Healthier school lunches not always popular

Source: The Lima News, OhioAug.文件倉 28--WAPAKONETA -- Lori McKean doesn't have to wonder how the pupils at Wapakoneta Middle School felt about federally mandated changes to the lunch menu.She saw a petition that clearly stated the fifth-graders' preferences."We'd put sweet potatoes twice on our weekly rotation menu, and the kids wrote a petition for it," said McKean, the director of child nutrition services for the Wapakoneta City Schools. "They met with me and the principal. The whole fifth grade, every kid in the class, told us what they thought with that petition."There's mixed reaction in the region to the healthier new federal lunch program. Some districts adapted well, with minimal fuss from the young mouths they feed. And others, like in those children in Wapakoneta, bit the hand that fed them when these meals packed with whole grains, fruits and vegetables began last year.Wapakoneta schools lost 10 percent to 15 percent of its total meals served last year, primarily among children who paid cash for the meals. The district also sees a frustrating amount of plate waste, fresh fruit and vegetables literally thrown in the trash by those with discriminating tastes.Federal officials say they don't have exact numbers but have seen isolated reports of schools cutting ties with the $11 billion National School Lunch Program, which reimburses schools for meals served and gives them access to lower-priced food, according to The Associated Press.Not all of the reaction has been negative. Lima City Schools began adjusting its meals three or four years ago, said Carrie Woodruff, food service director for the district. They slimmed down the starches, corn and potatoes, replacing them with beans and fresh vegetables."It's been a good thing, with less carbohydrates and more fruits and vegetables," Woodruff said. "Our kids eat the fresh fruits and vegetables. They must be hungry and enjoying them."Area cafeteria personnel said good products helped make the transition. Some worried about the demand for whole-grain breads."At first the kids weren't crazy about it," said Sarah Neidert, the district cafeteria manager for Kalida Local Schools. "We told them to give it a try. Our kids have really adjusted well to it. Nickles Bakery came out with some great products for the whole-grains that taste almost the same."Sue White, the cafeteria supervisor for Bath schools, said the school saw more pupils packing their lunches than buying them. It's down 100 meals per day in the middle school. Still, most pupils adapted."To be really truthful, the kids did a better job accepting it than I thought they might," she said. "Especially with the whole grains, after they got used to the taste it was fine."Nationally, about 31 million pupils participated in the guidelines that took effect last fall under the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.Some districts decided to drop out after seeing reduced purchases of lunches. Catlin, Ill., saw a drop of $30,000 in sales from the program, leading them to drop out. In存倉upstate New York, the Schenectady-area Burnt Hills Ballston Lake system dropped out after ending the year $100,000 in the red, according to the AP.Dr. Janey Thornton, deputy undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, which oversees the program, told the AP she is aware of reports of districts quitting but is still optimistic about the program's long-term prospects."Many of these children have never seen or tasted some of the fruits and vegetables that are being served before, and it takes a while to adapt and learn," she said.The agency had not determined how many districts have dropped out, Thornton said, cautioning that "the numbers that have threatened to drop and the ones that actually have dropped are quite different."The School Nutrition Association found that 1 percent of 521 district nutrition directors surveyed during the summer planned to drop out of the program in the 2013-14 school year and about 3 percent were considering the move.Not every district can afford to quit. The National School Lunch Program provides cash reimbursements for each meal served: about $2.50 to $3 for free and reduced-priced meals and about 30 cents for full-price meals. That takes the option of quitting off the table for schools with large numbers of poor youngsters.Locally, districts weren't ready to jump. Many districts receive too much funding for free and reduced-price lunches, making it a bad decision to leave.Lima schools went the other way, offering free lunches to all learners."A lot of the schools in the area benefit from the program, and the free and reduced lunches are relatively high," Woodruff said. "If you looked in affluent suburbs, such as Mason, Ohio, where people have a lot of higher-paying jobs, you'd see very few free and reduced meals where they might think about it."The new guidelines set limits on calories and salt, phase in more whole grains, and require that fruit and vegetables be served daily. A typical elementary school meal under the program consisted of whole-wheat cheese pizza, baked sweet potato fries, grape tomatoes with low-fat ranch dip, applesauce and 1 percent milk.In December, the Agriculture Department, responding to complaints that children weren't getting enough to eat, relaxed the 2-ounce-per-day limit on grains and meats while keeping the calorie limits. That eased some concerns, especially among high schoolers who were still hungry.Several cafeterias have been surprised at how popular the fresh fruits and vegetables have been. Sweet potatoes might not be a favorite, but they're learning to love legumes, such as beans. They're eating their broccoli in particular."With cooked broccoli, they really do eat it," Neidert said. "At first they didn't but the more we put it out there, the more they're eating it. They really do like the fresh vegetables."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) Visit The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) at .limaohio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉