SCHOOL LUNCHES CHANGING

School officials are replacing the meat, potatoes, green beans and bread that have been standard lunch fare for the past 50 years with more creative menus to meet federal dietary guidelines.

At the same time, they are working hard to maintain meal appeal to students.

Federal guidelines adopted in July 1998 require school districts to improve nutritional value of federally subsidized student meals by lowering the fat and sodium content. The new guidelines mark the first substantial changes since the mid-1940s.

"It's really challenging for school food service," said Willene Alley, director of the school food services section of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "They have to be innovative, creative, examine the way they do things. Plus, if there's time left, they really need to try to get nutrition education incorporated into the classrooms and inform parents."

Alley said her office monitors school food service programs throughout Missouri to ensure they are in or near compliance with federal guidelines. No data is available yet on how well schools are meeting compliance guidelines.

Schools may choose to implement one of four federally approved menu planning models that monitor either the nutrients or the food groups offered during a school week. Those using the Nutrient Standard or Assisted Standard models must use computer software to monitor intake of fat, saturated fat, protein, calcium, iron and vitamins A and C on a weekly basis.

The new guidelines restrict total fat content to no more than 30 percent of calories over a school week. Less than 10 percent of the calories for the week can be from saturated fat.

Schools choosing Enhanced or Traditional Food-Based Menu Planning must offer minimum quantities of specific food groups such as milk, meat or meat alternate, vegetables and fruits, and grains and breads on a weekly basis.

Many school districts began adjusting their menus in 1995 when the guidelines were first introduced. Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Perryville schools were among many that opted to purchase software to perform the weekly nutrient analysis of menus.

Food service coordinators in the region described the new guidelines as complex and involved but said they were handling the transitions fairly well. The guidelines are somewhat flexible, so student favorites like hamburgers and pizza are still available, they said. However, they may not appear on school menus on a daily or biweekly basis as they did before the guidelines became mandatory.

"The feedback our supervisors are getting is that it's challenging for (schools) to encourage children to select and eat meals that comply with the dietary guidelines," said Alley. "Students normally like the higher-fat items on a frequent offering."

Lisa Elfrink of Cape Girardeau schools said she likes the fact that every cook in her school district is working from the same computerized recipe. Although the data entry involved with the computer software can be challenging and time consuming, it is helping to meet guidelines and still provide students with their favorite foods on a weekly basis, she said.

"One change from last year was that we would do cheeseburgers and french fries at the high school twice weekly just because I have not been able to make the guidelines work and do a cheeseburger and french fries everyday," she said. "Kids are always going to like chicken nuggets, corn dogs and taco salads. You just have to serve a balanced meal from a variety of foods to make the guidelines work."

Becky Schnurbusch of Perryville schools said one change she has made to keep students satisfied is to move some food offerings from the traditional school menu to an ala carte list. For examples, french fries appear on the school menu only once weekly, but they are available ala carte every day.

"The alternate lines are not included in the federal guidelines," she said. "That gives them a choice."

Alley stopped short of calling the option of offering ala carte items a federal loophole. Schools are required to meet federal guidelines if they want to be reimbursed for menu meals, which are often free or offered at reduced prices to low-income students. However, there has to be a way for students to get the foods they want to eat, or they will opt not to take the school menu at all, she said.

"I can offer my student a meal that meets federal guidelines, but I can't make them eat it," she said. "When you are talking about changing how you feed children, if you want to keep them coming to your cafeteria you cannot change it overnight."

NUTRITION GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES

As of July 1, 1998, schools are required to insure lunch menus meet national nutrition standards under the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Act. The guidelines became manditory this school year.Schools can select from one of the following four methods to develop school lunch menus. The same calorie and nutrient levels are required under each method.TRADITIONAL FOOD-BASED MENU PLANNINGOffer certain number of food components in specified quantities.ENHANCED FOOD-BASED MENU PLANNINGSame as above except increased servingsof grains and breads and larger portions of fruits and vegetables.

Method used by: Cape Girardeau, Jackson, PerryvilleNUTRIENT STANDARD MENU PLANNINGRecipes, product specifications and preparation techniques developed to ensure menu items conform to nutrient analysis.Method used by: Scott CityASSISTED NUTRIENT STANDARD MENU PLANNING:Utilize approved menus developed by others sources.