School Food Resources

Comment

Comment by Beatriz Beckford on January 18, 2011 at 10:48pm

The Proposed School Lunch Nutrition Standards

On Thursday, the USDA proposed new nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The new regulations follow as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which was signed into law in December.

The most significant changes to the lunch menu are the increase in fruits and vegetables – more than twice the current required amount. Also, the new requirements for specific types of vegetables will reduce the number of ways a cafeteria can serve potatoes. No more french fries and tater tots for lunch every day. They’re still allowed, but limited.

The Proposed School Lunch Nutrition Standards

The proposed nutrition standards for school lunches are:

• ½ cup of fruit per day for grades K-8 and 1 cup of fruit per day for grades 9-12
• ¾ cup of vegetables per day for grades K-8 and 1 cup of vegetables per day for grades 9-12

• at least ½ cup of dark green vegetables
• at least ½ cup of orange vegetables
• at least ½ cup of legumes
• no more than 1 cup of starchy vegetables

• at least 1 ounces of grains per day for grades K-8 (9-10 ounces for the week) and at least 2 ounces of grains per day for grades 9-12 (12-13 ounces for the week)
• at least 1 ounces of meat or meat alternates per day for grades K-8 (8-10 ounces for K-5 for the week; 9-10 ounces for 6-8 for the week) and at least 2 ounces for grades 9-12 (10-12 ounces for the week)
• 1 cup of fluid milk per day
• less than 10% of total calories may come from saturated fat
• 0 grams trans fat per serving
• Calorie limits are given as daily maximum and minimum levels for different age groups – 550-650 for grades K-5, 600-700 for grades 6-8, and 750-850 for grades 9-12.
• Sodium also must be reduced to less than 640 mg daily for grades K-5, less than 710 mg daily for grades 6-8, and less than 740 mg daily for grades 9-12. These targets will be introduced over the course of the next ten years.

No more than half of the fruit offerings may be in the form of juice and all juice must be 100% full-strength. That’s a welcome improvement. We’ve discussed juices aimed at children before on Eat.Drink.Better and they often seem to have twice the calories and none of the nutrition of the fruit they were pressed from.

Flavored milk is still allowed, but it must be fat-free. Non-flavored milk must be 1% milk fat or less.

When the regulations go into effect, half of the grains served at lunch must be “whole grain-rich”. What does that mean? It means that at least 51% of the grain in a product is from whole grains. I’ve never seen that phrase in the grocery store. I suppose soon it’ll be posted in brightly colored letters on many breads. By five years, all the grains must be whole grain-rich.

School Breakfast

The breakfast requirements are quite different from current breakfast standards. The serving of fruit will double from ½ cup per day to 1 cup per day. The servings of grains and meat or meat alternates will nearly double.

Similar to the change in lunch standards, grains served at breakfast will have to be whole grain-rich and milk will have to be 1% milk fat or less.

What Next?

Public comment is welcomed on the new standards. The deadline to submit comments is April 13, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST.  If you prefer to write your comments and send them through the mail, addres

Comment by Beatriz Beckford on October 4, 2010 at 10:51pm

Did you know that your school is supposed to have a "sustainability coordinator" to create and implement a recycling and waste reduction program at your school?

Have you thought about recycling as a way to raise money for your school or to give to those in need?

Did you know that Aveda will accept bottle caps from schools, so that they don't have to end up in our landfills?

"District 3 Green Schools" is leading the way on the recycling front. Find out about all this and more at nycgreenschools.org.

Comment by Beatriz Beckford on September 12, 2010 at 9:15am

USDA Holds School Lunch Recipe Contest
$12,000 in prizes to create nutritious
school lunch recipes that kids love to eat!
http://www.recipesforkidschallenge.com/

Comment by Beatriz Beckford on September 4, 2010 at 4:19pm

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Mini-Grant for K-12 "Green" Service-Learning Projects
Deadline: September 13, 2010
Grants up to $250,000 available for projects that work with youth to plan and implement a "green" service-learning project. Projects must solve a problem or address a local need related to making communities healthier and more environmentally sustainable (e.g. reduce non-renewable energy consumption; decrease usage of products that are not environmentally friendly; create more outdoor green spaces and trails; promote healthy eating habits; improve air quality, etc.). For more information, click here.

Eat Well Play Hard in Child Care Settings
Deadline: September 30, 2010
This project, titled Eat Well Play Hard in Child Care Settings (EWPHCCS), provides nutrition education, obesity prevention and physical activity interventions at licensed child care centers. The project targets Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) child care centers serving Food Stamp Program (FSP) recipients and FSP eligible individuals defined as child care centers in which at least 50% of the enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced price meals. This intervention targets those child care centers with high percentages of FSP participants and families living at or below 130% of the federal poverty level.

Service-Learning Grants to Fight Childhood Obesity
Deadline: October 22, 2010
Youth Service America and UnitedHealth Group are encouraging youth to create and implement local hands-on programs that address childhood obesity in their local communities through the Heroes Program, a service-learning, health literacy initiative. Educators, nonprofit leaders, and students are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $1,000 each to engage youth in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Applications Available for Youth Garden Grant Program
Deadline: November 1, 2010
The National Gardening Association awards Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations across the United States with child-centered garden programs. Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups in the United States are eligible to apply. Applicants must plan to garden with at least fifteen children between the ages of 3 and 18. Previous Youth Garden Grant winners who wish to reapply may do so but must wait one year and have significantly expanded their garden programs. This year a hundred recipients will receive a $500 gift card from program sponsor the Home Depot and educational materials from the National Gardening Association.

Grants for Salad Bars
Deadline: November 1, 2010
Whole Foods Market is partnering with Chef Ann Cooper to provide healthy salad bars to schools across the country by raising money for a salad bar in at least one school in the communities surrounding each Whole Foods store in the U.S. You can help us reach this goal by donating to your local store (online or through shopper donations) and also by helping a school of your choice to apply for a grant. For more information, visit their website.

The Lunch Box Project's nonprofit foundation, F3 Foundation, will serve as a granting institution whereby any public school may apply online to be chosen for a salad bar, utensils and training tools beginning September 1, 2010. A school representative must apply and secure the signature of their district's superintendent, school principal and school nutrition director. Grant awards will be based on need, potential for impact, commitment to the program and potential for future viability when the grant period has ended.

USDA People's Garden School Pilot Program
Deadline: November 8, 2010
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the USDA is announcing the opportunity for public and not-for-profit organizations to submit applications for a Peoples Garden School Pilot Program grant competition. FNS has set aside $1 million for this pilot program. One grantee will be selected to en