Healthier Lunches Will Be Part Of Back To School This Year

When East Haven students head back to school for , they’ll see more than just new books, and in their classrooms — for the first time, they’ll also be seeing healthier hot lunches.

Healthier Hot Lunches

Under rules that take affect this year in federally-subsidized public school lunch programs, the federal government is for the first time imposing calorie and sodium limits on school lunch offerings and requiring schools to offer students more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

The new rules, established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, represent the first changes in public school lunch programs in 15 years. The calorie and sodium limits imposed under the new guidelines are based on a student’s age.

The changes are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and are part of an overall effort to make federally subsidized school hot lunches healthier for kids and help reduce a growing obesity problem in the country.

East Haven Cafeteria Labor Strike Looms

In addition to the new meal requirements, at the start of the new year East Haven Public School kitchens , as Whitson's Culinary Group — the Long Island-based company the school board hired to manage its food service program — and the union that represents the cafeteria workers currently at a deadlock in their new contract negotiations.

Union members are that could lead to the 30 workers walking off the job as part of the labor dispute.

New USDA Requirements

The new requirements related to the school lunch act include:

• Age-appropriate calorie limits and portion sizes;
• Larger servings of vegetables and fruits (students must take at least one serving of produce with their school lunch)
• A wider variety of vegetables, including dark green and red/orange vegetables and legumes
• Fat-free or 1 percent milk (flavored milk must be fat-free)
• Reduced sodium content

State Officials Laud Changes

Officials with the School Nutrition Association of Connecticut said they applaud the federal school lunch changes, but added that some districts in Connecticut were already trying to make their lunches healthier before the new rules were passed.

“While these standards will be seen in schools nationwide for the first time this fall, many Connecticut school districts have already begun these efforts,” said Susan Maffe, president of SNACT. “We continue to proactively work to offer additional opportunities for healthier and nutritious lunches and are committed to ensuring a higher quality of nutritional standards than ever before as well as empowering students to make a healthier change.”