BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer
Across the nation, millions of students will be getting more fiber in their diets as new federal standards for nutrition in school lunches come into effect this year.
Schools that receive federal funding for meals must now follow a new set of nutritional guidelines launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The standards call for healthier options in food available at schools and also aim to entirely eliminate sodas and candy at school functions.
The guidelines that schools across America will follow include standards for meals, standards for snacks and standards for drinks.
Meals provided by a school will contain one-third of the recommended daily allowance of calories, protein, calcium, iron and vitamins A and C. Up to one-third of the calories of these meals can come from fat, and of those calories, only 10 percent is allowed to come from saturated fat.
Furthermore, the state, through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, has also mandated that districts monitor cholesterol, sodium and fiber content in meals.
Snacks available at schools must not have sugar as their first ingredient, which means that a food is primarily made of sugar. Snacks may also not contain more than 8 grams of fat or 2 grams of saturated fat. The standards also include a generalized call to reduce the amount of trans-fat in the food served. Candy was also banned. In general, foods deemed to have minimal nutritional value are banned.
Food of minimal nutritional value, as defined by the USDA, includes soda, water ices, chewing gum, hard candies like lollipops and cough drops, jelly beans and all their gummy cousins, marshmallow candies, candy corn, licorice, cotton candy and candy-coated popcorn.
Drinks also come under the purview of the new standards. The size of drinks will be restricted and the kinds of drinks available will be restricted based upon age group. In elementary school, the only accessible drinks will be reduced-fat milk, water and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juice. In middle school and high school, at least 60 percent of every beverage offered, besides milk and water, has to be 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.
The standards will be in effect during school hours and will cover food served by the cafeteria, student-accessible vending machines, school stores and food served during after-school programs.
Anthony Tonzini, the former school district business administrator in Freehold Borough who now holds that same position in the South Brunswick school district in Middlesex County, said, “What’s restricted more is candy and soda, foods of minimal nutritional value, things that have the first ingredient as sugar. All types of candy, soda, those types of things, you’re not going to be [allowed to have] those even during school celebrations.”
Tonzini said groups wishing to raise funds by selling candy will need to restrict such activities to after-school hours, such as during sporting events. He also said the rules only apply to what schools offer.
“We can’t dictate to parents what their kids are allowed to bring. A child could bring candy and soda for lunch,” he said.
The new policy comes from the USDA’s most recent update of nutritional standards. The last time the agency changed the nutritional standards was 1990, according to Kim Jabat of the USDA. The new standards were enacted as a way to combat an increase in the number of obese children and to promote healthy eating habits.