Sandi Kaplan MS, RD, Associate Director, Clinical Development & Support:
It’s been a long time coming. We have not had new standards for school nutrition since 1994. The Agriculture Department recently released new standards and they are currently open to public comment. And some lobbyists are less than pleased.
Two of the most controversial changes are:
- No more than two servings of starchy vegetables a week – that includes french fries.
- The tomato sauce on frozen pizza would no longer count as a vegetable serving.
The National Potato Council is not happy about the news to say the least. They are saying that french fries don’t cause obesity, french fries in schools are more healthful and less deep fried than they used to be, and that potatoes are high in vitamin C.
Let’s discuss their claims one at a time. They are right – french fries do not cause obesity. No single food does. But the research shows that children who are eating french fries with a meal, eat fewer (if any) other vegetables and eat more calories overall in that meal. I don’t know about you but if I am eating fried foods many times a week, I find that fresh fruit and vegetables sound less appealing. I just want more of the fried, salty stuff.
French fries in school today may be a touch more healthful than their deep-fried counterparts twenty years ago. But that’s like telling me that a Snickers bar is a healthy choice because it’s not a deep-fried Snickers bar. It’s a healthier choice out of two unhealthy options.
Potatoes are high in vitamin C. In fact, as quoted by the National Potato Council: "One medium white potato has nearly twice as much vitamin C as an entire head of iceberg lettuce." As if iceberg lettuce is the nutritional gold standard for vitamin C in vegetables. How about you get rid of that fried potato, mix a little romaine lettuce in with the iceberg (most kids don’t even notice), throw in a few chopped carrots and a few sliced strawberries…then you’re talking great source of vitamin C!
On to the tomato sauce on frozen pizza issue. The industry lobbyists are concerned that this change will mean that less pizza is served in schools. If you are a pizza supplier, that’s a big issue. If you are a parent that would prefer to see healthier options served to your kids, that’s no issue at all.
A spokesperson for the America Frozen Food Institute is worried that school nutritionists will have to find pizza substitutes that fit the guidelines, and that the kids will eat. I am not concerned at all about that. School nutritionists tend to be creative thinkers who are committed to kids eating more healthfully. And if kids are exposed to new foods many times (sometimes upwards of twenty times), the research shows that they will eat it. My daughter did not delight in roasted veggies the first time I served them to her. But, despite being a so-called picky eater, she happily eats them now when they are part of dinner. Exposure truly does work wonders.
These changes will increase the costs of the school meal program by about 12 percent. But if we feed kids healthfully in school, they will want those same foods out of school and will potentially live healthier lives for the long term. Of course, the food suppliers want kids to crave French fries and pizza long term. School lunches are a great marketing opportunity.
Who knows how long it is going to take for these new standards to go into effect. The lobbyists are not going to let this battle go easily. But I, for one, am committed to commenting on the standards and encouraging others to comment positively too. Our kids deserve healthy foods in the school setting no matter what the industry lobbyists think.
In the meantime, I’m considering sending my kids to school in France.