The true heroes on the healthy-kids battlefront are the ones who balance nutritional guidelines, government requirements, kids’ preferences and cost restrictions—the school foodservice directors. Their job is about to get even tougher as new nutrition regulations go into effect, and the current economic climate causes more kids to sign up for free lunch programs and school budgets to get squeezed.
Food manufacturers are faced with similarly difficult tasks. If they want to sell to this market, companies have to come up with products that also fit the guidelines, appeal to kids and are affordable. Many examples of exciting innovations not only meet, but exceed, these challenges. A little ingenuity and creativity go a long way. While difficult, it makes sense to develop new products or tweak existing products to appeal to this market.
Government nutritional guidelines
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in more than 101,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child-care institutions. In 2007, it provided nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 30.5 million children each day. It was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946. In 1998, Congress expanded the NSLP to include reimbursement for snacks served to children in after-school educational and enrichment programs.
“The original act reflected a different time. The act passed because most of the soldiers of the day were malnourished. Now we have overnutrition, but we still have undernourishment,” says Erik Peterson, director of public awareness, Child Nutrition and Policy Center, School Nutrition Association, Washington, D.C.
Schools who participate get cash subsidies and donated commodities from USDA for each meal they serve and, in return, they must serve lunches that meet federal requirements. They also must offer free or reduced-price lunches to eligible children. School foodservice can also now be reimbursed for snacks for after-school programs.
A big change occurred in 1995, when the newest Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released. Those guidelines recommend that no more than 30% of an individual’s calories come from fat and less than 10% from saturated fat. The guidelines also establish a standard for school lunches that calls for providing one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium and calories at lunch. While school lunches must meet these federal nutrition requirements, decisions about what foods to serve are up to school foodservice directors.
“In 2004, as part of the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization, new recommendations came into play, including implementing local wellness policies and setting nutrition standards for foods served outside the school meal program,” Peterson explains.