The school lunch reforms of 2010 resulted in skimpy meals that leave high school students hungry, says House Education Committee chairman John Kline, who wants to give school districts “the flexibility they need to fulfill the promise of child nutrition assistance.”
In questioning Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Kline cited his visit to Prior Lake School District in Savage, Minnesota, as an example of what needs to change during an update of child nutrition programs this year. “They [students] certainly were upset about the portions,” said Kline – meals were the same size for a 200-pound football player or a student weighing half as much. Students supplemented their cafeteria meals with snacks from vending machines or junk food purchased off-campus. Prior Lake has decided to drop out of the federally subsidized program.
Vilsack said changes in school menus were guided by Institute of Medicine recommendations. “It’s roughly 25 calories less than they were” before the 2010 child nutrition law, he said. “This is not, in fairness, ‘all you can eat’ at Applebee’s.” Healthy snacks are available in schools, he said, and students can bring food from home. Some districts encourage students to share food. “There are ways to address the issue without rolling back the standards.”
During testimony before the Education Committee, Vilsack pointed to “twin issues” for school meals. Some 17 million children come from homes that cannot always afford enough food, while one-third of U.S. children and teenagers are overweight or obese. The 2010 child nutrition law calls on schools to serve more fruit, vegetables and whole grains and less salt, fat and sugar. “I think we’re on the right track,” said Vilsack.
The School Nutrition Association, representing food administrators, says the 2010 reforms are costly and Congress should provide an additional 35-cent reimbursement for each lunch and breakfast before any new requirements are imposed. The group says schools would save money and waste less food if they offer fruits and vegetables to students rather than requiring students to take a serving of them. Also, SNA wants more freedom in putting foods for sale in a la carte lines.
The school breakfast and lunch programs provide meals for free or at reduced price for poor students.
Critics say the new rules are driving schools out of the lunch program and students out of the cafeteria. Vilsack said 58 schools have dropped out of the program, out of 99,000 participating.
Average school lunch participation was 30.4 million students daily in fiscal 2014, down from the peak of 31.8 million daily in 2010 and 2011, according to USDA data. Public school enrollment was relatively stable during that period, says the Education Department. An antihunger group says most of the decline in participation occurred before the 2010 meal reforms were implemented. The 2010 law also required schools to charge more for full-price meals.
Only 28 percent of students pay full price for school lunch, a 12-point drop in six years. The last time more than half of school lunch participants paid full price was 1990, says the USDA. Some lawmakers increasingly discuss school lunch as if it is a low-income nutrition program rather than a food program open to all students. Many school districts allow students to leave campus during lunchtime, creating a rush to fast-food outlets, and food trucks often park outside high schools.