When it comes to school lunch, we’ve heard plenty of horror stories about the terrible food children are being served in public schools and various ideas to help fix the broken system. That’s not to say there aren’t many schools doing their best to serve school children healthy meals every day. The School Nutrition Association (SNA) (formerly the American School Food Service Association), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country, is making sure we hear about the good things happening with school lunch.
Through their new website Tray Talk, the organization shares news about school lunch and weekly stories of school nutrition success. This month’s current news from SNA includes a survey of school nutrition directors that shows that this fall, many school districts will be offering more whole grain items and fresh produce, less or no salt in foods, and less added sugar. The SNA also found that more than half of the districts surveyed will be adding vegetarian options to their school menus. Other improvements in school lunch we may see this coming school year include more menu diversification (meaning more ethnic options), more farm to school programs, more frequent use of local produce, and more packaging waste recycling.
It’s great to hear about positive changes schools are making to their lunch programs. Hopefully Congress will pass the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill and public schools will continue to receive the necessary funds to keep making improvements.
Story via Medical News Today
Image via USDAgov
