0
What’s the state of American school lunch?
By Deborah Lehmann —
School food has gotten better, but cafeterias have a long way to go. That’s the message in a supplement to this month’s issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
The special section discusses the findings of the Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which collected data on the nutritional content of food offered and served in school lunchrooms, as well as the presence of competitive foods in schools and students’ body mass index. Data is from the 2004-2005 school year, but results were just released this November.
The study, the third of its kind, found improvements from the 1998-1999 school year. The number of schools meeting USDA standards for saturated fat increased significantly, up from 15 percent to 34 percent for elementary schools, and up from 13 percent to 24 percent for middle and high schools.
Still, that leaves two-thirds of schools that serve meals with excessive amounts of saturated fat. And when it came to total fat, the study found that schools haven’t improved at all. In both periods, only 23 percent of elementary schools and 13 percent of secondary schools met the USDA guidelines for fat.
Some of the study’s other findings:
- Only 6 percent of schools met the complete USDA nutrition standards
- None of the schools in the sample met the sodium guidelines
- Almost half of schools did not serve a fresh fruit or vegetable as part of their reimbursable lunch menu on a daily basis
- Over 40 percent of lunch entrees were commercially prepared, and these foods were the ones with the highest levels of fat, calories and sodium.
- Vending machines were present in one-third of elementary schools, 87 percent of middle schools and almost every single high school
- 40 percent of students at public schools were overweight or obese
The supplement in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association noted that schools face “serious and persistent” budget constraints, and that fruits, vegetables and whole grains do cost more. And even if you solve the budget problem, you can lead a kid to a carrot, but you can’t make him eat it. The journal also pointed out the need for increased training and technical assistance for cafeteria managers and cooks, as well as nutrition education in the classroom.
Latest Comments: