Snacks in schools The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed minimum nutritional standards for snack foods sold in schools apart from a school breakfast or lunch.
Calories: No more than 200
calories for side items or 350
calories for entrees sold a la
carte.
Grain Items: At least 50
percent or more whole grains
by weight or whole grains
listed as first ingredient.
Fats: No more than 35
percent of calories from total
fat, less than 10 percent of
calories from saturated fat and
zero grams from trans fat.
Sodium: No more than 200
milligrams of sodium for side
items and no more than 480
milligrams for entree items.
Total sugars: No more than
35 percent of calories or
weight from sugars.
Caffeine: No caffeine for elementary and middle school students. The restriction doesn't apply to high school students, but caffeinated beverages cannot be sold during meal times.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Proposed federal regulations for snack foods and beverages sold in schools could affect coffee sales during breakfast at high schools in Rogers, the district’s child nutrition director said.
Rogers School District provides bagels, yogurt and other healthy options for breakfast, but coffee and sugar-free hot chocolate are also popular, said Margie Bowers, child nutrition director for the district.
“As children get older, middle school and up, it’s harder to get them to eat breakfast,” Bowers said. “One of the draws to get them in is the coffee or sugar-free hot chocolate and we do offer decaf. I’m not sure how that will play out.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposes restricting caffeine and artificial sweeteners in beverages served during breakfast and lunch periods for highschool. The proposal would allow those beverages to be sold at other times during the school day.
The U.S. Department ofAgriculture soon will begin taking public comments on proposed minimum nutrition standards for foods sold in schools that are not part of a school meal. The standards target foods sold in vendingmachines and all foods sold during the school day that are not part of a meal on a breakfast or lunch tray.
The proposed USDA regulations, titled Smart Snacksin School, stem from the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which for the first time gives authority to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to regulate all foods sold on a school campus.
In the past, the secretary only had authority over breakfasts and lunches that were part of the National School Lunch Program of the School Breakfast Program.
Besides foods offered on school menus, some school districts have provided separate lines for foods sold a la carte during lunch but were not considered part of a school lunch or breakfast.
The 2010 act was an effort to combat childhood obesity and already has mandated more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in school lunches and breakfasts. Those changes took effect this school year.
The proposal aims to set limits on calories, fat, sugar and sodium in snack foods sold in schools and to promote foods with whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables and protein as healthy options for snacks.
The proposed rules would restrict cookies, cinnamon rolls and chips that contain few whole grains or are loaded with sugar and salt.
The proposed USDA regulations generally would limit calories in snack foods and side items sold a la carte to 200 calories, according to the USDA regulations. No more than 35 percent of calories in a snack item could come from fat or sugar, and snack foods would have to fall below 200 milligramsof sodium, according to the department’s proposed regulations.
The proposal states that foods and beverages for children in elementary and middle school must be caffeine-free. Although the caffeine restriction does not apply for high school students, the proposal would bar sales of caffeinated beverages and beverages with artificial sweeteners during meal times.
The proposal makes exceptions for some foods, such as reduced-fat cheese and nuts, which have a higher fat content than the proposal would allow for other foods.
Despite her concernsabout the potential impact to coffee and hot chocolate sales at breakfast, Bowers said she thinks students will benefit from the changes to school meals and the proposed restrictions on calories, fat, sugar and sodium in snack foods.
“I know that they want french fries every day,” Bowers said. “Hopefully we can educate them enough for healthier eating that it’s really going to make them a healthier person.”
She anticipates few changes in snack foods because schools in Arkansas already had removed many junk foods targeted in the proposed federal regulations because of state regulations that went into effect in 2005.
“We just don’t have those big a la carte lines,” Bowers said. “We don’t have a snack bar they go to.” A LA CARTE CONTROL
Under state regulations, all foods served in the Rogers cafeterias have to appear on the lunch menu at least once during the school year to be sold as a la carte items, said Bowers, who is also president of the Arkansas School Nutrition Association.
A la carte items are any individually priced items that are sold in school cafeterias during meal times, whether or not they are part of a school meal program, according to state regulations.
Arkansas schools began swapping out many foods targeted in the proposed USDA regulations after the passage of Act 1220 of 2003, said Sheila Brown, assistant director for fresh fruit and vegetables for the Child Nutrition Unit in the Arkansas Department of Education. The law was implemented in 2005.
The state law was passed to help combat childhood obesity. It eliminated vending, whether from a machine or an ice chest, to elementary age students and limited party days at schools, Brown said.
For older students, the law pushed vending sales until 30minutes after the end of the last lunch period, she said. Middle, junior high and high schools can offer items as snacks, such as baked chips, cookies, cereal bars, bakery items, frozen desserts, yogurt, juice and carbonated beverages in vending machines. The state regulations limit serving sizes, 1.5 ounces for a bag of chips, as well as fat content, and sugar in beverages.
While the Arkansas regulations restrict portion sizes, fat, sugar and caffeine, the regulations do not restrict sodium, Brown said. The proposed regulations from the USDA would restrict sodium.
The state regulations also affect the a la carte foods sold during breakfast and lunch, Brown said. During meal times, elementary child nutrition programs can sell single servings of milk, fresh fruit or vegetables, but single servings or second helpings of desserts, french fries and ice cream are not allowed.
Middle, junior high and high schools also are allowed to sell single servings of traditional snack foods, such as baked chips or muffins, as long as they appear on the school menu at least once during the school year, Brown said.
In Rogers School District, with 14,450 students in Benton County, most of the a lacarte sales occur at the high school, Bowers said.
“They can buy an extra slice of pizza or an extra hamburger or a salad,” Bowers said.
And vending machine companies will have to comply with the USDA regulations, Bowers said.
Van Buren School District removed all vending machines a little more than five years ago because of Act 1220, said Schawn Brown, child nutrition director for the Crawford County district of about 5,900 students. The child nutrition department also stopped selling a la carte items sold in the lunch lines, she said.
Harrison High School does have a vending machine and machines that sell water, Principal Bill Keaster said. Students are not able to buy foods from those machines until after 1:30 p.m. each day. A coffee shop at the school opens before school, during seventh period and after school.
Any USDA regulations on a la carte foods will have limited impact on the school cafeterias in the Harrison district of 2,800 students, said Charlene Baker, child nutrition director for the district. The schools are in the process of ending a la carte sales. In the past, they have sold slices of pizza or hamburgers as a la carte items in addition to the traditional school lunch.
School cafeterias instead only will offer foods that are on the lunch menu, Baker said.
“We’re not in our business to make money,” Baker said. “We’re just in the business of serving a good healthy meal to students and being able to pay for the meal and the labor to prepare it.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 15 on 02/10/2013