CAFETERIA SUPPLIES SHORT

CAFETERIA SUPPLIES SHORT

School cafeteria staffs struggle with the economics of serving tasty, healthful meals, says Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"There's the low reimbursement rate for free ($2.72) and reduced-priced meals ($2.32), outdated equipment and not enough technical assistance and training for staff," she says.

If schools get rid of deep-fat fryers so they aren't cooking fatty foods, they don't have the money to replace them with ovens to cook in a healthier way, she says.

"Even something as simple as having an orange slicer would make it so much easier for school food service to serve oranges to kids," Wootan says. "Little pieces of equipment could go a long way."

Congress is currently working to reauthorize the child nutrition programs, which would provide more money for healthier school lunches, give more children free and reduced-priced school meals, and get junk food out of vending machines and school stores, Wootan says.

A government dietary assessment study of school lunches, released in 2007, showed that schools do a good job of offering meals that meet the requirements for protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and fiber, Wootan says, but most school meals are far too high in sodium, and many are too high in saturated (animal) fat.

"Some schools are doing much better than others, but still most schools are struggling to serve healthy meals," she says.