Nutrition law will change menus, reporting
6-cent reimbursement boost less than half of actual costs
Published: March 1, 2011
American schoolchildren will soon be seeing new, healthier versions of their favorite foods on their lunch trays under sweeping changes to the federal school meals program signed into law in December. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act reauthorizes six major nutrition programs for five years, and comes with $4.5 billion in new funding to support the programs over the next decade.
A core objective of the new law is to fight childhood obesity and improve student health by requiring schools to replace fatty foods with more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, and to cut down on salt. According to government data, almost a third of school-age children 6 to 19 years of age are overweight or obese—triple the number a few decades ago.
Congress authorized an additional six cents per meal to help schools pay for the changes, but nutrition directors across the nation have expressed their concerns about the cost of compliance. The National School Boards Association has estimated it will actually cost from 11 to 25 cents more per meal, far above the additional reimbursement proposed.
The bill also strives to make meals available to more children by using Medicaid data to certify eligibility, a strategy already employed by many California school districts using CalWORKS and food stamp data.
California ahead of the curve
The act’s reauthorization comes with a host of new requirements, all of which cost money or strain resources. They include restrictions on all foods sold on campus and new reporting, training and certification requirements.
Under the new guidelines, any foods sold at school, including that in vending machines, school stores and bake sales, must meet stringent standards. Since many schools rely on the income they receive from these food sales, they may have to change their fundraising strategies or the types of food sold, which will probably constitute yet another challenge to school budgets.
California may be ahead of the curve, though, since the state has already enacted legislation to cut fat and calories and to limit or eliminate sales of snack foods and soda. None of those bills, however, increased meal reimbursements to cover higher costs.
The Fresno Unified School District has for years been working to provide healthier options that students like. The district is already very close to meeting all of the new federal guidelines, says Food Services Director Jose Alvarado—with the exception of the sodium restrictions, which is probably the case with most California districts.
But does he see a problem getting finicky eaters to accept whole wheat pizza and raw broccoli spears?
“We’re always trying to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables—healthy choices. As a district, we were already trying to do that without waiting for the federal legislation,” said Alvarado, who offers local foods like kiwi, cantaloupe and sweet potato sticks as snacks. “We’re always trying to educate students that making good, healthy choices is good for lifelong learning.”
In anticipation of the new guidelines, Alvarado and his colleagues have begun working with their vendors to provide tasty, low-salt versions of their students’ favorite foods.
“The ultimate test is, do the students like it?” Alvarado explained.
Board members and other educators may review and comment on regulations drafted for the reauthorized nutrition act through April 13.
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