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BY CARRIE STEINWEG
Times Correspondent | Monday, September 11, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
This isn't the same old cafeteria burger and fries.
Stricter federal guidelines for the nutritional content of school lunches have caused some changes on the menu this year. However, area school food service directors report a positive response from kids as the school year gets under way.
Some recent changes are minor and may not have been noticed, such as a switch to whole-wheat pizza crust or switching from frying to baking potato products. Others are more obvious, like the absence of snack cakes or the reduction of days per week that sweets are available.
The most changes seem to have been made in the elementary schools with the goal of instilling good eating habits from an early age. For teens accustomed to unhealthy lunch options, changes are being made more gradually.
Menu makeover
Responding to new federal guidelines, schools can junk food for healthy choices
Portage Schools Food Director Jan Black said that several changes that accommodate wellness restrictions on fat, saturated fat and sugar were passed for the schools in April.
"I think the whole idea is very positive. I'm very excited," said Black, who oversees the lunch programs in Portage's eight elementary, two middle and two high schools.
Among the changes in the Portage Schools this year are the switch in beverages to those with lower fat and less sugar. Whole milk is no longer available, only 1 or 2 percent. Students can select flavored water and Black said there is one sport drink that met the schools' standards.
"Some of the names of the foods may be similar, but the ingredients are different," Black explained. "The hamburger has the lowest fat content that we can purchase commercially."
Some high-fat, non-nutritional foods, like nachos and cheese, are off the menu permanently. Two fresh fruits or vegetables are now available at every school each day.
"I'm amazed at how in the first few days of school how much fresh fruits and vegetables the kids are eating. We're really pleased about it. We've had no complaints, which is really encouraging," said Black, adding that she's already had to reorder foods she expected to last a while.
Potato products are now baked rather than fried with the exception of french fries, available only three times a week at one of the high schools.
Transitioning from fried to baked foods seems to be a common change this year in schools that have not already made the switch. At the Highland Schools, fryers have been eliminated in the elementary schools and the goal is to eliminate them in all high schools.
"Eventually, we'll eliminate them in the middle schools and high schools in the coming years," said Debra Barker, food services director for the Town of Highland, which has six schools and serves approximately 3,400 students.
The elementary schools have seen the most changes, with the plan being to introduce the healthier meals and follow through with the changes as these kids begin to enter middle school.
Those in upper grades are seeing changes made gradually, such as cookies being offered only twice a week, instead of daily. In elementary school, cookies and other sweets have been replaced by healthier desserts, such as fun fruits or fruit sticks.
Barker said that more fresh fruits and vegetables are being served and a salad is offered every day. More whole-grain breads also can be found on the menu and beverages are now limited to lowfat milks (including chocolate and strawberry flavored), juices and green tea. Snack cakes are off the menu, with hopes that granola bars and trail mix will be embraced.
Barker said they've also implemented a "Free Fruit Day," to encourage better eating habits. On Wednesdays, children get a piece of fresh fruit for free.
At Thornton Fractional High School District 215, which has high schools in Calumet City and Lansing, new ovens have been added to the cafeteria so that french fries can be baked, rather than fried.
"We did a sampling with the kids last year and it seemed to go well," said Chris Gatto, coordinator of food services and purchasing.
The main lunch lines will now have a pre-boxed lunch option, which includes a vegetable salad. Gatto said this was done to be sure that the salad is provided for free for reduced-price meal recipients who are not eligible for the cafeteria's salad bar.
The pre-box meals have the appropriate servings to qualify for the program, Gatto said.
Gatto admitted that drastic changes are harder to implement at the high school level since the students often buy junk food and bring it with them. She expects more changes to be made as elementary school kids seeing major changes in menus now reach high school.
"Maybe it will be easier then because kids won't be accustomed to sweets," she said.
Menus in District 215's schools are well planned to provide balanced meals and, while school employees can't control what goes in kids' mouths at the table, students are required to take the appropriate servings to complete the balanced meal.
Typically, kids choose one entrée from three options, like macaroni and cheese, sausage pizza on stuffed crust bread or a cheeseburger and bun. They then choose two fruit or vegetable options out of five, like a tossed salad, a vegetable or fruit of the day, potato wedges or raspberry sherbet.
Gatto said that last year they began serving pizzas with whole-grain crusts, a change students didn't even notice.
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