• Home

Bernd Meier

Home child obesity nutrition school lunch Anderson schools' lunch profit is down nearly 10 percent; officials blame new federal nutrition standards; students object to food

Anderson schools' lunch profit is down nearly 10 percent; officials blame new federal nutrition standards; students object to food

Written by Unknown on 7:13 PM ,
Anderson County school officials say new federal nutrition standards are costing them money and hurting poor students because the students don't like how the food tastes are opting out of school meals, Editor Ben Carlson reports for The Anderson News in Lawrenceburg.

The school-lunch program's profits dropped nearly 10 percent. From August through December, the schools saw a year-to-year decline of 8 percent in the number of meals served, and 54 percent of that reduction came from students who receive free or reduced lunches, Carlson writes.

Schools in Clark County reported only a 1 percent decrease in participation in their school lunch and breakfast programs since the 2013-14 school year, despite similar complaints about the new federal nutrition standards.

Schools that take money from the federal government for their meal programs are required to follow the nutrition guidelines of the 2010 Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act, which requires schools to reduce salt and fat; use more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains; and limit calories by age. The law targets child obesity, in which Kentucky ranks high.

Kentucky is first in the nation for high-school obesity, eighth in obesity of children 10-17, and sixth among 2- to 4-year-olds from low-income families, according to the "States of Obesity" report.

Anderson County Supt. Sheila Mitchell and Ronnie Fields, the district's director of operations, told Carlson that with 48 percent of their students participating in the free and reduced-price lunch plans, they could not afford to drop out of the program like the wealthy Fort Thomas Independent School District did. Nationally, about 150 school districts had withdrawn as of August, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported.

Students and parents told Carlson that students aren't buying school meals because "the food simply doesn't taste good" and school officials told him that they too are frustrated and recognize that many students are "coming to school hungry and going home hungry."

Students told Carlson "The food is gross," and "The food is getting progressively worse." One said, "You only get three things on your plate" and if it doesn't taste good, they don't eat it and go home hungry. One parent who had eaten a school lunch said, "I would not feed that to my dogs."

The district says it is working to improve food quality by surveying students, trying to serve foods they like, experimenting with new recipes, offering samples of new menu items and seeking temporary waivers that will allow them to continue using only 50 percent whole grains.

Another challenge faced by school cafeterias is that they are designed to be "self-sufficient," Fields told Carlson. They must "generate enough revenue to cover all expenses, including labor," And in years past, he said, they functioned with a "healthy surplus," even using this surplus to replace older equipment if the amount of surplus became more than they were allowed to have on hand. But now, because profits are down 9.5 percent since the start of the year, he said, “We’re basically trying to break even."
Tweet
Newer Post Older Post

Popular Posts

  • Lexington is considering whether to add electronic cigarettes to its anti-smoking ordinance
    The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will discuss whether to expand its smoking ban to include electronic cigarettes, possibly as earl...
  • As part of UK campus food deal, Aramark puts up $5 million for Food Connection, vows to purchase Kentucky products
    By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The University of Kentucky has entered a $5 million public-private partnership designed to promote ...
  • Heavy use of e-cigarettes may deliver big doses of formaldehyde, which can be a cause of lung cancer, study suggests
    Vapor produced by electronic cigarettes can contain a surprisingly high concentration of formaldehyde—a known carcinogen that can cause lun...
  • Ten common myths about diabetes busted
    Kentucky ranks 17th in diabetes, and many Kentuckians are newly diagnosed every year with the disease, usually Type 2 diabetes. The diagnosi...
  • Ky. ranks 8th in the number of high-prescribing Medicare physicians for powerful narcotic painkillers and stimulants
    Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the ...
  • Newport school board's smoking ban, which includes e-cigarettes, would be 38th among 173 Kentucky school districts
    The Newport Independent Board of Education  passed the first reading of a proposed smoking ban Wednesday, Jan. 28 after adding electronic ci...
  • Millions of children on Medicaid are missing free check-ups; Kentucky is a little below the national average
    Millions of low-income children across the country aren't getting free preventive exams and screenings guaranteed by Medicaid, and some ...
  • Obamacare seems to be no plus for Kentucky Democrats, perhaps mainly because of the word's first three syllables
    Though the federal health-reform law has helped cover more than half a million Kentuckians and cut the state's uninsured population by h...
  • McConnell seeks 'timely and fair review' of plan for Medicare coverage of CT scans for those at high risk for lung cancer
    U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell asked Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to "give a timely and fair r...
  • Research suggests eating only during a nine- to 12-hour time period can help maintain healthy weight
    For a long time, scientists supposed that eating after midnight was unhealthy, but now a study has provided support for the notion. When sci...
Bernd Meier © . All Rights Reserved. Powered by Blogger