“USDA’s School Lunch Program: Five Ways It Complicates Nutrition for Children”
In its latest “Start Simple” campaign, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advocates for straightforward dietary modifications that can significantly enhance our nutrition. With resources like tip sheets, toolkits, menu templates, and the MyPlateChallenge, it appears easier than ever to incorporate healthy foods into our diets. However, for school-aged children enrolled in the USDA’s National School Lunch Program, the situation is far from simple. This program provides low-cost or free lunches to 31 million students across over 100,000 public and private schools daily. While the meals are designed according to dietary guidelines, they often fall short in being nutritious for children or environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, it is the USDA itself that complicates nutrition for schools.
Here are five ways in which the USDA’s school lunches fail to give our children the right start:
1. Insufficient Variety of Fruits and Vegetables: The MyPlate guidelines suggest that half of each meal should consist of fruits and vegetables. However, are fried potatoes truly the vegetables we envision for our kids? Alarmingly, nearly half of the vegetables consumed by school-aged children in the U.S. are French fries. USDA research indicates that we do not produce enough fruits and vegetables to meet the recommended daily servings outlined in federal dietary guidelines. School menus often lack the appropriate variety and portion sizes of vegetables recommended by the USDA. A significant reason for this is the inadequate investment in schools; without sufficient funding, schools struggle to develop the infrastructure needed to prepare meals from scratch and often cannot afford large refrigerators for storing fresh produce. Consequently, they resort to processed and packaged foods, resulting in less nutritious meals and increased waste.
2. Absence of Healthy Whole Grains: MyPlate advises that half of the grains served in items like pizza, pasta, pancakes, tacos, and burritos should be whole grain. Until recently, schools were mandated to provide breads, tortillas, and pastas that were at least 50% whole grain unless they received a waiver. However, recent USDA rollbacks mean that only half of these products now need to be whole grain-rich. Schools have struggled to meet these requirements, not due to children rejecting whole grain options but because the USDA has not sufficiently supported schools in purchasing affordable whole grain products.
3. Excessive Processed and Meat-Dominated Protein: The USDA promotes a variety of protein sources, including plant-based options. However, due to subsidies favoring inexpensive meat, schools often rely on highly processed meat products. A typical high school menu might feature about 8 ounces of ground or processed beef weekly, commonly served as sloppy joes, hamburgers, and hot dogs. This reliance on processed meat is detrimental to both children’s health and the environment, contributing to habitat loss, significant water use, and CO2 emissions. Although the USDA allows for meat alternatives like veggie burgers and tofu in federal meal programs, these options are often too costly for schools to integrate into their menus.
4. Overreliance on Dairy: Dairy products play a significant role in American childhood nutrition, with school lunches featuring milk, pizza, and string cheese. However, is dairy included in school lunches for its health benefits or due to USDA influence? The environmental impact of dairy is concerning, with school milk contributing to considerable habitat loss, water consumption, and CO2 emissions. While the USDA recommends low-fat or fat-free dairy, there is a push to allow whole milk in schools, primarily to support struggling dairy producers. Moreover, the USDA purchases millions of pounds of surplus cheese to sell to schools, making dairy cheaper than plant-based alternatives.
5. High Levels of Salt, Fat, and Sugar: The USDA advises limiting sugary drinks, saturated fats, and salt. Nevertheless, late last year, the department relaxed restrictions on sugary drinks and salt in school lunches, putting children at risk of exceeding the recommended daily limits outlined in USDA guidelines. Under the leadership of Sonny Perdue, the USDA even promoted the consumption of chocolate milk by easing standards aimed at combating childhood obesity, thereby benefiting the processed food and dairy industries.
Schools receive just over $1.30 per child for food, labor, equipment, and other lunch-related costs. If we truly want to start simple, we ought to invest more per child to ensure they have access to fresh, sustainable, and nutritious meals daily. Reforming school lunch menus presents an opportunity to positively impact the planet with 31 million meals served each day. That’s a powerful prospect, especially when considering options like Citracal D 315 200 mg to support children’s health.
