Healthful menus tax finances of schools

Healthful menus tax finances of schools

When the Sioux Falls School District cut back on french fries and cookies in 2005, the lost business from students was enough to throw a $2.5 million kitchen expansion project off schedule.

But habits changed and revenues bounced back. Today's high schoolers give little thought to soda-free vending machines and whole-grain tortillas.

With the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the Obama administration is looking to raise the quality of school meals nationwide. One-third of the nation's kids are overweight or obese, and more healthful school meals go hand-in-hand with first lady Michelle Obama's push for more exercise.

The Institute of Medicine, whose recommendations will shape the next school nutrition guidelines, has called for more fresh fruits, whole grains, dark green and bright orange vegetables and elimination of fatty milk, less sodium and caps on calories.

Anticipating the new rules, many South Dakota schools have spent the past few years making small changes in that direction. Shifting toward healthful foods, however, isn't cheap. And some wonder whether the government's reimbursement rates ever will catch up with the actual costs of feeding 30.5 million school children each day.

Current rules that qualify a school for federal meal money permit whole milk, make no distinction between fruits and vegetables and require no whole grains. That gives meal planners plenty of cheap options.

While some South Dakota school districts have had to use general fund dollars to cover losses, they've made it work.

"Now, as they're trying to up the bar with healthier foods, they're finding it more challenging," said Sandra Kangas, director of Child and Adult Nutrition Services for the South Dakota Department of Education.

It's been five years since Sioux Falls changed its nutrition guidelines for school meals and vending machines. Soda was removed from machines, lunch line cookies downsized and fries made available less frequently.

"It was kind of a painful push" toward more healthful choices, Washington High School Principal Jamie Nold said. "One of the hardest ones was the pop."


At lunchtime last Thursday at Washington, a group of four freshmen had no complaints about their options, which include lines for Mexican and Italian food, an American combo meal, a meal of the day and a sandwich and salad bar.

"If you don't like what the meal of the day is, you can always get a bagel or a sandwich," Nicole Grinager said.

Brady Daly takes no issue with adopting a more nutritious menu. His meal choice depends on which line is shortest. "It's usually all good, so I just do that," he said. "I guess we eat healthy stuff, but we don't notice it."

Joni Davis, the district's director of child nutrition services, is serving pancakes made from whole grains for the first time this year. Other additions are brown rice, black bean salsa and whole grain pasta. But with so much of every meal made elsewhere, schools are limited in the changes they can make. School cooks heat up Hot Pockets and chicken nuggets, but they don't decide what's in them.

Davis has seen some improvements from food suppliers, who are getting ready for the changes on the horizon. Chicken patties, for example, now come with a whole grain breading.

"The vendors are starting to see that the changes are very real," Davis said.
Huron, Winner meet criteria

The Huron and Winner school districts are the only ones in the state to have met the criteria for the HealthierUS School Challenge, a federal program recognizing schools that meet high standards for exercise and nutritious meals. It's expected the next nutrition guidelines will look much like those in the challenge.

Carol Tompkins, Huron's food service director, said the district bakes its own bread, a mix of whole and refined grains. Fruits and vegetables have been added, and the district buys manufactured whole grain items such as waffles. It has switched to a lower-fat breakfast sausage made from turkey.

Sioux Falls applied for the challenge but missed out because it didn't serve a bean or legume one week, Davis said.

Tompkins said a proposed maximum limit on calories could make meal preparation more difficult. She also wonders how she'll meet the demand for more low-fat entrees. "That's difficult unless you're doing an awful lot of scratch cooking," she said.


When the Sioux Falls School District cut back on french fries and cookies in 2005, the lost business from students was enough to throw a $2.5 million kitchen expansion project off schedule.

But habits changed and revenues bounced back. Today's high schoolers give little thought to soda-free vending machines and whole-grain tortillas.

With the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the Obama administration is looking to raise the quality of school meals nationwide. One-third of the nation's kids are overweight or obese, and more healthful school meals go hand-in-hand with first lady Michelle Obama's push for more exercise.

The Institute of Medicine, whose recommendations will shape the next school nutrition guidelines, has called for more fresh fruits, whole grains, dark green and bright orange vegetables and elimination of fatty milk, less sodium and caps on calories.

Anticipating the new rules, many South Dakota schools have spent the past few years making small changes in that direction. Shifting toward healthful foods, however, isn't cheap. And some wonder whether the government's reimbursement rates ever will catch up with the actual costs of feeding 30.5 million school children each day.

Current rules that qualify a school for federal meal money permit whole milk, make no distinction between fruits and vegetables and require no whole grains. That gives meal planners plenty of cheap options.

While some South Dakota school districts have had to use general fund dollars to cover losses, they've made it work.

"Now, as they're trying to up the bar with healthier foods, they're finding it more challenging," said Sandra Kangas, director of Child and Adult Nutrition Services for the South Dakota Department of Education.

It's been five years since Sioux Falls changed its nutrition guidelines for school meals and vending machines. Soda was removed from machines, lunch line cookies downsized and fries made available less frequently.

"It was kind of a painful push" toward more healthful choices, Washington High School Principal Jamie Nold said. "One of the hardest ones was the pop."