School lunch menu USA

Citation

(2012), "School lunch menu USA", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 42 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2012.01742daa.006

School lunch menu USA

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 42, Issue 4

After months of debate over what shape the National School Lunch Program regulations should take, they were finally announced on January 26, 2012. And it looks like you will be seeing a lot more red in school lunches across the country. In an effort to promote optimal health and prevent obesity among the nation’s children, there will be many positive changes in the school lunch program. One major change focused on the vegetable requirement. A major criticism of the existing school lunch rules is that there are no special requirements within the vegetable category. But that is all changing; the USDA recognized the value of red/orange vegetables in health promotion when they issued the new vegetable rule, which includes the following standards.

Vegetables Food Group Weekly requirement for:

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  dark green;

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  red/orange;

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  beans/peas (legumes); and

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  starchy.

That means children in the school lunch program will be getting a much more diverse, colorful plate with a broader variety of vegetables, including powerful red/orange vegetables. Tomato products will provide a delicious, nutritious, economical choice for schools to provide colorful vegetables to children in order to promote health. Look for flavorful, tomato-based dishes, including spaghetti, tacos, stews, soup, and chili to turn up more frequently on menus.