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Balancing Menu Needs, Student Wants: School Nutritionists Are Publicizing The Content Of Menus And Soliciting Public Help To Increase Use Of Cafeteria Services.

Posted on: Sunday, 15 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Molly Harper, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Jan. 15--Farley Elementary School fourth-grader Brianna Holmes' favorite school lunch is pizza with corn and fruit. On Wednesday, she finally got the chance to tell someone about it.

"I pretty much like everything they serve, but I'm glad they asked," said Holmes, a member of the student menu committee composed of four third- and fourth-graders. The committee met with Farley food services manager Patty Thompson and McCracken County schools food services director Mary Sanderson to discuss the cafeteria offerings.

The students were asked to pick the meals they enjoyed and talk about the offerings they don't like, then suggest how the menus could be improved.

The committee also received nutritional information, including the sugar content of milk and juice.

"We've learned that we have to eat healthy, because if you eat bad foods you have bad health," Holmes said. "And you don't think about things like how much sugar is in something until you look at the label. I think I'm going to have to start eating less pizza and more fruit."

The students' opinions -- including an overwhelming fondness for pizza -- didn't surprise Sanderson, who has worked in school food service for 29 years.

"What was great was they were being honest, that childhood honesty that just comes naturally, and they still liked most of their choices," she said.

Menu committees will be established at every McCracken school. The monthly meetings will help Sanderson craft a menu that appeals to students' tastebuds and their parents' concerns about national childhood obesity rates.

"We have to make it healthy, but still enjoyable for the kids, otherwise, we'd have a lot of untouched food left over and that's just wasteful," Sanderson said. She has arranged a seasonal menu for the students, a five-week meal rotation changing each quarter that allows for hearty soups and heavier meals in the winter and lighter, cooler fare in the spring and summer.

Sanderson said she first noticed a shift toward healthier choices about six years ago when elementary students began choosing salads and vegetable-laden boxed lunches over hot meals.

"It's not that the meals weren't healthy in the first place," she said. "I don't think people realize that. We've always done things, like draining the fat from meat, to try to make them more healthy. We do try to have foods they like, but incorporate fruits and vegetables and whole grains. We've deleted a lot of desserts and sweets."

Sanderson and food services coordinators across the state are compiling each district's nutritional information into annual report cards in compliance with Senate Bill 172, which passed last year. The law requires that local boards discuss the findings of both the nutrition and physical activity reports and solicit public comments on those reports. The boards are also required to establish wellness plans for staff and students.

While many districts will send their reports to parents with registration information in the summer, food service directors are presenting the report cards to school boards this month.

On Monday, Paducah food services director Penny Holt presented her analysis of a week's menu that included most of the students' favorite meals, including cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, taco salad, spaghetti, and pizza. With side dishes such as mashed potatoes, salads, vegetables and fries, the meals averaged 690 calories with 25.8 percent of those calories from fat. They are below the USDA targets of 785 calories and 30 percent calories from fat.

The meals offered 123 percent of the recommended amount of iron, 180 percent of the recommended protein, 137 percent of the recommended calcium, and 195 percent of recommended vitamin C.

In McCracken County, meals of chicken nuggets, burgers, spaghetti, cold cut subs, pizza, and chicken sandwiches averaged 555 calories, 25 percent from fat. Side dishes included assorted fresh fruit and vegetables, chef salads, mixed cooked vegetables, and various forms of potatoes. The meals offered 110 percent of the recommended iron, 107 percent of recommended calcium, 109 percent of recommended vitamin A, and 233 percent of recommended vitamin C.

For Graves County, a week of lunch menus including pizza, tacos, corn dogs, burgers and roast turkey averaged 544 calories, 74 percent of the target. With sides that included assorted fruit, mashed potatoes, salad, fresh vegetables, fries, and pudding, the meals offered 18.7 grams of fat, slightly above the target of 30 percent of calories from fat. The menu also averaged 266 percent of the recommended requirement of vitamin C, 151 percent of recommended vitamin A, 90 percent of recommended calcium and 94 percent of recommended iron.

For elementary school students, Calloway County schools offered meals with an average of 672 calories, slightly above the target of 644, but the calories from fat were just below the target at 28.7 percent. The meals offered 180 percent of the required calcium, 130 percent of recommended vitamin A, 186 percent of recommended vitamin C, and 311 percent of recommended protein.

Comparatively, a Big Mac from McDonald's contains 570 calories and 32 grams of fat, and a medium order of fries has 450 calories and 22 grams of fat. A 6-inch Subway Cold Cut Trio sandwich has 374 calories and 14 grams of fat, according to shapefit.com.

"I don't think people realize how healthy our meals are compared to what's out there," Holt said. "We feel we're right on target with 690 calories and 25 percent fat. Obviously, there are some days when we go a little higher. I think one day's lunch totaled 907, but the average is very reasonable."

Holt said she worries about parents who pack their students' lunches believing that school meals are unhealthy. She said convenience foods and packaged snacks can be worse.

Lunchables, a popular brown-bag choice among younger students, can be healthy, Holt said. The Lunchable Fun Fuel Turkey & Cheese Bagel with Squeezable Low-fat Strawberry Yogurt Jammers and 100% Juice Fruit Punch contains 420 calories -- 21 percent from fat -- and 10 grams of fat. The meal contains 35 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sodium, 27 grams of sugar, 16 grams of protein, 6 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 100 percent of recommended vitamin C, 25 percent of recommended calcium and 15 percent of recommended iron.

However, a Lunchables Pizza Swirls Pack with frosting, M&Ms and a Capri Sun Juice Pack contains 480 calories -- 33 percent from fat -- and 17 grams of fat. The meal contains 33 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sodium, 46 grams of sugar, 9 grams of protein, 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 6 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, 10 percent of recommended calcium and 10 percent of recommended iron.

"I know some children won't eat school lunch and that's OK," Holt said. "But I want them to eat something. If parents feel they must pack their child's lunch, I would just ask them to please check what is really in there in terms of sugar, salt and fat. In most cases, they will be better off packing the lunches more carefully or eating what's offered at school."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

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Source: The Paducah Sun

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