daily calories, according to USDA. The standards released yesterday were mandated by Congress in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, signed into law by President Obama in late 2010.

"This isn’t just about our kids’ health. Studies have shown that our kids’ eating habits can actually affect their academic performance as well," First Lady Michelle Obama said at a ceremony at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., where the new standards were released.  "Anyone who works with kids knows that they need something other than chips and soda in their stomachs if they're going to focus on math and science, right?  Kids can’t be expected to sit still and concentrate when they’re on a sugar high, or when they’re stuffed with salty, greasy food -- or when they’re hungry."

In the next month or two, USDA will propose regulations setting nutrition standards for the rest of the foods sold in schools, including through vending machines, school stores, and the a la carte foods sold in the cafeteria alongside the USDA-reimbursed meal.

Pizza protected

Although health groups praise the new standards, food industry lobbyists got Congress to prevent USDA from limiting French fries and ensure that pizza counts as a serving of vegetables due to its tomato paste.

“USDA, states, school officials, food manufacturers, food service workers, and parents need to work together to help all schools meet the new standards,” Wootan said.

The rules set calorie maximums for the first time and lower calorie minimums to better ensure that school meals address obesity, as well as hunger. All milk sold in schools will have to be low-fat or fat-free. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will provide schools with additional funding, training, model menus and recipes, healthy product specifications for commodities, and more frequent reviews to ensure that school systems comply with the new standards.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a proposed rule to update the nutrition standards for meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

The new proposed meal requirements will raise standards for the first time in fifteen years and will make "critical changes" to school meals and help improve the health and nutrition of nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day.

"The United States is facing an obesity epidemic and the crisis of poor diets threatens the future of our children and our nation," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "With many children consuming as many as half their daily calories at school, strengthening nutritional standards is an important step in the Obama administration's effort to combat childhood obesity and improve the health and well-being of all our kids."

More nutritious

The proposed changes to school meal standards, which would add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk to school meals, are based on recommendations released in October 2009 by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM) and presented in the report, School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children. Schools would also be required to limit the levels of saturated fat, sodium, calories, and trans fats in meals. A comparison of the proposed nutrition standards can be viewed here.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act gives schools and communities new tools to meet the challenge of providing more nutritious food including increasing school lunch reimbursements by six cents per meal, and increasing technical assistance.

Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says the new standards "represent an enormous improvement over the status quo." In a statement on the CSPI Website, Wootan says "capping calories, limiting french fries, and reducing salt will all help America’s school children avoid unnecessary weight gain and diet-related diseases." And, she says, "Requiring school lunches to provide more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables will teach kids healthy eating habits that may last a lifetime."

Partnership

School meal programs are a partnership between USDA, State agencies and local schools, and USDA says it will work with schools and communities to help improve meals so that they are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

"Raising a healthier generation of kids will require hard work and commitment of a host of partners," said Vilsack. "We understand that these improved meal standards may present challenges for some school districts, but the new law provides important new resources, technical assistance and flexibility to help schools raise the bar for our kids."

According to government data, almost 32 percent of children 6 to 19 years of age are overweight or obese; the number of obese children in this age range has trebled in the last few decades. These children are more likely to have risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes.