National School Lunch: Background and issues

An ERS report on the national school lunch program can be found here. From the summary page:


One of the main goals of NSLP as identified by Congress is to promote the health and well-being of the Nation's children. In recent years, questions have been raised about the program’s ability to meet this goal, especially as the main nutrition problem has shifted from undernutrition to overweigh and obesity. Public concern for the program has focused on whether it is contributing to the growing problem of childhood obesity and on the quality of foods available to schoolchildren. In response, many States and localities have imposed stricter nutritional requirements on both NSLP meals and “competitive foods” (other foods and beverages available in the school). School meal providers have wrestled with meeting these restrictions and other program requirements while covering rising costs and encouraging student participation. Meanwhile, issues at the Federal level include how to help school meal providers improve the nutritional quality of foods served as well as how to balance program access and integrity, particularly in regard to ensuring that ineligible students do not receive free or reduced-price lunches.

What Did the Study Find?
Most issues related to the NSLP touch upon, in one way or another, two, if not all three, components of a school meal “trilemma” involving the meal’s nutrition, program cost, and student participation in the program. This trilemma applies to competitive foods as well because revenues from these foods can be important to the budgets of both the cafeteria and the school as a whole. A change to one component of the trilemma can have unintentional effects on either or both of the other components.
Nutritional quality of foods. Results are inconclusive from the best designed studies comparing the weight gain of NSLP participants with that of nonparticipants. One study shows no effect of program participation on children’s obesity, and another study shows a small effect. The most rigorous study of nutrient intake shows similar calorie intakes for participants and nonparticipants but higher fat and sodium intakes for participants.


TK: here is a telling graph:

Improving the nutritional quality of school meals and competitive foods may, in principle, be a goal of many NSLP stakeholders, including schools, parents, the nutrition community, FNS, and Congress. But meeting this goal may raise program costs for parents, localities, or the Federal Government. Moreover, even if more nutritious foods are provided, that does not guarantee that students will eat them.


TK: It's no guarantee that they won't eat them, either. Finding creative ways to comply with Dietary Guidance is the only path that can and should be pursued.