Area school cooks react to revamped FDA lunch standards

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February 4, 2012

By Mark Boshnack Staff Writer The Daily Star Sat Feb 04, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

More fruits and vegetables will be showing up on the lunch trays of area school students next year, thanks to the first change in standards for school meals in 15 years.

School food service directors are still working to understand what's in the changes unveiled last week by the United States Department of Agriculture, several said on Wednesday.

It is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was championed by first lady Michelle Obama as part of her Let's Move! campaign and signed into law by President Barack Obama. It ensures students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day and increases the offering of whole grain-rich food, according to a media release. Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties, ensuring proper portion size, and reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fat and sodium are also part of the effort. Starting in 2012-13, the standards will be phased in over three years. Breakfast nutrition is also included in the effort, but most changes will come later, according to a media release.

When asked about the change, Edmeston Central School food services director Brian Belknap said: "Everybody is trying to figure out what it means."

The school is already "way ahead of curve," serving whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables every day, he said. He started using whole wheat when he came to the district more than 20 years ago. It took a while for it to be available in pastas that have been served for the past few years.

He even switched to brown rice about five years ago as a healthier alternative to white rice.

The biggest challenge will be the cost of the food, with reimbursements increasing about six cents. The reimbursement rate for free lunch is $2.82, reduced price lunch is $2.56, and full price is .31 cents.

Despite the best of intentions, "It's one thing to put it on a plate, its another thing to get them (students) to eat it."

But his department has done an outstanding job encouraging students to eat healthier foods by offering different choices.

This includes the Middle Eastern Day when students are offered such foods as lemon chicken, quinoa tabbouleh and hummus on pita bread, with greek salad and rice pudding.

The requirements will probably change as they are discussed, he said.

"It's all pretty new."

Delhi Central School food service director Christine Miller said she was looking forward to state training on the new requirements in April to fully understand all they entail. After talking to state officials Wednesday, she said the biggest change for her district will be in increasing the serving size to one cup for fruit and vegetables.

There are five components to the meal, including protein, milk, bread or starch and fruit and vegetables. Schools have to provide three of the components to be reimbursed. Among the changes the district has already made addressing the issues is changing the milk offerings. It has also adjusted portion sizes. It will be making more homemade soup and limiting processed foods to meet sodium restrictions.

The changes will certainly help childhood nutrition and combating such issues as obesity in students. She was hopeful that the lessons learned will be continued outside school.

She was not sure how the district would meet that challenge of the additional costs.

Delaware-Madison-Otsego-Chenango Board of Cooperative Educational Services food service director Kim Corcoran said "we just got the regulations so we haven't had a chance to pore over the 280 pages." She provides services to 10 area schools including Oneonta City School District, Bainbridge-Guilford, Unadilla Valley and Unatego Central schools.

Two students interviewed at Oneonta High School said the changes sounded like a good idea.

"I usually eat a vegetable or a salad," freshman Joe Sherrill said. Senior Chloe Shamblin said the portion sizes are too large now.

Corcoran said the new standards will include offering more whole grains, increase the fruit and vegetable portions. There are a lot of choices in those categories now.

At least one of the five components chosen have to be a fruit or vegetable in order to get reimbursed, she said. She was hopeful that with some eduction and enough choices, it will work.

"It's time something was done" to encourage healthier eating choices, she said.