New School Lunch Guidelines will mean some changes in Fayette County

From WKYT 27 News First
Reporter: Stacy Ellison
Posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Link: Fresh is Best
 
In cafeterias across Fayette County you'll find salads, two fresh fruits and two canned fruits offered daily. Nutrition director, Michelle Coker, says Kentucky has been proactive in making school lunches healthier for kids.

"When I came 7 years ago, many of these practices were already in place", Coker says.
So new federal guidelines requiring lunchrooms to offer foods with less fat, less sodium, more whole grains, and more fruits and veggies won't mean big changes.

But one change will be made and it could mean big bucks for the Fayette County's nutrition budget. Starting next year, kids will have to take a fruit or vegetable when buying a school lunch. Now, it's optional.

Coker says, "If we have 800 kids eating we may have only prepared 500 servings of fruits and veggies knowing not everyone will take one. But now, if every child has to take it we've got to prepare 800 servings. And that's fine. But if kids aren't eating it and throwing it away we've got to do some education".

Coker says that education is already underway at the elementary level. Several programs are in place that teach students about healthy eating. In those schools, Coker says there is an increase in the number of kids taking and eating more fruits and vegetables. Similiar program will be implemented next year at the middle school and high school levels.

Coker understands offering healthy foods is one thing. Getting students to eat them is quite another. So ,along with the fruits, vegetables, and whole grains offered in cafeterias you will also find pizza and chips for sale. Coker says the key is finding a balance. The right combination of foods that provide a balanced diet and keep the budget balanced as well.

The new policy will be implemented at the beginning of the next school year. Schools will receive an additional 6 cents per meal in federal funding or adhering to the new guidelines.
The district will asses the cost of following the guidelines before the school year begins to determine if the costs of school lunches will be increased.

With a 16 million dollar school lunch budget in Fayette County, menu improvements will contribute to a 6 cent increase per meal, as well as, 5 cent increases per carton of 100% juice.

Fayette County is really trying to promote the benefits of healthy eating to the school children: Mind, Power, Energy, and Strength!

School Lunches to Blame?

Are school lunches partially to blame for childhood obesity?

In 2010, a study was done at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor where 1,076

middle school students filled out questionnaires asking what they ate, how much physical activity they

got, and the number of hours they watched TV, played video games, and/or spent on the computer

each day.

The students were divided into three groups, depending on whether they said they "always," "almost always," or "sometimes" ate school lunches, "always," "almost always," or "sometimes" brought their lunch from home.

School Lunch (%) vs. Lunch From Home (%)

• More likely to be overweight or obese (38.2% vs. 24.7%) 
• More likely to eat two or more servings of fatty meats like fried chicken or hot dogs daily (6.2% vs. 1.6%)
• More likely to have two or more sugary drinks a day (19% vs. 6.8%)
• Less likely to eat at least two servings of fruits a day (32.6% vs. 49.4%)
• Less likely to eat at least two servings of vegetables a day (39.9% vs. 50.3%)
• Kids who bought school lunch had higher levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol

Also, the school-lunch kids were less likely to participate in active sports like basketball, moderate

exercise like walking, or team sports than the kids who brought their lunch from home. School-lunch

eaters spent more time watching TV, playing video games, and using computers outside of school.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

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It is vital that efforts are put forth to provide healthier choices on school lunch menus, as well as incorporating better education and involvement to teach kids to make healthy choices, in relation to

not only food but exercise too.

The middle school age is a great age to target these goals. Middle schoolers are at age where

independence starts coming into play. The choices these kids make will shape their eating and

exercise habits as they get older.