Students to be served healthier food choices

Access to healthier school meals continues as the Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence districts are making the required changes to their food menus to ensure compliance with the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Signed into law by President Obama in December 2010, the Act seeks to improve the nutrition quality of the meals served in the nation’s public schools. For this upcoming school year, the final rule of the Act is being implemented. It requires that students be offered more fruits and vegetables, including dark green, red and orange vegetables, along with beans, legumes and starches.
Both districts began making changes during the past school year. Lawrence brought in Islandia-based Whitsons to revise its offerings. Food choices such as pizza, soft or hard hell tacos and chicken sandwiches, desserts and condiments were lower in fat, sodium and cholesterol content. A “Sensible Snack” program consisted of fresh fruits, yogurt parfaits, fresh baked pretzels, baked chips, raisins, fruit cups and vegetables with low fat dip. A salad bar was introduced at the high school.
Following the required bidding process, Philadelphia-based Aramark food services will serve the district this year. “We were very, very happy with Whitsons,” said Lawrence Superintendent Gary Schall. “They set new standards, but based on the bidding Aramark demonstrated they could match and exceed Whitsons.”

Breakfast and lunch is served in all of Lawrence’s five schools. The district will use a food consultant to monitor Aramark and ensure the new standards are being applied, Schall said.
Hewlett-Woodmere used last school year to learn what the students would eat the most and began offering both iceberg and romaine lettuce. This year, it will be only romaine and all the required vegetables have been added along with fresh fruits such as watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, blueberries and more.
“Fresh strawberry and low fat vanilla yogurt, we can’t make enough of it,” said Michelle Rosenthal, the district’s school lunch manager. “The kids love it.”
Complying with the standards of the Act, a majority of the bread products served in Hewlett-Woodmere’s seven schools were changed to whole wheat or whole grain during the past school year. Pizza crust is made out of whole grain. Pastas are now a combination of white and wheat grains. Healthier sweet potatoes fries will replace French fries. Breakfast is served at Hewlett High School and Woodmere Middle School. Lunch is served at all five district schools.
Additional changes required to implemented include: Half the grains served must be whole grain. When selecting a meal, students will be required to take a half cup of fruit or a vegetable each day. Flavored milk will only be available as fat-free or skim. Regular white milk will be either skim or 1 percent. With the new standards focusing on obtaining nutrients from the food being served fewer desserts will be offered.
Implementing the changes will allow school districts to receive an additional 6-cent reimbursement per lunch served. Districts throughout the nation receive meal reimbursements based on their state rates and the type of lunches they serve.

Key elements of the new nutrition standards

Besides increased servings of whole grains, fruits and vegetables and milk choices with less fat, the new nutrition standards also include these components.

Use of three age/grade groups for menu planning — K-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

Minimum daily portion sizes and minimum weekly serving requirements for each food must be offered.

The number of servings of grain items and meat/meat alternatives offered must be within the weekly ranges for each age/grade group.

Average calories per meal (averaged per week) must fall with in the defined ranges for each age/grade group.

Average saturated fat content per meal (average per week) must ne less than 10 percent of total calories.

No added trans fat or zero trans as shown on the nutrition panel.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture