A year-end report card on school cafeterias: did they make the grade for improved nutrition?
(BPT) - The 2012-2013 school year brought a new curriculum to school cafeterias across the United States. For most of the country’s 17,000 school districts, it was an accelerated class, requiring the complete revision of school menus, from ingredients to food pairings to recipes, to meet the new USDA nutrition guidelines.
Have school cafeterias made the grade? Many health experts say yes, they’ve earned an “A” for their accomplishments.
The new nutrition guidelines require schools to offer an increased variety of fruits and vegetables every day of the week – many of them nutrient-rich dark green, red or orange varieties. At least half the grains served need to be whole grain-rich foods, and milk must be fat-free or low-fat. In addition, there is a greater focus on reducing saturated fat, trans fats and sodium, and an adjustment of calories served based on the age of the children.
“So many good things are happening inside schools, because of these new standards and also because there’s a