Local school lunches skew more healthful

What schoolchildren eat and drink not only helps determine their health and success in school, but it also influences their long-term well-being.

So it's no mystery why the topic gets the attention of everyone from Congress to schools and parents.

Supervisors at the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City school districts say the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 wrought some changes for the better, taking sodas and candy out of vending machines and putting healthier menus in cafeterias.

But the dialogue is just as loud on eating at school versus bringing lunch from home.

USDA compliance

Cape Girardeau School District nutrition services coordinator Lisa Elfrink says the federal law has shelved foods heavy in salt and sugar in favor of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain breads. "I plan the menus using the Nutri-Kids computer program, which is USDA compliant," Elfrink said.

A first-grade student at Jefferson Elementary School picks up his lunch Aug. 27. (GLENN LANDBERG)

"You have to ask the kids what they want. Otherwise, they will not eat it," she said.

She said the most popular choices are pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs and "crispito" tortillas with chicken, chili and cheese.

Elfrink said numerous students bring their lunches, but the cafeterias are a thrifty option, with lunches for $1.75 at the five elementary schools, $2 at the middle school and junior high and $2.25 at the high-school level.

She said 64 percent of the district's 2013-2014 students ate breakfast at school and 82 percent had lunch there.

Cooking all its meals, the district is supplied by Kohl Wholesale of Quincy, Illinois, and Bimbo Bakeries, formerly Sarah Lee, with milk coming from the local Prairie Farms, Elfrink said.

For after-school snacks, she puts the same emphases on fruits, vegetables and whole-grain breads instead of sodas, chips and other fare high in calories or fats.

'Eating a rainbow'

Lunches are prepared for first graders at Jefferson Elementary School on Aug. 27. (GLENN LANDBERG)

Jackson School District nutrition coordinator Ellen Gipson and food service director Liz Aufdenberg say menus over the decades changed from a variety of food groups to meeting specific nutrient standards, and those approaches have been combined to see that students are offered fruits and vegetables daily.

Other guidelines are to increase the whole grain-rich foods, offer only fat-free or low-fat milk and cut the saturated fats, trans-fats, added sugars and sodium, or salt.

A first grade student at Jefferson Elementary School picks up his lunch Aug. 27. (GLENN LANDBERG)

"We believe [the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act] has helped improve nutrition as well as the variety of healthy foods the students are exposed to," Gipson and Aufdenberg said in an email. "With fruits and vegetables, we know that different colors of foods provide different essential nutrients.

"The guidelines support the common phrase 'eating a rainbow,' and vegetable requirements are broken down into red-orange, dark green, starchy, beans-peas and others."

Asked about students eating in the cafeterias or bringing lunch, they said, "The advantages of students' eating school lunch are wide.

"A big seller is the convenience. We know that families are busy and time is always short. By allowing your student to enjoy school lunch, there is no time spent packing lunch boxes [in the morning], no worry about food spoilage or smashed or damaged lunches and confidence that each meal will be nutritionally adequate and balanced.

"Eating school lunch reinforces basic table manners and allows more mindful eating."

Gipson and Aufdenberg said 70 percent of Jackson's students eat school lunches and 30 percent "pack from home," which is near the state average.

They said kids can develop good habits in school to benefit them throughout their lives. "We know prevention is the No. 1 cure for obesity and chronic disease, and current research shows the majority of children's eating habits are developed by the third grade," they wrote.

"So if we can create a positive mealtime environment and show the students that a meal emphasizing whole grains, low-fat dairy and fruits and vegetables is the norm, then we are setting them up for success."

The officials said an after-school snack should have two food groups such as peanut butter and apples, cheese and crackers, yogurt and fruit or vegetables and hummus and be served with water.

"Student athletes should look for quick energy sources (carbohydrates) and promote satiety with protein snacks like dried fruit and nuts, half of a peanut butter sandwich or string cheese and pretzels," they said.

Lunch effect

Scott City superintendent Diann Ulmer said there has been a negative side to the 2010 law. "I think there was some fallout," Ulmer said.

"I don't think we have quite the participation in our lunch program as we had in the past," she said. "There is a little different taste with the whole grain than what our kids were used to."

Served by Opaa! Food Management of Chesterfield, Missouri, the 815 students in her district are offered a different menu each day that complies with the guidelines, Ulmer said.