Cafeteria food is supposed to be healthy -- and cheap. But it's getting harder to be both, unless you get creative.

By now, we all have heard the gloomy statistics: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of overweight kids is some 17 percent for those ages 6-19. And research shows even higher rates for African American and Hispanic children. Obesity is considered a national epidemic, and concerned officials have begun to focus their attention on the school lunchroom.

More than 30 million American children eat federally subsidized meals in the National School Lunch Program. To have an impact in making a difference in student diets cafeterias are the common place to start. Even though the U.S. Department of Agriculture's nutritional standards have become more stringent, the 2007 School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study indicated that only about one in four elementary schools served lunches that met the fat requirements. For high schools, the number was one in 12. Adding to the problem are such à la carte items as pizza and cheeseburgers that don't allow for portion control, because kids can buy unlimited amounts.

Then comes the catch 22 spiral as cafeterias move toward offering healthier options, some food-services programs are having trouble meeting their budgets, because whole grains or fresh vegetables tend to cost more. So of course the cheaper option for struggling school cafeteria budgets is to stock up on the unhealthy low cost foods.

As the economy has dipped, the demand for school lunch has risen, so it may become even harder to incorporate better nutrition. According to Katie Wilson, president of the School Nutrition Association, "In the last 15 years, we've been changing what we sell, reducing portion sizes, meeting calorie levels, reducing fats and saturated fats. But it's the perfect storm. We've all been required to meet nutrient standards, but the federal government is not giving us the revenue to support it." Still, schools are finding ways to recalibrate their budgets and transform menus. Food-services managers, for example, may skimp on some items so that they can splurge on fruits and vegetables.

Some areas, like the Los Angeles Unified School District, are using their large purchasing power to bargain for cheaper prices on healthy foods; but where does that leave smaller schools? The smaller school systems could come together to increase their bargaining and buying power.

Some school superintendents know that growing up in an overweight community, the kids aren’t too far behind. One method that seems to be working is to introduce healthy changes in phases. One such school superintendent started with the lunch menu. He worked with the food-services director to cut out all fried foods, then sugary snacks. They traded whole milk for 2 percent milk and then switched to skim because going cold turkey to skim on the kids would surely lead to rejection. They cut portion sizes, emptied vending machines of junk food, and reinvented the kids' favorite recipes, like enchiladas and burritos, with low-fat cheeses and lean meats.

Schools can make up for higher cost menu items by cycling in cheaper foods like tater tots (baked, of course). They save money by preparing many items in bulk and from scratch, like their energy bars and banana chip bread. Most schools will still have some chicken nuggets. But they are more careful with how their money is spent.
 

Variety, the Spice of Life
 

Expanding the palette is essential to better nutrition. In some schools, they are holding coolest-new-veggie contests, offering kids nutritional education about four new foods they could taste -- portobello mushrooms, beets, jicama, and red and yellow peppers. After the results are tabulated by staff, the most popular offering will be on menus the following school year.

Many schools are encouraging sampling, a tactic popular in grocery stores, under the assumption that if you taste something and like it, you'll come back for more. School administrators share the same vision in hoping that if by building a foundation in elementary school, then in a few years drastic changes can be made in middle and high school.

Another interesting hypothesis to getting kids to eat better may lie in cues in the lunch line. Marketing research finds that items displayed in prominent positions tend to be chosen more often than other items, suggesting that carefully placed healthy items -- fruit put where the chips and candy normally go, for instance -- may lead to better decisions.

It's extremely difficult for any school to improve nutrition if its kitchens are geared to deep frying, or if there are no kitchens at all. As part of the new federal administration's economic-stimulus plan, schools have been able to apply for grants to update their kitchens with such high tech equipment and new ovens which allow staffs to steam and bake in large quantities.

What do you think about nutrition in children’s schools today?
 

excerpts taken from article by Brooke Lea Foster, a former editor at the Boston Globe Magazine, a freelance writer in New York City
www.edutopia.org