News: What some schools are doing in response to new standards

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Cincinnati.com reports that lunch at Fort Thomas Independent Schools will, like most schools throughout the nation, be changing their menu offerings year. However their changes will be quite different than most, since they will no longer be part of federal lunch program.

The Campbell County, Ky., district is opting out of the federal school lunch program, forfeiting hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding.

Their reason: Kids didn’t like the lunches.

“The calorie limitations and types of foods that have to be provided … have resulted in the kids just saying ‘I’m not going to eat that,’ ” said Fort Thomas Superintendent Gene Kirchner.

The 2,800-student district is one of several districts around the US that are dropping the lunch program. Most of these being wealthier districts that can afford to forfeit the federally funded lunches and no longer want to adhere to the strict

Schools said students don’t like the unsalted potatoes, low-fat cheese or the mandatory fruits and vegetables. They throw food away or decide not to eat at all.

In Kirchner’s district, 166 fewer students bought lunch every day last year — 30,000 fewer a year. Instead they brought lunch from home, went to nearby restaurants or skipped lunch altogether.

That’s a problem because students were going hungry or choosing unhealthful fast food or snacks instead of school meals.

Students skipping or trashing lunches also wastes money for the school. Money that could be spent on new textbooks or classroom improvements.

The school will remain to offer lunches with healthy options, and continue to give students who were previously receiving free or reduced lunches the same prices.

Only now, the school district will absorb the cost — more than $260,000 a year — rather than use federal funding to cover it.

Schools throughout the nation are grappling with the same decision.

Nationwide, 1 million fewer students are choosing a school lunch each day, according to the national School Nutrition Association.

Last year, it said, 47% of school meal programs reported that their overall revenues had declined — and when kids don’t buy school lunches, the district loses money.

It’s unclear how many schools or districts have dropped the program because of the new nutrition guidelines.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the number is small. Its blog post in September 2013 said only 146 of the schools surveyed, or 0.15%, had left the program because they wouldn’t comply with the new standards.

“But we’ve seen a lot more schools pop up,” said Diane Pratt-Heavner, spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association. “I’ve seen stories out of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.” She thinks the number will increase this year as the standards expand to include “a la carte” items at school snack bars, which are often money-makers for schools.

Fort Thomas is the first to drop the program districtwide in the greater Cincinnati area. The Oak Hills school district in Hamilton County, Ohio, dropped it at several schools, including the high school, 33 years ago. Even back then school officials say too-strict regulations were to blame.

Andi Sempier, the mother of a third-grade student at Fort Thomas’ Woodfill Elementary school, said she’s glad the district did away with the standards.

“I’m lucky my daughter will eat her vegetables. But it was very wasteful from what I’ve seen from being in the cafeteria,” she said. “And the lunch purchases have fallen off. That’s a huge indicator it’s not working.”

At the tiny Silver Grove school district in Campbell County, Ky., just down the road from Fort Thomas, 85% of students qualify for free and reduced-priced lunches. The district can’t afford to drop the program.

Students have noticed the difference since the new standards kicked in.

“I don’t like it,” said Rachael Garza, a junior. “They got rid of all the good food, and it doesn’t taste good.”

Her favorite side, macaroni and cheese, is no longer on the menu. Students were required to take green beans or applesauce with their chicken sandwiches Friday. Most of the green beans went in the garbage.

“I eat it because I’m hungry,” she said. “But it’s not a good thing.”

Many districts, especially those unable to opt out, are getting creative to make sure less food ends up in the garbage.

Some school districts are working with chefs or other consultants to improve their food’s flavor. Lakota will experiment this year with an induction cooker and cooked-to-order stir fry.

School leaders and the School Nutrition Association say they support more healthful lunches. They oppose the timing, though, and the way the standards have been rolled out.

“I think the standards are absolutely a good thing,” said Burkhardt. “They address childhood obesity. My biggest regret is that they weren’t phased in over time. I think I speak for most directors when I say we’d like a year to catch our breath and market the program a little bit before we take the next step.”

With new changes, even healthy ones, comes a time of transition and adjustment. As the new lunch and snacks rules are implemented many schools with be faced with decisions about how to make kids love lunch and keep it healthy at the same time!

To read more find the full article here.