By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Fish tacos with Tex-Mex slaw, steamed brown rice, black bean salad and chilled fruit.
Egg patty and cheese on a wheat biscuit, sweet potato crinkle fries, carrot sticks or salad cup.
Whatever happened to corn dogs, tater tots and macaroni and cheese?
They have been kicked off public school district lunch menus including the Lawrence Township school district in favor of fish tacos, whole grain pizza sticks and pulled BBQ turkey on whole wheat buns, as school food service companies scramble to comply with the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
The new regulations, which took effect in September, require the public schools to ensure that students are offered fruits and vegetables daily, plus increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods. Children may choose from low-fat or no-fat milk.
Championed by First Lady Michelle Obama to combat childhood obesity, the regulations also limit the caloric content of those lunches to 650 calories for children in grades K-6 and to 850 calories for students in grades 7-12.
Some of the changes, such as offering whole grain foods and switching to low-fat or no-fat milk, had already been put in place in the Lawrence Township school district before the new regulations took effect, said Marybeth DiLorenzo, the school district’s food service supervisor.
”I had gone to enough training sessions and meetings to know this was coming,” Ms. DiLorenzo said. “We have been transitioning for the past four years. Over the years, it has worked out very well. It has been a gentle transition.”
Under the new regulations, lunch is made up of servings of fruits, vegetables, milk, grains and a meat or meat alternate. The children may “swap out” the main entrée for a crust-less peanut butter and jelly sandwich or oven-baked chicken crunchers. They may have as many fruits and vegetables as they wish, she said.
Ms. DiLorenzo was quick to point out that the regulations are good because they encourage children to eat more fruits and vegetables but complying with the new federal guidelines has presented some challenges.
The old regulations set a minimum calorie content, which the Lawrence Township school district had always met or exceeded, she said. But now there is a minimum and a maximum calorie content that affects the design and content of lunch menus.
”The thing that has been the hardest to take is the maximum (caloric content),” Ms. DiLorenzo said.
The regulations do not take into account the differing caloric requirements of younger children versus older children, she said. A high school senior’s lunch contains about 50 to 100 calories more than a 2nd-grader’s lunch, but that 12th-grader may be playing sports after school.
High school students, who eat lunch beginning around 10:30 a.m., put in a long day by participating in sports or other after-school activities, she said. But the lunch portions have been reduced in size, so they are often hungry later in the day, she said.
”If a child says he is hungry, we tell him he can take an extra hot vegetable or an extra fruit or salad,” Ms. DiLorenzo said. “We have to change the culture. The food is there. They don’t have to be hungry. They have to think about how to fill themselves up with healthier food. It’s not tater tots, but it’s good-for-you food that is satisfying and filling.”
Another challenge has been the offerings themselves, she said. The younger children did not like the egg patty and cheese on a wheat biscuit, or the grilled herb chicken cutlets with whole grain stuffing and gravy that were on the lunch menu for September.
Chicken, black bean and corn chili in a whole wheat bread bowl plus tomato and onion salad got the cold shoulder from high school students last moth. The beef patty melt on whole grain flatbread, accompanied by a spring mix and orange salad, was not a popular item on last month’s lunch menu, either.
”There is no reason not to buy lunch. It’s just that the lunch looks different this year. There is less starch and a lot more vegetables and not necessarily what is familiar to the children,” she said, pointing to starchy vegetables such as cassava and taro.
The change in the lunch offerings was felt immediately as fewer students bought lunch last month, compared to September 2011, Ms. DiLorenzo said. One year ago, an average of 1,714 meals were purchased by the students. But 1,539 students bought lunch last month.
”It was the opposite of what we wanted to happen,” Ms. DiLorenzo said.
The October menus, however, offer more traditional school lunch fare that still meets the new regulations. A grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, sweet potato crinkle fries and fresh green grapes, plus oven baked chicken tenders with creamy mashed potatoes and a dinner roll is on the menu. The meals include a vegetable of the day and fruit.
”We are trying to work within the parameters to create more child-friendly lunches. We are working on finding a middle ground. It’s a really good program and we are committed to making it work. How can more fruits or vegetables be bad,” she said.
”(But) I hope Washington, D.C. will say, ‘Let’s have a second look and make meals more appealing to everyone.’ Keep what is working and what is good about the initiative, and maybe re-tool what is not working, like the portion sizes for the upper grades. I don’t want children to be hungry,” Ms. DiLorenzo said.

