What's in your child's school lunch?

By Cassie I. Story, RD
There is a vast range of foods offered at schools throughout the country. Some schools purchase mostly fresh and local foods, have garden clubs where they use the harvest to feed their students, and employ chefs to prepare new cuisine each day. On the other hand, some schools depend on fast food companies to bring in pizza, tacos, and various sandwiches for their students to eat.
Do you know what is offered to your children at school? What can be done to improve the nutritional quality of the food provided?
In 2010 Congress passed the “Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act.” Some key changes included ensuring that children had a fruit and vegetable serving on their tray, eliminating trans fats (except naturally occurring ones), reducing sodium levels, increasing whole grains, and a new set of guidelines on
If you’re not sure where your children’s school falls on the wide spectrum of foods offered, it’s time to get involved. Visit the school and see what’s being served at lunch, review the lunch menu sent home with your child, or look online at your school’s Web site. Talk to your kids about what’s being served at school, and help them come up with ways to eat healthy while they’re away from home.
Personally, my daughters’ preference is to take their lunch the majority of the time. After several stressful mornings of my attempts to increase the variety of their packed lunch and present it in a way that would earn me "Pinterest Mother of the Year," I realized we needed a new plan, one that was quick, easy and healthy (see sidebar).
Healthy choices can be possible whether your child packs their lunch or buys lunch at school. It will take continued effort to improve what’s being served to our children at school, as well as what foods we can purchase to send with them in their lunch boxes. We may not have all the answers on the best ways to improve school lunch, but we must continue to put an effort into making sure our children are served healthy and nutritious options.
Cassie I. Story, RD, is a dietitian who recently started a food blog, WLSDailyPlate.com, to help inspire healthy eating following bariatric surgery. Source for the above article is the Obesity Action Coalition: obesityaction.org.