By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album
Reviewed by Linda Bobroff, PhD, RD, LD/N, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida
When it comes to America’s school lunch program, the nation has recently witnessed a lot of “food fights.” In response to concerns about nutrition and childhood obesity, Congress recently overhauled school lunch standards.
What are the Changes?
Some of these new rules are still making their way to your child’s lunch table, but many of them have already gone into effect, with changes having started in 2012. The biggest adjustments involve requiring all students to select a fruit or vegetable, increasing fruit and vegetable serving sizes, and changing to whole grain rather than refined grain products.
Vegetable variety has also been increased to add more vegetables rich in nutrients, such as green leafy and orange vegetables. Your children may have noticed that full-fat milk is no longer offered, and that salt content of foods is being reduced. They may not realize that the foods in their cafeteria no longer contain trans fats, which are banned because of their negative effects on blood cholesterol levels.
To some, these changes may sound pretty uncontroversial. After all, who could argue with our schools providing healthier foods to children? Well, various industries have opposed the changes for various reasons, and the new standards are a concern to some people because they tend to cost more to implement than traditional high-fat, high-sodium, and low-fiber cafeteria lunches. In addition, when the changes were first made, some media outlets reported that students didn’t like the new lunches and had stopped buying them, or that waste was skyrocketing.
More Waste? Maybe Not
So what’s the real story? Two recent studies take a closer look at student responses to new school meals. In one, researchers compared plate waste (the amount of food thrown away) at four low-income elementary schools before and after the change in nutrition standards. They found that the children threw away plenty of food both before and after the change, but that there was no increase in waste after the new standards were put in place.
In fact, more children were eating fruit than had eaten it before (because all children are now required to choose a fruit or vegetable when receiving a tray). And more vegetables were also being eaten, likely due to the larger serving sizes.
Initial Resistance, But Students Adjusted
In the second study, school administrators and food service staff from 500 elementary schools across the country were polled about student responses to the new school lunches. It’s important to note that this was an opinion poll, and did not involve actually measuring plate waste or surveying the students themselves. However, although fully half of the respondents agreed that students initially complained about the changed lunches, about 70% said the children like them now.
Differences by Type of School
The new lunches were least popular in rural districts, with urban and suburban children feeling more positive. Staff at poorer schools actually said more students were buying school lunch than had been before the changes were put in place. They also said that it seemed as though the students were eating more of the food than they used to.
But staff at higher-income schools reported a decrease in the number of students buying lunch. This is in line with government figures, which show a small decrease in school lunch program participation since the changes, largely among students who pay full price for lunch.
Keep that Pizza!
Overall, this survey of school principals and food service administrators found that acceptance of the new lunches is quite reasonable, at least according to school staff. Though there may have been some initial resistance, these administrators now perceive that their young students have adjusted to the healthier fare. (However, staff consistently noted more student complaints at schools that had dropped pizza from their menus, although they had no problem with pizza that was changed to be more healthy. Gotta have that pizza, it seems!)
Nutritionists know that changes in eating habits often come slowly, especially where children are concerned. It is well known that it can take many exposures for young children to accept a new food, for instance. So, it would have been a bit surprising if there had been no pushback at all after the change, especially among younger children.
While it’s worth noting that both of these studies were of elementary schools only, these findings suggest that the new standards are not causing excess waste or mass rejection of lunches. Just hang on to the (healthier) pizza!
(Photo credit: 20111019-FNS-RBN-1694 by US Department of Agriculture. CC BY 2.0. Cropped.)
References:
Cohen, J. F. W., Richardson, S. Parker, E., Catalono, P. J., & Rimm, E. B. (2104). Impact of the New U.S. Department of Agriculture School Meal Standards on Food Selection, Consumption, and Waste. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 46(4), 388-394. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.11.013
Jalonock, M. C. (2014). Schools seek changes to healthier lunch rules. Retrieved from http://bigstory.ap.org/article/schools-seek-changes-healthier-lunch-rules-0
Turner, L., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2014). Perceived Reactions of Elementary School Students to Changes in School Lunches after Implementation of the United States Department of Agriculture’s New Meals Standards: Minimal Backlash, but Rural and Socioeconomic Disparities Exist. Childhood Obesity, 10(4). doi: 10.1089/chi.2014.0038
Yee, V. (2012). No appetite for healthier school lunches. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/nyregion/healthier-school-lunches-face-student-rejection.html?pagewanted=all&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw
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