Public and Private Efforts for the National School Lunch Program

Children’s Diets Public and Private Efforts for the National School Lunch Program Charlene Price and Betsey Kuhn (202) 501-6765 (202) 219-0409 he National School Lunch Pro- the Recommended Dietary Al- program, efforts are also underway gram (NSLP) is one of the lowance (RDA) for key nutrients for to educate school foodservice work- T best-known Federal Govern- some age groups. ers and children about nutrition. ment programs. During fiscal 1995, The regulations surrounding the Schools are also experimenting with about 26 million children in just NSLP were amended in 1995 in re- allowing private firms to enter the over 94,000 schools and residential sponse to evolving knowledge about school lunch market. Such public- childcare institutions participated in nutrition and the dietary needs of private partnerships have led to the the program, at a Federal cost of Americans. NSLP lunch menus are development of more nutritious fast about $5.1 billion—up about 3 per- required to meet critical nutritional food products for use in school cent since fiscal 1994. needs by the 1996-97 school year. lunch menus. The NSLP provides lunches to Waivers may be granted by individ- children in public and nonprofit pri- ual State agencies for up to 2 years Goals Evolved Along With vate schools and residential child- to allow schools time to train food- Nutrition Knowledge care institutions. The U.S. Depart- service employees and to accommo- ment of Agriculture (USDA) pro- date other special circumstances. The dietary goals of the NSLP vides schools with cash and Through the “School Meals Initia- have been based on food guidance commodities to partially offset the tive for Healthy Children,” USDA is information made available by cost of the program’s food and food- working with school foodservice USDA. This nutrition information service. Additional cash is provided personnel to provide nutritious and has evolved over time to incorporate to subsidize lunches for low-income palatable meals with less fat and the latest information about the rela- children. To participate in the pro- sodium and more fiber. Through the tionship of diet to health. gram, schools must serve lunches that meet Federal nutritional requirements and offer free and reduced-price lunches to children de- Profile of USDA’s National School Lunch termined eligible for such benefits. A recent study sponsored by Program, 1995 USDA showed that, averaged over 1 • Schools and residential childcare institutions participating: 94,154 week, school lunches in the NSLP • Lunches served daily: 26 million provided nutritious food to the Na- tion’s school children at reasonable • Free lunch—12.4 million served daily—Requirement: Family income prices. However, on average, below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level ($19,695 for a family of lunches are high in fat, saturated fat, four). and sodium, and some fall short of • Reduced-price lunch—1.9 million served daily—Requirement: Family income from 130 percent to 185 percent of the Federal poverty level ($28,028 for a family of four). • USDA-purchased commodities—1.05 billion pounds Price is an economist and Kuhn is the Director of • Expenditures for the NSLP, fiscal 1995—$5.1 billion the Food and Consumer Economics Division, Eco- nomic Research Service, USDA. May-August 1996 51 Children’s Diets The National School Lunch Act of Focus on Improving the USDA Provides Flexibility 1946 established the NSLP to “safe- Nutritional Quality of To Meet Nutritional guard the health and well-being of our Nation’s children.” Nutritional Meals Standards concerns at that time centered Children’s diets need improve- The new regulations provide around reducing nutrient deficien- ment to meet the recommendations school foodservice directors with cies due to underconsumption of of the Dietary Guidelines. Recent several menu planning options to food. In particular, at the time, mili- studies show children’s overall diets help them meet the revised nutrition tary recruits were failing physical meet the RDA’s for most vitamins requirements. Under one option, fitness requirements thought to be and minerals, but their intake of called Nutrient Standard Menu caused, in part, by nutrient deficien- total fat, saturated fat, and sodium Planning or NuMenus, schools con- cies. The Act sought to address un- exceed Dietary Guideline recom- duct a nutrient analysis on foods of- derconsumption by requiring NSLP mendations. Research has shown fered in the program over a school meals to provide balanced nutrition that foods prepared away from week. This analysis is done using and minimum amounts of specific home are typically higher in fat and computer software. Appropriate ad- food groups—meat/meat alternate, saturated fat than are foods pre- justments are then made to ensure bread/bread alternate, vegetables/ pared at home (see “The Quality of that the meals averaged over the fruits, and milk—amounts sufficient Children’s Diets At and Away From week meet the nutrition standards to provide one-third of the RDA’s Home,” elsewhere in this issue). for key nutrients. When using Nu- for key nutrients. School lunches have been no excep- Menus, the traditional five-item- As nutrient deficiencies due to un- tion. minimum menu requirement (one derconsumption lessened for many A 1993 USDA dietary assessment meat/meat alternate, one bread/ children, other nutritional concerns of school meals showed that, on av- bread alternate, two vegetables/ arose. By the 1970’s, concerns fo- erage, school lunches provided fruits, and one milk) would no cused on excessive consumption of foods sufficient to meet approxi- longer be used. Instead, lunches fat in many diets. In 1980, the first mately one-third or more of the would have to include a minimum edition of the Dietary Guidelines for RDA for key nutrients, including vi- of three menu items—an entree or Americans was published, providing tamins A, C, and B6, and calcium, main course, fluid milk, and one Federal dietary recommendations iron, and zinc. However, school other food item—and meet required for healthy Americans ages 2 years lunches exceeded the recommended nutrition standards. and over. These guidelines provided levels for fat and saturated fat (aver- A second option, called Assisted directional changes, focusing atten- age program lunches contained 38 NuMenus, allows schools to arrange tion on the importance of modifying percent of calories from total fat and for menu development and nutrition diets to reduce consumption of fat 15 percent of calories from saturated analysis by outside entities, such as and other components. The Dietary fat). State agencies, consortiums of Guidelines are reviewed by a panel In USDA’s revision of the nutri- school food authorities, or private of experts every 5 years to deter- tional requirements of NSLP meals consultants. mine whether the existing recom- in 1995, lunches, averaged over a 1- Schools may opt to continue using mendations need to be updated week period, are required to provide the food-based meal pattern for based on current scientific findings one-third of the RDA for protein, vi- school lunches or they may elect to in the fields of nutrition and health. tamins A and C, iron, calcium, and use another option, which is an en- In the most recent Dietary Guide- calories. Averaged over a week, hanced food-based system of menu lines for Americans (1995), people are lunches must contain no more than planning and preparation with in- urged to eat a variety of foods; 30 percent of calories from fat and creased quantities of vegetables, maintain or improve their weight; less than 10 percent of calories from fruits, and bread/grain products choose a diet with plenty of grain saturated fat. Schools must conform (table 1), that meet required nutri- products, vegetables, and fruits; and to these criteria by the 1996-97 tional standards over a school week. choose a diet moderate in sugars, school year, unless they received a There may be other reasonable ap- salt, and sodium. The guidelines waiver. proaches to meal planning that also recommend that people choose would achieve compliance with the a diet that provides no more than 30 new NSLP nutrition standards. percent of total calories from fat and Therefore, USDA is developing reducing saturated fat to less than 10 guidelines and a proposed rule that percent of calories. would set criteria for State agencies FoodReview 52 Children’s Diets to use when they consider and ap- provided by USDA. The rest is pur- rella cheese products with maxi- prove such approaches. chased by the schools or by private mum fat content of 10.8 percent organizations under contract with will be substituted as an alterna- Improving the Nutritional the schools. Foods provided by tive to part-skimmed mozzarella, Quality of Food Products USDA will be: which is up to 21 percent fat; the maximum fat content of reduced- • Lower in fat. For example, the In addition to focusing on better- fat peanut butter products will be maximum fat content of frozen ing the meals, USDA is also improv- cut to 12 grams of fat per 2-table- ground beef and frozen ground ing the nutritional quality of the spoon serving. pork will be reduced by at least 1 commodities it provides to schools. percentage point a year, from 17- • Lower in sodium. For example, About 17 percent (1 billion pounds) 19 percent in 1995-96 to 15-17 per- refried beans and canned carrots of the food served in school meals is cent by 1997-98; “light” mozza- will have lower salt levels; and Table 1 The Enhanced Food-Based Meal Pattern Minimum quantities required per day Meal Option for component Ages 1-2 Preschool Grades K-6 Grades 7-12 K-grade 3 Milk as a beverage 6 ounces 6 ounces 8 ounces 8 ounces 8 ounces Meat or meat alternate: Lean meat, poultry, or fish 1 oz.

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