New USDA Study Helps Identify Strategies to Improve Nutrition of School Meals
USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released a study Dec. 2 – “Meeting Total Fat Requirements for School Lunches” – which finds that many school policies and practices are associated with the fat content of meals they serve through the National School Lunch Program, according to a USDA release. An earlier USDA report had found that while most schools met requirements for vitamins, protein, calcium and iron, only one in five schools serve lunches that met the USDA standard for total fat (constituting 30 percent or less of the calories).
”A number of recent studies indicate that one-third of all children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight or obese and we must take immediate steps to improve the nutritional quality of school meals and the health of the school environment,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We have a window of opportunity to make progress on improving the nutrition of school lunches as Congress reauthorizes the Child Nutrition Act, but I also urge schools across the country to embrace the policies and practices identified in this study to help reduce the fat content of school meals and help our children to lead healthier lives.”
School policies and practices linked to lower fat lunches include promotion of fresh fruits and vegetables or locally grown foods, offering low fat dairy products, eliminating vending machines in middle and high schools, and adopting a “nutrient content” or “enhanced food-based” meal planning method. Read the full ERS study at www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR87.
Congress is currently considering reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which provides the outline for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs that serve more than 31 million children in more than 100,000 schools across the country. Administration priorities include eliminating barriers that keep children from participating in school nutrition programs, improving the quality of school meals and the health of the school environment, and enhancing program performance.
A recent Institute of Medicine report commissioned by USDA showed that, on average, American children between the ages of 5 and 18 consume about 720 to 950 empty, discretionary calories per day – several times more than recommended. The study also noted that children are eating far less dark green and dark orange vegetables and fruits than they need, far more refined grains and far too few whole grains, and too few low fat or non-fat dairy products, which puts children at increased risk for a variety of obesity-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure.
Over 632 schools across the country have already implemented many of the practices discussed in the ERS study, and have been recognized through HealthierUS School Challenge. Established in 2004, participating schools are awarded one of four levels of superior performance: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Gold of Distinction. To qualify for the awards, a school must submit a formal application and meet basic criteria set forth by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Schools can complete the application online at www.fns.usda.gov.
The National School Lunch Program serves nutritionally balanced meals to more than 31 million children in 101,000 schools and residential childcare institutions each school day.
