Public and private efforts for the national school lunch program

Food Review, May-August, 1996 by Charlene Price, Betsey Kuhn

The NSLP provides lunches to children in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child-care institutions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides schools with cash and commodities to partially offset the cost of the program's food and foodservice. Additional cash is provided to subsidize lunches for low-income children. To participate in the program, schools must serve lunches that meet Federal nutritional requirements and offer free and reduced-price lunches to children determined eligible for such benefits.

A recent study sponsored by USDA showed that, averaged over 1 week, school lunches in the NSLP provided nutritious food to the Nation's school children at reasonable prices. However, on average, lunches are high in fat, saturated fat, and sodium, and some fall short of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for key nutrients for some age groups.

The regulations surrounding the NSLP were amended in 1995 in response to evolving knowledge about nutrition and the dietary needs of Americans. NSLP lunch menus are required to meet critical nutritional needs by the 1996-97 school year. Waivers may be granted by individual State agencies for up to 2 years to allow schools time to train foodservice employees and to accommodate other special circumstances.

Through the "School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children," USDA is working with school foodservice personnel to provide nutritious and palatable meals with less fat and sodium and more fiber. Through the program, efforts are also underway to educate school foodservice workers and children about nutrition. Schools are also experimenting with allowing private firms to enter the school lunch market. Such public-private partnerships have led to the development of more nutritious fast food products for use in school lunch menus.

Goals Evolved Along With Nutrition Knowledge

The dietary goals of the NSLP have been based on food guidance information made available by USDA. This nutrition information has evolved over time to incorporate the latest information about the relationship of diet to health.

The National School Lunch Act of 1946 established the NSLP to "safeguard the health and well-being of our Nation's children." Nutritional concerns at that time centered around reducing nutrient deficiencies due to underconsumption of food. In particular, at the time, military recruits were failing physical fitness requirements thought to be caused, in part, by nutrient deficiencies. The Act sought to address underconsumption by requiring NSLP meals to provide balanced nutrition and minimum amounts of specific food groups - meat/meat alternate, bread/bread alternate, vegetables/fruits, and milk - amounts sufficient to provide one-third of the RDA's for key nutrients.

As nutrient deficiencies due to underconsumption lessened for many children, other nutritional concerns arose. By the 1970's, concerns focused on excessive consumption of fat in many diets. In 1980, the first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans was published, providing Federal dietary recommendations for healthy Americans ages 2 years and over. These guidelines provided directional changes, focusing attention on the importance of modifying diets to reduce consumption of fat and other components. The Dietary Guidelines are reviewed by a panel of experts every 5 years to determine whether the existing recommendations need to be updated based on current scientific findings in the fields of nutrition and health.

In the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (1995), people are urged to eat a variety of foods; maintain or improve their weight; choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables, and fruits; and choose a diet moderate in sugars, salt, and sodium. The guidelines also recommend that people choose a diet that provides no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat and reducing saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories.

Focus on Improving the Nutritional Quality of Meals

Children's diets need improvement to meet the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines. Recent studies show children's overall diets meet the RDA's for most vitamins and minerals, but their intake of total fat, saturated fat, and sodium exceed Dietary Guideline recommendations. Research has shown that foods prepared away from home are typically higher in fat and saturated fat than are foods prepared at home (see "The Quality of Children's Diets At and Away From Home," elsewhere in this issue). School lunches have been no exception.

A 1993 USDA dietary assessment of school meals showed that, on average, school lunches provided foods sufficient to meet approximately one-third or more of the RDA for key nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and B6, and calcium, iron, and zinc. However, school lunches exceeded the recommended levels for fat and saturated fat (average program lunches contained 38 percent of calories from total fat and 15 percent of calories from saturated fat).

In USDA's revision of the nutritional requirements of NSLP meals in 1995, lunches, averaged over a 1-week period, are required to provide one-third of the RDA for protein, vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, and calories. Averaged over a week, lunches must contain no more than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat. Schools must conform to these criteria by the 1996-97 school year, unless they received a waiver.