Are nutrition rules for schools and day-care centers too much regulation, or steps in the right direction, toward better health?

Commentary by Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

The Paducah Sun's editorial on Jan. 20 said the Obama administration has overstepped its bounds by expecting child day-care centers to follow stricter nutrition standards. The newspaper also called for relaxation of the requirements of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, as Republicans hope to to when the law comes up for reauthorization this year. (The editorial is behind a paywall.)

The editorial does what any good editorial should do: stirs up a bit of controversy and makes you think a bit harder. Do you agree with the editorial's views that these nutrition standards impose "too much regulation," or are you thinking,"We have to try something to combat obesity and the best place to change health behaviors is with children?"

What most everyone probably agrees on is that we have a problem: too many fat, unhealthy children who will become fat, unhealthy adults, perpetuating a chronic health epidemic that is sweeping across Kentucky and the nation. "The heaviest children are getting even heavier" and "overweight or obese preschoolers are five times more likely than normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults," says the Obesity Society website.

Nationwide, one in five children is overweight and more than one in three adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kentucky leads the nation in both adult and child obesity, ranking fifth for adult obesity; first for high-school obesity; eighth in obesity of 10- to 17-year-olds; and sixth in obesity among 2- to 4-year-olds in low-income families, according to the States of Obesity report. These statistics don't even include the number of adults or children who are simply "overweight."

The World Health Organization says chronic disease is the leading killer in our world, with two-thirds of all deaths worldwide a result of conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory infections in 2012. Kentucky, once again, leads the way in each of these conditions.

Kentucky ranks eighth in the nation for heart-disease deaths; 17th for diabetes; fifth for high blood pressure; and first for smoking, lung cancer and lung cancer deaths.

The editorial says, "The food police are on the march again." Is it too much regulation, or could these "police" represent a concerned government trying to solve a major health-crisis that is only getting worse?

In making the day-care proposal, Agricuture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon wrote, "Providing children access to nutritious food early in life helps instill healthy habits that can serve as a foundation for a lifetime of healthy choices.”

The Department of Agriculture proposal calls for new nutritional guidelines for child and adult day-care programs, after-school programs and people who live in shelters that are part of USDA's Child and Adult Day Care Food Programs.

The guidelines would follow the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act guidelines followed in schools, which require more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, less fat and sugar, and limit calories according to age.

What seems to aggravate Sun Editor Jim Paxton the most are the proposal's suggestions to ban on-site frying and the qualification of tofu, a soybean curd, as a meat alternative. It said that while the program was originally set up to combat malnutrition, it now has decided "a little starvation is not a bad thing; ergo, tofu instead of fried chicken."

The editorial suggests that day-care facilities could no longer have french fries or fried chicken, but it fails to mention that both items could be offered with a more healthful preparation in the oven. And tofu, a cheap, low-fat protein source, would be added as an option, not a requirement.

The recommended way to lose weight is to decrease calories, eat healthful foods, and increase activity. The nutritional requirements suggested in this program include two of these efforts.

The editorial reminds us that some students are "turning up their noses at the new offerings," that "student participation in school meal programs is down," and says pre-school programs are concerned that the same thing will happen to them.

However, schools say they are tweaking their menus to find healthful foods that the kids like and purchase newer whole grain products that don't taste any different than the processed grains the kids are used to.

So, is it too much regulation or a new way to improve the health of children that will take time and tweaks to perfect?

The editorial says the Sun supports nutrition education and healthy choices on the school menu, but that the "primary responsibility for combating childhood obesity lies with parents and the rules they set in the home."

But what the editor fails to consider is that one out of three adults, many whom are parents, are obese, and are the ones responsible for teaching these lessons.

Too much regulation or a step in the right direction? You decide.

About 60% of Ky. schools give all students free breakfast and lunch; federal program for those with mainly low-income students

photo: Kentucky Department of Education

During the 2014-15 school year, 104 of the 173 public school districts in Kentucky provided free breakfast and lunch to all students, with 610 schools and 279,263 children benefiting in the program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.

They were able to do this through the Community Eligibility Provision program, which allows school districts with predominantly low-income children to serve all students free lunch and breakfast. Kentucky was one of the first three states chosen to participate in the pilot program in 2011-12, which is now available nationwide. CEP is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

"Schools implementing CEP have reported great success, citing eased administrative burden, more efficient meal service operations, and increased program participation," Angela Kline, director of USDA policy and program development, said in an online letter to the regional and state directors of the program. "Most importantly, students attending CEP schools can count on two nutritious meals every school day, helping low-income families to stretch limited food budgets while reducing hunger among our nation’s children."

This is the first year the East Bernstadt Independent school district in Laurel County has participated in the program. Marcella Hensley, the food service director, called the program a success and said they plan to apply for the program again next year, Mike Moore reports for The Sentinel-Echo in London.

The northern Laurel County district has 462 students in K-8, plus 55 preschool students, Moore reports. Since the program began at the start of the school year, Hensley told Moore that she has seen a 2-percent increase of breakfasts and lunches being served, adding that the cafeteria staff prepares 980 breakfasts and 2,064 lunches per week. She said this amounts to about 70 to 80 more students at lunch each day and 80 to 90 more students at breakfast, compared to previous years.

 “I feel that if a child eats a breakfast, they function better in class,” Hensley told Moore. “They’re more alert and ready for what they’ve got coming at them academically-wise. To me, breakfast is more important because they function better during the day. If we see their faces more at breakfast, I feel like they’re going to do better in class.”

Testing out new school lunch guidelines yields unhappy customers, more trash and an effort to undo the mandate

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the Obama administration's effort to mandate more fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains into the diets of school children, has some uphill climbing to do and it's not just the kids who are complaining. Though, admittedly, they were the first. Sarah Gonzales of Agri-Pulse took a look at some rural school districts trying to implement the law in advance of the law's implementation deadline, to see how the new science-based standards were working in real lunchrooms. What she found were complaints from student athletes who thought they needed more calories and more options, and substantial increases of good food thrown in the garbage. They also got this parody of "The Hunger Games" from some ingenious Kansas kids:



Dawn Matthews, director of food service for the rural Camdenton school district in Missouri, serves 3,200 school lunches every school day to kids in every grade level from K-12. The new standards, drawn from recommendations from an independent panel of doctors, nutritionists and other experts, require better nutrition and allow schools to serve between 550-650 calories for students in K-5, 600-700 calories of students for 6th through 8th grades, and 750-850 for high school lunches. Agri-Pulse reporters explain that a daily lunch costs $2.10, but almost 60 percent of the meals are offered for free for a reduced price in this rural district. Matthews notes that participation in the program is dropping with the new menu in place.

Even before the deadline for the act to be put into effect, Gonzales notes, Reps. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kans., and Steve King, R-Iowa, introduced the No Hungry Kids Act last month to repeal the new school guidelines. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture also issued a recent policy statement saying the initial law was "well-intentioned, but falls short of providing a comprehensive policy for educating students in healthy living."

The results of the first few months of trial -- especially the waste -- have been "disheartening," said food director Matthews. It is also early. "I think it's going to evolve over time," said the chairman of Florida's Lake County School Board, Roseanne Brandeburg. "If you're in elementary school, and this is what you're going to be served, you're going to get used to it."

Agri-Pulse is subscription-only, but free trials are offered on its website.

All students at many Kentucky schools will get free lunches, regardless of household income

All students in as many as 102 of Kentucky's 174 school districts will get a free lunch every day starting next month. Kentucky is one of three states to be chosen for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Universal Meal Service pilot program, which is to run for the next four years.

To be in the program, a school must have at least 40 percent of its students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch through regular USDA programs, based on household income. Schools must also be certified with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP), the successor of welfare. Districts containing eligible schools must notify the Kentucky Department of Education's Division of School and Community Nutrition of their intent to participate by July 29. Parents "don't have to do anything to make this happen," said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for KDE.

"Really what this program is designed to do is cut down on the bureaucracy," Gross said." "If a school is identified as eligible, that takes care of a lot of reporting. It's designed to cut down on the red tape." Tennessee and Illinois are the other two states chosen to participate. By 2014, all states will be eligible for it, under requirements of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

The Covington and Owsley County school districts have the highest percentage of students — 88 percent — eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch. Magoffin County has the second highest with 86 percent followed by Newport (85%); Bell County (83%); and West Point Independent in Hardin County (81%). To see a list of all 102 eligible districts, click here.

Hopkinsville paper gives detailed description of federally mandated changes in Christian County school lunches

Five years ago Christian County Public Schools served a dessert with every meal, white rolls, and vegetables with plenty of salt, Margarita Cambest reports for the Kentucky New Era in Hopkinsville.

Shift to 2014: Dessert is considered an occasional treat, fruit is a staple, the rolls are whole grain and there are vegetables galore, with a lot less salt.  Students are adjusting to these changes as school meal programs shift to comply with new federal guidelines, Cambest reports.

“They want to be healthy, but they don’t always want to eat healthy,” Sandra McIntosh, the schools' food service coordinator, told Cambest. “This makes it easier.”

The Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act, which passed in 2010, initially required schools in the federal meal program to decrease fat and sodium and increase whole grains. This year, strict sodium and calorie limits have taken effect. McIntosh told Cambest that this was the first major change in the program's law in 30 years.

Specifically, fruits and vegetables must be offered, with a choice between two meats, two vegetables and two fruits at each meal, Cambest writes. Whole grains have replaced white bread, and only fat-free or low-fat milk may be served, including chocolate milk. Calorie limits vary between grades, but all students must take at least one serving of fruit or vegetable at breakfast and one of each at lunch.

So what does a typical meal look like?  The New Era sampled lunch at Hopkinsville Middle School and reported a menu of breaded and baked chicken (with or without barbecue sauce), a cheeseburger on a whole-grain bun, or a chef's salad. Green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, or veggies with low-fat ranch dressing were served on the side, and a choice of a banana or mandarin orange slices rounded out the meal.

“A lot of times, kids aren’t offered this kind of variety at home,” schools spokeswoman Heather Lancaster told Cambest.

This year, all Christian County public-school students are eligible for free meals under the federal Community Eligibility Program, which applies to schools that serve mostly low-income students. The middle school and the district's two high schools were the last in the district to be added to the program, Cambest reports. In the first 10 days of school, the three schools served 1,690 more breakfasts and 595 more lunches than in the same period last year. (Read more; this article is behind a paywall)

'Hard times' help 13 more schools in Paducah area join about 20 in federal program that gives free meals to all students

Thirteen more schools in the Paducah area will offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students under a provision of the federal school-lunch program, joining about 20 others in the region, reports Genevieve Postelthwait of The Paducah Sun.

"Schools that are new to the program include Hendron-Lone Oak, Calvert City, Lowes, Wingo, Graves Central and North Livingston elementary schools; Fulton County elementary and middle school; South Marshall, Livingston and Ballard County middle schools, and Ballard Memorial, Fulton County and Graves County's Gateway Academy high schools," Postlethwait writes.

"They will join a group of about 20 other area schools that have qualified for and opted into the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that allows high-poverty schools to provide two square meals a day for all students at no cost to parents. . . . CEP schools must have 40 percent or more of their students "direct certified" as at-risk for food insecurity through state data. Direct-certified students include those whose households participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Cash Assistance (TANF) or Medicaid, as well as those who are in foster care, a Head Start program, or are homeless or migrant children."

In Ballard County, where all schools now have free meals, Food Service Director Amber Hayes told Postlethwait that CEP has made a difference has been critical for parents on "the bubble" because of layoffs at a paper mill, the U.S. Enrichment Corp. plant and the Honeywell Inc. plant in Metropolis, Ill., across the Ohio River from Paducah. "Good-paying jobs are hard to find," she said. "Some parents are making too much to qualify for most assistance programs, but it's still not enough." (Read more; subscription required)

Signups due tomorrow for nutrition workshops June 29-July 1

Tomorrow is the deadline to register for two affiliated workshops that will focus on school nutrition and the overall health of Kentucky children. The Coordinated School Health Institute will focus on how schools and communities can work toward creating healthier schools. The Growing Healthy Kids in Kentucky workshop will address how to create healthy, hunger-free communities.

The CSHI event is June 29. The Growing Healthy Kids gathering is June 30 and July 1. Both events will be at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel in Lexington. All school staff, community organizations, parents, dietitians, nurses, school food service staff, journalists and any stakeholder in the health of Kentucky children are welcome.

The CSHI workshop will cover topics focusing on fitness, staff wellness, school health services, mental health, school nutrition and Medicaid managed care. It is presented by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

The two-day Growing Healthy Kids event will address physical activity, farm-to-school success stories, local foods, the Let's Move initiative, Kentucky Proud, breastfeeding, worksite wellness and culinary arts programs. It is sponsored by the Kentucky Dietetic Association.

Click here to register online. The cost for both events if $205. For more information, click here.

Boone County Schools strategically implement healthy changes to lunch menu

Boone County Schools began serving healthier food and offering low-fat, low-sodium meals in their lunchrooms before the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was implemented in 2010, Amy Scalf reports for the Community Press.

"Whole grain is our largest issue," Food Service Director Barbara Kincaid told the weekly paper published by The Cincinnati Enquirer. "We work really hard on that because some students find these products unacceptable. . . . Sometimes we don't point out that items are whole-grain, but they are."

Dr. Randy Poe, superintendent, said nutrition education is important in the school environment: "A healthy child can make healthier choices, which leads to improved academic performance. So, it's beneficial to not only make sure our students are eating healthy but to make sure they understand the importance of eating healthy and how it affects their brain, body functions and growth."

Kincaid said introducing new foods is a little easier with younger students, and "adding unusual vegetables as a garnish can generate interest among students," Scalf reports. "The students get used to seeing them and begin to try them," Kincaid said. "Kids who say they don't like tomatoes may try them if they're offered as a garnish." They have been careful to make a few changes at a time. Boone County school cafeterias no longer serve foods with trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup.

"Nationwide, there's a 15 percent reduction of kids eating school lunches," Kincaid said. "In the past four years, there has been a 7 percent reduction in Boone schools. That's significant, and it's still troublesome to me because those are kids we're not feeding, and I want to feed all of them."

Two nutrition workshops will address school lunch, local foods, childhood obesity

Two workshops focusing on school nutrition and the overall health of Kentucky children will be hosted at the end of next month. The Coordinated School Health Institute workshop will focus on how schools and communities can work toward creating healthier schools. The Growing Healthy Kids in Kentucky workshop will address how to create healthy, hunger-free communities.

The CSHI event will be June 29. The Growing Healthy Kids gathering will be June 30 and July 1. Both events will be at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel in Lexington. All school staff, community organizations, parents, dietitians, nurses, school food service staff, journalists and any stakeholder in the health of Kentucky children are welcome.

The CSHI workshop will cover topics focusing on fitness, staff wellness, school health services, mental health, school nutrition and Medicaid managed care.

The two-day Growing Healthy Kids event will address physical activity, farm to school success stories, local foods, the Let's Move initiative, Kentucky Proud, breastfeeding, worksite wellness and culinary arts programs.

The CSHI event is presented by the Foundation for a Health Kentucky. The Kentucky Dietetic Association will host the Growing Healthy Kids in Kentucky workshop.

Registration deadline is June 21. Click here to register online. Cost for both events is $205. For more information, click here.

Two conferences this summer will focus on children's health

The 2011 Coordinated School Health Institute conference is set for June 29 in Lexington. The conference will focus on the roles community partners and families play in creating healthy places to learn and work.

The Growing Healthy Kids in Kentucky conference will follow June 30 and July 1. The conference will address how to create healthy, hunger-free communities.

Both conferences will be at the Marriott Griffin Gate hotel. Cost for both events is $205. To register, click here.

New school nutrition requirements extend to snacks, beverages and a la carte cafeteria items

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Schools will have to provide students with healthier snacks and beverages during the school day this year as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Smart Snacks in School" standards.

The Hunger-Free Kids Act, which gave schools three years to make their menus healthier with more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, less fat and sodium and smaller portion sizes, added similar nutritional guidelines to all snacks and beverages served during the school day, starting July 1.

"Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release. "Parents and schools work hard to give our youngsters the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong, and providing healthy options throughout school cafeterias, vending machines, and snack bars will support their great efforts."

Changes in the nutritional guidelines for school meals were made in an effort to fight childhood obesity, a real problem in Kentucky, with 16.5 percent of children in Kentucky obese, according to the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The new standards will apply to all snacks or "extras," including a la carte items in the cafeteria, snacks in school stores, snack bars and vending machines, until 30 minutes after the end of the official school day. The standards will not affect food sold at after-school sporting events or other activities.

Until this year, students have been allowed to purchase certain "extras" and a la carte items in the lunch line, giving students a "loophole" to continue unhealthy eating habits at school, Kacie Goode reports for the Kentucky Standard in Bardstown.

"I'm hopeful this restriction will encourage healthier choices and discourage skipping the good stuff for less healthy snack foods," April Peach, director of school nutrition for Nelson County, told the Nelson County School Board, Goode reports.

The standards have some flexibility. The USDA press release says students can continue to bring what they choose from home for lunch, treats for special occasions will still be allowed, and fundraisers and bake sales that involve food outside the standards can be permitted. Schools can also impose rules stricter than the standards, which set a minimum.

Schools will have one year to implement the changes. Sue Bartenfield, program manager for the schools branch in the state Department of Education's Division of Schools and Community Nutrition, said in a phone interview that the agency does not kept data on how many schools in Kentucky had already made these changes but "the competitive food rules in Kentucky were fairly strict already."

"We had to take the federal and state guidelines and go with the most restrictive," she said.

Another change allows schools to offer the entree item as an a la carte food on the day it is served as part of the meal, and the day after. These entrees will be exempt from the nutritional standards on those days, since they will be considered to be a healthy choice for students who don't want the whole meal. However, side items, snack foods, beverages and any entrees not served as part of the meal must comply with the set nutritional standards if they are sold a la carte.

“We can’t just sell an extra order of french fries, because it doesn't meet (nutritional) requirements to be sold a la carte,” Peach explained at the Nelson County meeting. “It’s good enough to go on a plate to make a meal, but it’s not healthy enough to sell them an extra serving."

Generals ask Congress to renew school nutrition rules, note 73% of young adult Kentuckians too fat to fight, 8th highest in nation

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

A new report from the Department of Defense found that 73 percent of young adults in Kentucky aren't qualified to serve in the military, mostly because they are overweight. That is the eighth highest ineligibility rate in the nation.

Nearly one-third of all Americans ages 17 to 24 are too overweight for military service.

“Too many young people today have unhealthy eating and exercise habits,” retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Jerry D. Humble of Russellville said in a press release from Mission: Readiness / Military Leaders for Kids. “This problem threatens to diminish our future military strength and put our national security at risk.”

In Kentucky, 33 percent of teens are overweight or obese, and 78 percent don't get the recommended hour of exercise daily.

This report documents the "staggering impact of obesity on America's military" and has prompted more than 450 retired admirals and generals, many from Kentucky, to support the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, commonly known as the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act,which is set to expire in September.

“As a doctor, I can tell you that we must turn the tide on the obesity epidemic by instilling good eating and exercise habits from an early age," Gen. Rhonda Cornum, a surgeon and former director of the U.S. Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, said in the release. "Good nutrition starts at home, and parents play a central role in combating childhood obesity, but it’s critical to remember that children consume up to half of their daily calories while at school and out of sight of their parents.”

As Congress prepares to reauthorize the program, it is certain that many will push for changes that address "inedible meals, food waste and misspent funds," Julie Kelly and Jeff Stier report for the Wall Street Journal.

Many of the GOP lawmakers are backed by the School Nutrition Association, which is asking for changes, citing the increase in food waste and decline in student participation in the school-lunch program in the past three years, Lydia Wheeler and Kate Hardiman report for The Hill.

SNA is asking Congress "to revert back to 2010 standards that require only half of all grains offered to be whole-grain rich, leave sodium levels where they are until research proves further reductions benefit children and do away with the requirement that forces kids to take the half cup of fruit and vegetables with every meal, since most students end up throwing them away," the Hill reports.

Advocates are urging constituents to call their representatives and tell them that the new nutrition standards are working, citing studies that say students are responding positively to the healthier lunches and are eating more fruits and vegetables and are wasting less since before the new nutrition standards were enacted, Chef Ann Cooper writes for U.S. News and World Report.

Results from poll sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
 the Pew Charitable Trusts and the American Heart Association

The military report included the same research support for the new school nutrition standards that Cooper included in her article, but also added a poll released last week by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association that found 72 percent of parents nationwide favor updated nutritional standards for school meals and school snacks, while 91 percent favor requiring schools to serve fruits or vegetables with every meals.

The report also provided the results from the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project poll that found 75 percent of Kentucky voters and 76 percent of public school parents support the new federal school nutrition guidelines. And roughly 70 percent support the higher nutrition standards placed on vending machines, snacks and a la carte menus.

Susan Zepeda, President and CEO of The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, said, "The health and well being of our next generation is at stake, We must remove the barriers to good health that stand in the way of Kentucky kids being ready to learn in school and prepared for any career they choose."

Retired Army Maj. Gen. D. Allen Youngman said, “Look, plenty of students don’t like algebra. Does that mean we stop teaching math? Of course not. Change can be hard, but if we want kids to grow up fit and healthy, it’s just plain common sense to serve nutritious meals in schools.”

Youngman added, “More than 30 million children have eaten healthier school meals since 2012. We need to keep that momentum going, because when our children’s health and our national security are at stake, retreat is not an option.”

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."

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.

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."

Schools serving somewhat healthier lunches, but short on physical activity, national survey shows

The nation's middle and high schools are feeding students somewhat healthier lunches, but are falling short in providing physical activity to students, a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Bridging the Gap program has found. And while soft drinks and sugary snacks are available in most schools, Kentucky is an exception.

The report, which analyzed the 2007-08 school year, found schools are offering fruits and vegetables most or every day, more whole grains and fewer helpings of french fries. However, there is still considerable progress to be made, the foundation says; pizza is available most every day, too, and students could buy sugar-sweetened drinks in vending machines, à la carte lines, store or snack bars at 71 percent of middle schools and 92 percent of high schools.

Those numbers are lower in Kentucky due to a state mandate enacted in 2005. That law prohibits students from beign served anything but water, 100 percent fruit juice, low-fat milk or beverages that have fewer than 10 grams of sugar per serving during the school day. It also prohibits anything but those types of drinks from being available in school vending machines during the school day.

In the 2008 national survey, principals said 1 in 4 middle-school students ate breakfast at school and nearly 3 in 4 ate lunch there. But among high-school students, only 18 percent eating school breakfast and 60 percent school lunch. In schools with higher percentages of students eligible for free and reduced lunch, "both breakfast and lunch consumption were significantly greater, indicating that school meals were an especially important source of nutrition for students in low socioeconomic status schools," the report reads.

Physical education was required for a part of the school year for 83 percent of middle-school students, but only 35 percent of high-school students. Only 10 to 13 percent of high-school students and 21 to 24 percent of middle-school students participated in intramural sports and physical activity clubs in 2008. Only a fourth of middle-school students and 14 percent of high-school students biked or walked to school in 2008.

The study is based on surveys that were mailed back from principals, food-service managers and other staff. In 2007, 222 middle schools and 224 high schools responded. In 2008, 265 middle schools and 262 high schools participated in the survey. The response rate from schools was 76 percent in 2007, 77 percent in 2008. The conclusions come in time for the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. (Read more)

Generals in Kentucky, the national leader in young-adult obesity, say the 'too fat to fight' trend is endangering national security

Recent commanders of the Kentucky National Guard say the country could be at risk because America's youth is too fat to fight, and they urge Congress to take action. A study recently showed more than half of adults 18 to 24 in Kentucky are overweight or obese — the highest share of any state. Nationally, one in four young adults are too overweight to enlist.

"What can we do to combat child obesity and help expand the pool of young adults qualified for military service?" former Adjutant Gens. Donald Storm (right), Michael Davidson and D. Allen Youngman write in an op-ed piece for Kentucky newspapers. "School is a good place to start. Many children consume nearly half of their daily calories at school, and more than half of kids eat at least one meal served in school every day."

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which updates school nutrition standards for the first time in decades and provides more funding for each meal served in school cafeterias, is a step in the right direction, they say, "but more is needed to prevent our childhood obesity crisis from becoming a national security crisis."

Updating school equipment and personnel seem necessary. A recent survey of 13 southeastern Kentucky school districts found that nine use deep fryers and only five use salad bars. The survey also found that the vast majority of districts do not have the funds necessary to update or repair equipment that will be needed to comply with the new nutrition standards. Also, 11 of the 13 school food-service directors said their cafeteria workers need more training in order to be prepared for new standards.

"We are urging members of Congress to help schools meet the standards of the new child-nutrition law and provide additional support for kitchen equipment and training," they write. "These funds will help ensure that all of our children can lead healthy lives and that those who wish to serve their country are fit enough to do so." (Read more)

Nationally and statewide, farm-to-school program is a success

With approximately 80 Kentucky school districts participating in the Farm to School program, many of them are finding special ways to celebrate National Farm to School Month, with much to celebrate, as a preliminary U.S. Department of Agricuture report finds that schools that participate in Farm to School programs show an increase in the number of school meals sold, an increase in the consumption of healthier foods and decreases in plate waste.

“By investing in Farm to School not only will the next generation be healthier but they will be more informed consumers who value the farmer and support their local food system, not as a novelty but as a way of life," Tina Garland, procedures division coordinator for the Kentucky Farm to School program, said in a telephone interview.

The Jefferson County Public Schools are celebrating National Farm to School Month with its cafeterias serving a menu full of locally grown food at district elementary, middle and high schools on Oct. 23 and 24, Ja'nel Johnson reports for WFPL Radio.

JCPS began its farm-to-school initiative about eight years ago with apples from a farm in Indiana, but has since grown to include seven local farmers in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee, Johnson reports.

The district's goal is for 10 percent of its produce to be locally grown, Dan Ellnor, manager of the Nutrition Service Center at JCPS, told Johnson, explaining that because they serve 112,000 meals a day, it is difficult to incorporate locally grown produce into every meal.

"Last year, 3 percent of the district’s produce came from local farmers, and JCPS spent $124,000 on local produce. So far this year, $131,000 has been spent on local foods," Johnson writes.

Ellnor told Johnson that this program helps teach students where their food comes from, which is part of the program's mission.

“There are kids, honestly, who don’t know that ketchup comes from a tomato,” he said.

More schools than ever are participating

Although the farm-to-school initiative has been around for many years, the national Farm to School Grant Program was created more recently through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to help eligible schools implement programs to improve their access to local foods. To date, the grant program has funded 221 farm to school projects, totaling $15.1 million, according to its website.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has been the recipient of a USDA Farm to School support service grants, which allowed them to re-grant 11, $5,000 mini-grants across the state to either help develop new farm-to-school programs or to enhance existing programs, according to Garland.

"Farm to school is one of many tactics and resources that USDA makes available to help schools successfully serve healthier meals to kids," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. "Farm to school partnerships have a proven track record of encouraging kids to try, like and eat more healthy foods and creating new market opportunities for the farmers that grow them."

Preliminary results from from USDA's Farm to School census found that 17 percent of school districts that participate have reduced plate waste; 28 percent are more accepting of healthier school meals; 17 percent have increased participation in school meals; 21 percent have lowered the school meal program costs; and 39 percent have more support from parents and their community for healthier school meals.

The preliminary report also found that since the inception of the grant program two years ago, there has been a 55 percent increase in the local purchase of foods, to $598.4 million in 2013-14 from $385.8 million in 2011-12.

JCPS's goals of increasing its share of locally grown produce to 10 percent fits with the preliminary census findings that found almost half of its respondents said they planned to increase their local food purchases in the coming years.

Nationwide, more than 42,000 schools have farm-to-schools programs,according to the release.

According to the latest official data, in 2011-12 Kentucky schools spent $1.6 million on local foods, which involved 60 school districts and approximately 702 schools, according to Garland. To date, Garland said this number has increased to approximately 80 school districts and over 200 farmers participating in the Kentucky Farm to School program.

Kentucky was also one of three states to receive a National Farm to School Network Seed Change pilot grant, made possible through a generous donation from the Walmart Foundation, that allowed them to distribute 20, $5,000 mini-grants across the state to create or support Farm to School programs, according to Garland, noting that this is a different program than the Farm to School Grant Program.

Boone County school bans all food at school birthday celebrations, partly in an effort to combat childhood obesity

Burlington Elementary School in Boone County has banned all food during birthday celebrations, including ice cream and cake, as part of its new wellness policy, Jessica Brown reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Celebrations are still allowed and can include non-food treats, Brown writes. Burlington is one of very few schools to make this move in efforts to make sure students are getting healthy food at school and to also decrease celebration time, which takes away from classroom time.

"We're finding it's difficult to be the first," Valerie Bailey, who is on the PTA and on the committee that helped craft the policy, told Brown. "Parents say it's not fair. But we hope it sends a message to the parents and kids, especially with the obesity rate being so high, and puts a bug in their ear."

"To be clear, the federal government does not ban birthday cake. Nor does it ban pizza parties or bake sales – all notions that have gotten a lot of attention in recent years," Brown writes.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act does require all schools to have a "wellness policy," which is determined by the individual schools and is where some schools have created this type of restriction.

Burlington's main goal when it revised its wellness policy was to address the growing childhood obesity rate, Brown reports.

"About 37 percent of our children are at risk (for obesity) or obese," Kathy Reutman, who is in charge of making sure the wellness policies for Boone County schools meet federal guidelines, told Brown. "It's not up to us to tell parents what to do," she said. "But when children are in our care we make sure that nothing gets in the way of them and their learning. Food allergies or too much sugar get in the way of that."

Students have gotten creative at Burlington to accommodate this change, with one student bringing in jump ropes for the class for a jump rope party to celebrate his birthday, Brown notes.

The Enquirer reports that they have found only one other local school district with a similar rule, Southgate, a one-school district in Campbell County and reports that while rare locally, birthday-cake bans are "springing up elsewhere across the country."

With pushes from Obama administration, Kentucky schools focused more on health; example: less junk food is available

Lexington Herald-Leader file photo

Sugary drinks, fatty snacks and chocolate candy are becoming harder to buy in Kentucky schools, which are paying more attention to health issues, according to the latest survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC's latest biennial School Health Profiles for 2014 found big declines in the availability of junk food since 2014. Here are the specifics:

• Chocolate candy: 7.8 percent in 2016, down from 22.6 percent in 2014
• Salty snacks that are not low in fat: 13.7 percent in 2016, down from 26.1 percent.
• Cookies, crackers or other baked goods that are not low in fat: 12.0 percent in 2016, down from 24.1 percent.
• Soda or fruit drinks that are not 100 percent juice: 15.7 percent in 2016, down from 33.1 percent in 2014.

There was also a big increase last year in the number of Kentucky schools that banned less nutritious foods and beverages from being sold in fundraising, up to 36 percent from 23 percent in 2014, a news release from the state Department of Education said.

Schools are systematically paying more attention to health issues. The survey found that 66 percent have used the CDC’s School Health Index or another self-assessment tool to evaluate them in the areas of physical activity (66 percent in 2016, 56 percent in 2014), nutrition (62 percent in 2016, 53 percent in 2014) and asthma (35 percent in 2016, 21 percent in 2014).

More schools are offering opportunities for students to participate in physical activity before the school day through organized activities or access to facilities or equipment: 29.4 percent in 2016, up from 19.3 percent in 2014.

"Nearly three-fourths of schools have one or more groups such as a school health council, committee or team that offers guidance on the development of policies or coordinates activities on health topics," the release said. "There were such groups in 74.7 percent of schools in 2016, up from 63.8 percent in 2014."

The department and the Kentucky School Nutrition Association attributed the improvements to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that Congress passed 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s "Smart Snacks in School" regulation of 2014 and a review of the state education department’s Practical Living Career Studies program.

Janet Tietyen Mullins, a University of Kentucky extension professor of food and nutrition, said the improvements are encouraging, "because they can help Kentucky students reduce their risk of developing diabetes and other chronic diseases," Valarie Honeycutt Spears writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Mullins told Spears, “These changes in the school food environment are a positive way to help students choose more nutritious foods. Everyone benefits from an environment where healthy foods are readily available, and the changes could also benefit school staff and guests.”

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article143288254.html#storylink=cpy

Clark County schools engage students as taste-testers in search for newly required, healthy foods the kids will eat

New federal nutrition standards "are not universally popular with students" in Clark County — some throw away recently required fresh fruits and vegetables — but "participation in school lunch programs has not been greatly affected," Whitney Leggett reports for The Winchester Sun after reading School Nutrition Director Becky Lowery's annual Wellness Report Card.

“This is a way for us to just sort of look at where we are and evaluate what we can do better,” Lowery told Leggett. The report highlights the requirements of the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, such as a switch to whole-grain products, restrictions on fat and salt, and age-based calorie limits.

The greatest resistance has been to fruits, vegetables and whole-grain bread and pasta, Lowert told Leggett. Despite the complaints, participation in the school lunch and breakfast programs has only decreased by 1 percent since the 2013-14 school year, Leggett reports, along with a localized illustration.

To improve student satisfaction, Lowery implemented a student panel to taste possible new menu items. “It is much more difficult and more expensive to find good quality products that students will accept,” she told Leggett. “We’re just always trying to find good products that will still meet regulations.”

As part of the Farm to School initiative, Clark County strives to use more Kentucky Proud products, such as corn grown in Clark County, green beans from Louisville, and Western Kentucky blueberries, Lowery told Leggett. “As I hear about more things available to us that we can use, I will look into them,” she said. “We try to use as much as we can.”

Washington state study finds new school lunch standards have made students' food healthier; other studies say they are eating it

School lunches are healthier since the federal government created sweeping changes to the program five years ago and almost the same number of students eat a school lunch as before the changes were implemented three years ago, according to a study in Washington state, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act requires schools to make their menus healthier with more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, less fat and sodium and smaller portion sizes. In 2014, the law added similar nutritional guidelines to all snacks and beverages served during the school day.

Researchers looked at the nutritional value of school lunches and the food choices of about 7,200 students in three middle schools and three high schools in an urban school district in Washington. Data was collected 16 months before and 15 months after the new nutrition standards were implemented for the 2012-13 school year.

The study found that the new rules did not significantly change how many students participated in the meal program. It did not look at whether the students actually ate their healthier lunch, but the researchers cited previous research that found the amount of plate waste has not changed since meal changes were introduced.

The rules have come with some growing pains and complaints from students and dietary staff about food waste, smaller portion sizes, changes in food preparations that make the food unappetizing, fewer students buying lunch and the added cost incurred to pay for the healthier foods.

These complaints prompted the School Nutrition Association and the School Superintendents Association to write a letter to Congress asking for some changes including increased reimbursement to cover the costs of the new meal standards and a request to decrease the whole grain requirements back to half, Carina Storrs reports for CNN.