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PITTSBURG —
Pittsburg USD 250 schools are adhering to new federal guidelines to make school meals healthier, and the results are receiving a mixed response.
The new meals are designed according to standards set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which went into effect at the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Students are offered fruits and vegetables every day, as well as fat-free or low-fat milk. Students also get more whole grain breads, and portions are dictated by age. Additionally, amounts of saturated and trans fats and sodium are strictly reduced.
Terry Feagan, nutrition manager at Pittsburg High School, said the new guidelines mean her cooks produce more meals — such as taco burgers, chicken noodle soup, quesadillas and pasta, among others — from scratch. Feagan said the changes are taking some getting used to, but that they’re nothing her staff can’t handle.
“Everything’s positive,” Feagan said. “It’s just getting it all down. I think it’ll all be good.”
Susanna Thyer, USD 250 Child Nutrition Director, said the new guidelines are a positive step toward ensuring the health and nutrition of all students.
“The standards go a long way toward promoting better nutrition and helping to reduce childhood obesity,” Thyer said in a district release. “For our students to be able to learn to the best of their abilities, they need to have access to healthy, nutritious and attractive meals. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act helps us accomplish that important goal.”
The reaction from students ranges from indifferent to upset.
Sophomore Stephan Taylor isn’t thrilled about the new lunches. The food already needed some help, he said, and now the students don’t even have salt to make it taste better.
“I’ve had to bring my own hot sauce and salt for the last two weeks,” he said. “If I was a food critic, I wouldn’t be very happy.”
Worse, Taylor said, are the smaller portions. Students can, of course, pay for a second lunch, but it costs $3.05, up $0.70 from the $2.35 the first lunch costs. Taylor said more students eat from the concession stand, which offers things such as nachos, chicken nuggets and soda.
“I’d rather eat a semi-healthy lunch than roadkill chicken nuggets,” Taylor said, glancing toward the concession stand. “The kids are just going to go get the fatty stuff.”
Junior Jon Kohl said the new portions aren’t big enough.
Pittsburg USD 250 schools are adhering to new federal guidelines to make school meals healthier, and the results are receiving a mixed response.
The new meals are designed according to standards set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which went into effect at the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Students are offered fruits and vegetables every day, as well as fat-free or low-fat milk. Students also get more whole grain breads, and portions are dictated by age. Additionally, amounts of saturated and trans fats and sodium are strictly reduced.
Terry Feagan, nutrition manager at Pittsburg High School, said the new guidelines mean her cooks produce more meals — such as taco burgers, chicken noodle soup, quesadillas and pasta, among others — from scratch. Feagan said the changes are taking some getting used to, but that they’re nothing her staff can’t handle.
“Everything’s positive,” Feagan said. “It’s just getting it all down. I think it’ll all be good.”
Susanna Thyer, USD 250 Child Nutrition Director, said the new guidelines are a positive step toward ensuring the health and nutrition of all students.
“The standards go a long way toward promoting better nutrition and helping to reduce childhood obesity,” Thyer said in a district release. “For our students to be able to learn to the best of their abilities, they need to have access to healthy, nutritious and attractive meals. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act helps us accomplish that important goal.”
The reaction from students ranges from indifferent to upset.
Sophomore Stephan Taylor isn’t thrilled about the new lunches. The food already needed some help, he said, and now the students don’t even have salt to make it taste better.
“I’ve had to bring my own hot sauce and salt for the last two weeks,” he said. “If I was a food critic, I wouldn’t be very happy.”
Worse, Taylor said, are the smaller portions. Students can, of course, pay for a second lunch, but it costs $3.05, up $0.70 from the $2.35 the first lunch costs. Taylor said more students eat from the concession stand, which offers things such as nachos, chicken nuggets and soda.
“I’d rather eat a semi-healthy lunch than roadkill chicken nuggets,” Taylor said, glancing toward the concession stand. “The kids are just going to go get the fatty stuff.”
Junior Jon Kohl said the new portions aren’t big enough.
“I’m a man, not a little boy,” Kohl said.
Taylor agreed.
“I’m a big man, and this is a small lunch,” he said.
Virtually everyone had a vendetta against the macaroni and cheese, which they said seemed almost unidentifiable.
“I thought it was mashed potatoes,” junior Kelsey Knowlton said.
Again, Taylor agreed.
“The mac and cheese tastes like crap,” he said.
But sophomore April McCool has a different theory, and said the food isn’t much different at all.
“They think it’s healthier, so they think it has to taste worse,” McCool said. “I think the food tastes the same.”
Healthier school meals are one part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, which is aimed at reducing childhood obesity. The changes to school lunches are the main focus this year. In coming years, officials will address school breakfast. Feagan said her staff has already addressed the issue by offering second-chance breakfasts for students who don’t arrive in time. They can get breakfast with a note from the school nurse.
“There are usually about 80 kids,” Feagan said. “We just put our heads together, and it’s really taking off.”
