Health News
- School Nutrition Beat Keeps Busy: Ketchup Returns To Anderson County, More Students Eating At School In Allen County
School meal programs continue to make news, as schools, students and parents adjust to the latest round of federal guidelines to combat childhood obesity and make sure no child goes hungry. The second and third Kentucky counties in the alphabetical list...
- Fort Thomas Joins Other Wealthy School Districts In U.s. That Have Dropped Federal School-lunch Program
The wealthy Fort Thomas school district in Northern Kentucky is dropping out of the federal school-lunch program because "Kids didn't like their healthful lunches," Jessica Brown reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer. "The 2,800-student district joins...
- Schools And Students Are Still Getting Used To Lunches That Are Healthier But Not As Suited To Their Tastes
School lunches look and taste different than they did before new federal nutrition standards kicked in, and that has caused more food to end up in garbage cans and more students to bring a lunch from home, according to an article from the October issue...
- Some Parents Complain About Healthier School Lunches, But Usda Says It's On Course To Improve Public Health
A few school districts in other states are opting out of a federal-funded school lunch program that was touted by first lady Michelle Obama to provide healthier options to students, and some parents in Harlan County are complaining about the new...
- Some School Districts Say They Can't Afford New Federal Program To Give Free Meals To All Students
Many school districts are reportedly opting out of a new federal pilot program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students attending schools where poverty rates are high. They say budget constraints, fear of losing other federal benefits, and...
Health News
Anderson schools' lunch profit is down nearly 10 percent; officials blame new federal nutrition standards; students object to food
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."
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."
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.
- School Nutrition Beat Keeps Busy: Ketchup Returns To Anderson County, More Students Eating At School In Allen County
School meal programs continue to make news, as schools, students and parents adjust to the latest round of federal guidelines to combat childhood obesity and make sure no child goes hungry. The second and third Kentucky counties in the alphabetical list...
- Fort Thomas Joins Other Wealthy School Districts In U.s. That Have Dropped Federal School-lunch Program
The wealthy Fort Thomas school district in Northern Kentucky is dropping out of the federal school-lunch program because "Kids didn't like their healthful lunches," Jessica Brown reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer. "The 2,800-student district joins...
- Schools And Students Are Still Getting Used To Lunches That Are Healthier But Not As Suited To Their Tastes
School lunches look and taste different than they did before new federal nutrition standards kicked in, and that has caused more food to end up in garbage cans and more students to bring a lunch from home, according to an article from the October issue...
- Some Parents Complain About Healthier School Lunches, But Usda Says It's On Course To Improve Public Health
A few school districts in other states are opting out of a federal-funded school lunch program that was touted by first lady Michelle Obama to provide healthier options to students, and some parents in Harlan County are complaining about the new...
- Some School Districts Say They Can't Afford New Federal Program To Give Free Meals To All Students
Many school districts are reportedly opting out of a new federal pilot program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students attending schools where poverty rates are high. They say budget constraints, fear of losing other federal benefits, and...