Revisions to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are due to come out later in 2009. Peterson says the new guidelines are likely to include recommendations for more fruits and grains, more dairy, and the phasing out of desserts for school foodservice. One of the thorny issues for school foodservice directors is trying to lower calories in the meals. Eliminating desserts does lower calories, but sometimes by too much. For some children, lunch is the main meal of the day, and focusing solely on calories can prove too restrictive.
“Recent suggestions that restrict the amount of nutrients such as fat and sugar, without recognizing a food’s contribution of beneficial nutrients, could result in limiting children’s access to nutritious foods they need,” says Ann Marie Krautheim, M.A., R.D., L.D., senior vice president, nutrition affairs, National Dairy Council, Rosemont, IL. “While concerns about childhood obesity continue to grow, it is critical that we not overlook the fact that, in general, America’s children are also undernourished—most children and adolescents are not getting enough of the key vitamins and minerals they need for growth and good health.”
According to Peterson: “Nutrition and funding are driving the school meals today. There is pressure both internally and externally. School foodservice directors are constrained by having to pay for labor and overhead, as well, and they have to include expensive items like milk and protein, all for limited funds.”
Full-price lunches are subsidized $0.22 by the U.S. government, which also reimburses schools $2.32 for each free lunch and $1.92 for each reduced-price lunch. In lower-income schools where up to 60% of children receive free or reduced-price lunches, schools receive an additional $0.02 per student.
To add to the issues directors have to address, school lunch periods in elementary schools have shrunk from 30 minutes to about 23.7 minutes in just two years, according to the School Nutrition Association, Alexandria, VA.
Manufacturers step into the fray
The regulations and funding restrictions that schools have to address are the same issues for food manufacturers who supply schools. Manufacturers also have the added conundrum of having to contend with regulations that vary by state and localities. “These local guidelines may or may not be based on science,” says Peterson. “There is a company that makes veggie burgers for schools, for example. Because some of the states have different fat, calorie, etc. standards, the veggie burger maker had to come up with different formulations for the different regions, which drives up the cost.”