Many healthy school lunches ending up in the trash By McClatchy Washington Bureau, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.09.15 Word Count 848 In this Sept. 11, 2012 photo, students are given healthy choices on a lunch line at Draper Middle School in Rotterdam, New York. After just one year, some schools across the nation are dropping out of what was touted as a healthier federal lunch program, complaining that so many students refused the meals that their cafeterias were losing money. Photo: AP Photo/Hans Pennink WASHINGTON Nothing frustrates Brad Kramer more than watching students dump their required servings of fruits and vegetables in the trash. Kramer is in charge of food services for the Kansas City, Missouri, Grain Valley R-V School District. We have some of the healthiest trash cans in the nation, he laughed. But for Kramer and other critics of the federal standards for healthy school lunches, it's no laughing matter. They say the rules, imposed in 2012, are too costly and restrictive, and that Congress should loosen them. Kramer wants to serve healthy food, but points out that it does not do any good unless students actually eat it.
Washington Food Fight Ronda McCullick shares Kramer's frustrations and is pushing for increased flexibility. McCullick is director of food service operations for Kansas City's Park Hill School District. She wants to "go back to making some of those decisions at a local level. McCullick and Kramer belong to the School Nutrition Association. The organization represents school cafeteria workers and the companies that supply their food and equipment. A thousand of the organization s members went to the government this week. The group put pressure on lawmakers to change the school lunch standards. They want lawmakers to drop the requirement that students take half-cup servings of fruit or vegetables as part of every meal. They also want to stop further sodium reductions and loosen requirements on whole grains. It s the latest uprising in a food fight raging in Washington over the fate of the 2010 law that introduced the new standards. The timeline for that law the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act is coming to an end and must be renewed. It s not about government standards, Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts said in a speech to the association s members as they wrapped up their lobbying efforts Wednesday. It s about taking the opportunity to make government programs work for the people and not the other way around. And A Side Of Hash Browns Providing more flexibility to school districts just became especially important for Roberts. He recently took over as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is responsible for the lunch program. Roberts has been visiting schools in Kansas to sample meals and talk to students and principals. If you think about how many school districts there are in the U.S. and how different they all are, it s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work, he said. Last month, the senator stopped by his old high school in Holton, Kansas. The local newspaper reported that he and the students shared sausage biscuits with gravy, hash brown cakes, green beans, apples and milk. Roberts told students that he recognizes that unhealthy choices have become a serious problem. But he also said that he believes the government has too much say when it comes to our daily lives and pocketbooks." Battling "Let's Move" Nearly 15 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds in Kansas are obese. So are 30 percent of adults, according to a report by the Trust for America s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The battle over school lunches pits Roberts and other Republican lawmakers against First Lady Michelle Obama. The rules they are trying to change are part of Obama's Let s Move campaign to help keep children from becoming overweight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the new rules are working. The agency has noted that a new study from the University of Connecticut proves its point. The study shows that children have been eating more healthfully at school and tossing out less food since the rules took effect. The study found that 66 percent of students added fruit to their lunch trays last year compared with 54 percent in 2012. Students also ate 20 percent more vegetables and 13 percent more of their lunch entrees. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the updated healthy school meal standards were based on doctors' recommendations. He does not want Congress to "meddle with" them. "(Going) back to less-healthy meals now would not be in the best interest of our children, Vilsack said. Healthy, But Appealing Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota has plans to introduce a bill endorsed by the School Nutrition Association. Hoeven says the bill amends the sodium and wholegrain rules, but still ensures that schools provide healthy meals. It provides the flexibility (schools) need to serve meals that are not only well-balanced but also appealing to students, Hoeven said. USDA spokesman Cullen Schwarz said the department has shown flexibility in the timing and implementation of the school lunch rules. He also noted that the USDA has done so without the need for legislation. Schwarz is concerned about the danger of letting politicians override pediatricians' recommendations. He worries about reaching "the point where these standards are no longer meaningful and helping kids to be healthy." In his speech Wednesday, Roberts called for a civil policy debate, saying he wanted to bring all sides to the table and noting that disagreements on the subject have had a tendency to get out of hand. We don t need that," Roberts said. "We need solutions.
Quiz 1 Why is the School Nutrition Association challenging the school lunch policies set by the government? They do not match with the standards set by schools. They do not solve the issue of obesity among kids. They are affecting how the Association functions. They are restrictive and difficult to follow. 2 What is the effect of the 2012 national standards for healthy school lunches? There has been no improvement in fighting the issue of obesity among kids. There has been unnecessary wastage of fruits and vegetables served as school lunch. There has been a decrease in the percentage of fruits and vegetables eaten by students. There is an increased consciousness about providing healthy food during school lunch. 3 What is the meaning of the word "lobby" as used in the following sentence from the section "Washington Food Fight"? It s not about government standards, Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts said in a speech to the association s members as they wrapped up their lobbying efforts Wednesday. to sway an opinion to sustain an idea to try to fix an error to try to take control
4 Read the section "Washington Food Fight." In which of the following sentences does the word "drop" have the same meaning as used in the sentence below? They want lawmakers to drop the requirement that students take halfcup servings of fruit or vegetables as part of every meal. I will drop you off at the station. Their hands slipped and dropped the couch. I will drop by your house later in the evening. We had to drop the plan due to bad weather.
Answer Key 1 Why is the School Nutrition Association challenging the school lunch policies set by the government? They do not match with the standards set by schools. They do not solve the issue of obesity among kids. They are affecting how the Association functions. They are restrictive and difficult to follow. 2 What is the effect of the 2012 national standards for healthy school lunches? There has been no improvement in fighting the issue of obesity among kids. There has been unnecessary wastage of fruits and vegetables served as school lunch. There has been a decrease in the percentage of fruits and vegetables eaten by students. There is an increased consciousness about providing healthy food during school lunch. 3 What is the meaning of the word "lobby" as used in the following sentence from the section "Washington Food Fight"? It s not about government standards, Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts said in a speech to the association s members as they wrapped up their lobbying efforts Wednesday. to sway an opinion to sustain an idea to try to fix an error to try to take control
4 Read the section "Washington Food Fight." In which of the following sentences does the word "drop" have the same meaning as used in the sentence below? They want lawmakers to drop the requirement that students take halfcup servings of fruit or vegetables as part of every meal. I will drop you off at the station. Their hands slipped and dropped the couch. I will drop by your house later in the evening. We had to drop the plan due to bad weather.