Guest Blog: 25 Facts About School Lunch Programs, Part 2
This week’s blog is a guest blog from Emma Taylor of Accredited Online Colleges. The original blog posted during this year’s National School Lunch Week in October and has been slightly modified to remain current.
For the first part of this blog series, click here.
School lunch programs have gotten a pretty bad reputation over the past few years, as many lack essential nutrients and contain high fat content, empty calories and entirely too much sodium. While there is still a long way to go in making them truly healthy, considerable reform has already been implemented. School districts hope such measures will better serve the needs of K-12 students and the community at large.
Parents and kids should take time to step back and learn the facts about what’s going into their bodies. Though school lunches could definitely be even healthier and more nutritious, there are quite a few positives that you might not know. Here, we share some of the good and the bad to help you make educated and informed decisions.
The annual mean wage of those serving school cafeteria food is $21,450.
That’s not much, and certainly not enough to support a family. In fact, in nearly every state this salary would put a family of four below the poverty line. Working in a cafeteria can also be immensely physically taxing, requiring hours standing, lifting, bending and working with potentially dangerous equipment. So if you haven’t thanked a cafeteria worker lately, make the time to do so.
School lunches must provide a choice of two vegetables and two fruits daily.
Federal law mandates that elementary school cafeterias provide children with a choice between two veggies and two fruits each day. This allows kids to find an option they like more easily and ensures they get the necessary nutrition.
Deep-fried food limited to no more than two portions per week.
Some would argue that there shouldn’t be any fried foods at schools, and new regulations help phase them out. Currently, schools are limited to serving no more than two fried foods a week (often fries), and many cut them out altogether and opt for baked alternatives instead.
A 2010 report showed that 95% of school districts increase whole grains, 90.5% provide more fresh fruits and vegetables, 69% reduce sodium, 66% limit sugars and 51% increase vegetarian options. There may be a long way to go, but it’s important to remember that progress is still being made.
Schools are taking innovative approaches to unhealthy school lunch favorites.
Instead of outright banning pizza and fries, schools (and the companies supplying them) are changing these foods’ preparation. Pizzas are now being made with whole grain crusts and vegetable toppings, and french fries now come baked more often than fried. A viable compromise between the often picky palates of children and the need for schools to provide healthy foods.
Many foods served to children are commodities, and may not be high quality or nutritious.
The USDA purchases surplus foods, like meat and dairy, and provides them to institutions completely gratis, like we mentioned earlier. While budget-friendly, these may not always be the best choices for concocting healthy meals, as many prove high in saturated fat and cholesterol. In recent years, the USDA has been urged to purchase more plant-based commodities, but the system has undergone few changes to date.
Think home-brought lunches are always healthier? While they certainly can be, it’s not always the case. Studies have found that school lunches, on average, provide students with three times as many dairy products, two times as much fruit and seven times as many vegetables as their homemade counterparts.
That’s not to say that sack lunches can’t be healthy, but many students aren’t choosing the best foods, studies show. Kids who get lunch at school often eat more vegetables, milk, milk products and meat than peers packing theirs, resulting in a better balanced diet.
Many schools do not offer free water with lunch.
While students can purchase bottled water out of a vending machine, most schools do not offer actually offer it come lunchtime. This has become a major issue in recent years, and many cafeterias have been prompted to install water fountains or filtered jugs meeting thirsty demands. While students have access to other beverages, water is an essential part of a healthy diet, and can even affect learning and mental performance.
Each school’s wellness policy must include: goals for nutrition, education and physical activity; nutrition guidelines for all foods available on campus; a plan for measuring the effectiveness of all wellness policies; and plans to involve parents, students, the public and the school faculty in the development of new wellness policies.
Referred to as “competitive foods”, these products don’t always fall under federal regulations for healthy noshes. That could soon change. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act requires the federal government to create standards for these, ultimately improving the health of all food options available throughout the day.
The National School Lunch Program operates in nearly 95% of America’s schools.
Additionally, about 85% of schools participate in the National School Breakfast Program. This adds up to 31 million children served daily, and 5 billion lunches a year.
School meals are served in age-appropriate portion sizes.
In every school lunch, portion sizes are established by age and grade groups. In many cafeterias, large a la carte items have been replaced with more practical and health-conscious sizes as well.
Check our November 10 blog for the first part of this two-part series.
Thanks to Emma Taylor with Accredited Online Colleges for being a guest blogger. The original blog can be read here. If you’re interested in being a guest blogger for Central, email marketing@central-products.com.
