School lunch programs

W

winsomehill

Cathlete
I am doing a research paper/presentation on school lunch programs in a Nutrition course I am taking. I am curious for those of you who have children in school..Are you satisfied with your school lunch programs? Have you seen any inovative approaches? School gardens? Local suppliers (farmers)? Valuable curriculum? Do they serve white or whole wheat? Are there vegetarian options? Much sugar?
Can't wait to hear your responses,

Heather
 
Our school lunch program is awful. Pizza 1-2x/week and lots of cheeseburgers, hot dogs, etc.

My son is a vegetarian and got pizza last week and there was only sausage pizza - there was no plain pizza availabe. He didn't know that when he decided to buy and ended up only eating the side dishes. He probably could have asked for a PB&J instead (white bread).

They do serve a fruit and vegetable every day. Most of the time, the vegetable is some sort of potato - fries, hash browns, etc. but they do serve corn, green beans and broccoli as well. Definitely not from a school garden or local farmers.

ETA: In addition to lunch, the schools offer snacks that you can buy separately. It's all junk food - chips, fries, pop tarts, ice cream, etc.

Erica
 
There is no school lunch program at my DD's school. I think it works differently here (I'm in Canada). I don't know of any schools below high school that offer lunches for sale or have a cafeteria. Everyone brings their lunch or has permission to go home at lunch if they live close enough.
 
My DD13 (freshman in High School) requests that I pack her lunch as the school lunch program consists on many vendors (Pizza Hut, Subway...) who sell their products on campus. The lines are crazy and by the time she would get her lunch the period would be over.
 
Erica- I hate to hear about lunch programs like this. What are they thinking? Why do they not serve healthy food to children? You would think if the federal govt is going to supply foods to schools they would -only- supply healthy food! My children are vegetarians, as well, and my biggest gripe is the vegetarian option is far too often pb&j they do use wheat, but still.

Shelley- It does seem to be pretty standard here in the states that there are school lunch programs. It's a very good thing for those children that come from homes where there is not much to offer.

Christine- I didn't even know there were fast food vendors in schools.
Heather
 
Heather,
I run a school kitchen for an elementary school. I would suggest trying to meet with the school's food service director at your local school district. They can help you with any information you are looking for. They could give you a copy of their menu for the month and explain any nutritional guidelines the state mandates for them. As a cook manager,I would like to say that we are not directly involved in the selection of foods we are required to serve in our kitchens. I try myself to make sure we have fresh fruits, steamed vegetables and whole wheat bread whenever I am able to order it. But remember, whole wheat bread is NOT whole grain and is just caramel colored white bread.Our program,in theory,is a self sufficent program(we always run in the red) and that means that we can only spend on food products,paper goods etc. what we bring in from the sale of lunches and snacks. That includes the salaries and benifits of our employees. That REALLY limits things. We do not receive ANY money towards our program from the school districts budget.We are also,by state regulations,not allowed to run at a profit. It's a tough balance.I would love to see the food choices you are talking about in our schools and when someone figures out how to do that within the states regulations and at a cost the schools and parents can afford, I will be the first to support it. It is hard for me also because I feed my family organic whole foods at home and they choose not to eat at school. If you have any questions I can help you with please PM me.
 
Heather, my guess is that the healthy food options aren't eaten or bought by the students, so they serve what the kids will eat. It's frustrating. My biggest problem with the schools is that the teachers constantly use candy to motivate the kids - even at the high school level. Last week, I saw the gym teachers in the middle school give candy to the kids after class as rewards. This is physical education class and they hand out candy!x( The amount of candy my kids are given during the school day is just unbelievable.

Erica
 
Our school has tried cleaning up the menus, but sometimes what I consider heathly is different opinion in other peoples eyes.

At our elementary school:

Everyday the staple foods provided are, pizza, hot dogs, cold sandwich (bologna and cheese, ham and cheese, PB and J, and tuna), salad (caesar, chef, and garden) and yogurt. Skim milk or 1% white, chocolate, or strawberry milk. Water bottle, too.

I wanted to add that sandwiches are also made on WW. If it's a daily special meal like hot ham and cheese it is on WW. Then, there are some days that they provide white cold sandwiches, too.

Then there is a daily special. I typed out the weekly menu below.

-Oven baked chicken, mashed potatoes w/gravy, steamed green beans, WW dinner roll, watermelon slices.
-french bread pizza, honey carrot coins, diced pears and smartfood popcorn.
-soft tacos with fixings, corn, and assorted chilled fruit.
-Hoagie w/lettuce and tomato, 1/2 ounce of potato chips, steamed broccoli, and mandarin oranges.
-cheese and chicken quesadillas, seasoned rice, green beans, and chilled fruit.

Other main foods I noticed were chicken nuggets, cheeseburger, rotini w/meat sauce, etc.

Also, I wanted to add that at our school if you do not want your children to buy certain foods (ice cream or anything) the computer screens will flash when the child provides his lunch number for purchases. The parents do have control.

The reason I think schools serve the foods that they do, is so that children will at least eat a meal. It has to stay somewhat kid friendly or I'm pretty sure parents would start complaining that kids won't eat the foods provided because their child isn't accustomed to the schools healthy choices.

I'm pretty happy with our school program. Our school has tried to make the effort even have asked the parents to send in only healthy snacks. I know I always have the option to pack a lunch for my children if I'm unhappy about the food provided.
 
Both my children brown bag and do not buy the lunches at school.- which is good in my opinion. The lunches are not healthy and even the pizza is covered in grease.(sometimes you walk into the lunch room and it STINKS) Someone else said the lunches are mostly pizza and hamburgers and tacos and that's what ours are. In our school, the 4th and 5th graders can buy snacks, they are not healthy snacks,(ie ice cream)- another mom and I are actually trying to get the school to offer apples or friut and granola or healthy snack bars for snacks. My complaint is not the non healthy snacks but how many kids have ice cream at school and then come home and have it again. (My son- not overweight- said he did this alot last year) Kids need to have good eating habits and I think the schools have a responsibility to teach that, by offering healthy and non healthy snacks. And have a way for parents to track it.
Deanie:)
 
cant' stand most of the menu. they DO offer veggies and fruits BUT the main course is always something like corn dogs, pizza, pasta and meat sauce(which is fine but sugar in their sauce is outragous), cheeseburger, fried fish sandwiches, chicken fried nuggets or sandwiches.

i am getting complaints that my daughter only eats the fruits,veggies, milk and juice, and the cookie they offer with meals 2x a week.viola also gets snack time during the day so she enjoys carrots sticks, peanuts, peanut butter crackers, and the occasional welch's fruit snack. i tell them its b/c of her meds(they decrease the appeitite during the day,but she eats a big breakfast and a pretty good dinner) but she is picky about what kind of chicken nuggets she will eat(she loves my homeade stuff over any boxed/bagged processed nuggets) and burgers, she much prefers her once a month trip to hardee's for their cheese burgers. she doesn't like fish at all and pizza has to be little ceasars or ma/pa pizzeria. she only likes broccoli when she gets to dip it in lite creamy ranch dressing.

btw my daughter is special needs(autism,sensory disorders,adhd)so she is picky about her foods but b/c i have tried to make great strides to reduce processed foods in her diet, she has made better choices. i get reduced lunch at our school so for the 50 cents a day if all she wants at lunch is veggies and milk i am okay with it as long as she eats her snacks as well. i make sure to pack two choices so she has protien and good carbs.

ETA:i believe our school gets USDA lunches, where they are provided in the state budget. we have many farms in the area that could provied fresh seasonal veggies, but i think more can be done with main course menus besides over processed carbs either deep fried or boiled to no taste.

kassia

http://www.picturetrail.com/ldy_solana

"And do what thee wilt as long as ye harm none"
 
>But remember, whole wheat bread is NOT whole grain and is
>just caramel colored white bread.

Actually,WHOLE wheat bread IS whole grain. WHEAT bread is just plain old white flour(with or without carmel coloring), and manufacturers like to use the term to confuse unsuspecting customers.
 
Hi


At our first PTA meeting they were talking about making healthier lunches and putting a policy into place for only healthy snacks to be sent in for snack time and new choices for parties at schools. This is a k-4th grade school.

My stepdaughter is picky. She doesn't like bread for sandwiches, doesn't like burgers or tacos or that kind of stuff. She has lunch account to buy lunches only and gets a $1.00 for ice cream. We also pack her with lots of snacks. Some healthy some not. She is very active. Gymnastics 10hours a week so my first thought is that she eat.

Her lunch menu for october does have items such as veggie pizza, she said she had chicken on her pizza this week. They do serve a fruit and veggie everyday and also offer veggie sticks and fruit as sub for the veg and fruit of the day. Milk is always available. This year they have started offering bottle water and yogurt and they always have ice cream and PB&J sandwiches. Our school also offers breakfast.

Healthy options would be great but most kids won't eat them. I try at home to get her to eat better and she does.

Good luck with your paper.

Jenn
 
My 4-year-old's school has hot and cold lunches catered by alphabetkids.ca. We've been doing that program for a couple of weeks. All sandwiches are on whole wheat bread, no butter, and it's possible to choose very nutritious options (although there are "junkier" options as well). I'm very pleased with the program so far.

Shelley, by the way, we're in Toronto.

Stebby
 
Our school lunch tries to be heart healthy -- meaning they use low-fat dairy and lean meat, and serve whole wheat bread instead of white. The whole wheat rolls are massive though--way larger than need be for adults, let alone elementary school kids. I let my son buy lunch, but I am still not convinced it is the most healthy of fare. Thankfully he likes fresh fruit and chooses 2 pieces a day, plus the main entree, and low-fat milk. The veggies are cooked to death, and there are lots of unhealthy choices like: hamburgers, pizza, tacos, burritos, nachos, pizza dippers, etc. They do offer a salad everyday as a choice and there is always at least two fresh fruits to choose from. Their pizza and other choices are healthier than when I went to school because they use lower fat meats, and I notice the green beans and other veg aren't swimming in oil like it was back when.

Here is our school district's website, you can check out the menu's:
http://www.volusia.k12.fl.us/swcafe/
 
I'm impressed with the school lunches at my DD's elementary school. They offer whole wheat entrees and have vegetarian options.

The school does not have a garden (in the Midwest it's not always feasible to have one since school is in session outside of any growing season). I don't know about local suppliers - probably not.
 
Our elementary school program seems pretty standard.. ie, last week it was chicken fingers, burgers, pasta, taco, and pizza on Fri. They do offer sandwiches and salads, too, so I think they're trying to offer more nutrional choices. Our middle school and HS seems to be much better... at least that's what my oldest DD claims. She likes the HS lunch because you can get "custom" sandwiches, and they also offer salads. I wish they would get more creative in terms of more vegetarian dishes, more beans, different grains, etc. But, I think part of the problem is, they've got to serve such a large student body, so they're trying to please everybody.

(My grandmother, who's about to turn 96!, is in an assisted-living place and constantly complains about the food. She says they use too much garlic, which I'm willing to bet, means the cook uses it occasionally, and she's just not used to it... she's used to her own cooking.)
 
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