East End Schools Unveil New, Healthier Menus

While an apple a day is supposed to keep the doctor away, school administrators across New York are hoping that new federally mandated lunch menus, those containing more fruit options and grains, will help their students steer clear of obesity.

Starting earlier this month, school districts across the East End began introducing healthier menus at all public schools to comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, a federal law designed to combat both childhood hunger and obesity by placing healthier foods in school cafeterias. While East End school officials agree that the idea behind the law is solid, implementing new menus at their schools has not been an easy task.

According to Larry Luce, the business administrator at the Hampton Bays School District, the most noticeable differences with his district’s new menus are portion sizes and the switch from white to whole grain breads. With the changes, the district had to stop serving some of its more popular items, like fried chicken patties, and replace them with healthier alternatives, like grilled chicken slices. According to Mr. Luce, getting students to try the new food selections is half the battle.

“The kids are definitely seeing the changes in the menu in terms of portion size,” Mr. Luce said. “They are also seeing the changes in terms of what we are offering.”

As part of the new federal regulations, more whole grains must be made available to students who buy school lunches, they must take at least half a cup of fruits or vegetables daily, and all foods must have less than 10 percent saturated fat, zero grams of trans fat and a lower sodium content, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

With the changes, which took effect on July 1, school districts are now trying to find ways to keep children’s favorites—like pizza, chicken patties and sandwiches—on the menu in some form while still adhering to the new regulations.

Regan Kiembock, the child nutrition program director for the Southampton School District, said the key is planning menus so they accommodate the new rules. For example, in previous years, students were served puffy-crust pizza. This year, to accommodate the new requirements, pizza must be served on a whole grain flat-bread and less cheese is used. While she admits that the new version does not taste the same, Ms. Kiembock said it will give students the chance to try and possibly embrace new and healthier foods.

But all that, of course, depends on the willingness of students.

“It is a little confusing,” Ms. Kiembock said. “We are still working out the kinks.”

Earlier this week Ms. Kiembock said one challenge with the new program is training her staff to adjust to the new portion sizes and balancing them so children are not hungry after eating. She explained that, last year, students were allowed to consume 3 ounces of meat per day at school but, this year, they can have only 2 ounces.

“Part of it is being more specific,” she said. “Finding out how many pieces of popcorn chicken you can serve in 2 ounces without being embarrassed to serve that.”

In Westhampton Beach, administrators are having similar issues with students and have noticed a drop in the number of school lunches that are being purchased in the elementary, middle and high schools during the first week of classes. One problem in the elementary school has been meeting the new grain requirements, which have also dropped. Elementary school students can be served only 9 ounces of grains each week, according to Maureen Branagan, the manager of the food service program at Westhampton Beach. That means students cannot be served two regular slices of bread per day, like in a sandwich; as a result, the district now is serving its sandwiches on Pepperidge Farm whole grain goldfish bread.

Even with those issues, Ms. Branagan is confident that the new menus will help students lead healthier lifestyles.

“It will take time,” she wrote in an email this week. “But, overall, the goal of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act is to provide the students with healthy meals so they can perform better in school and learn healthy habits that they can use throughout their lives.”

Students have mixed opinions about the new menu offerings. Barbara Labor, 16, a junior at Hampton Bays High School, said she has no intention of eating school lunch now because of the smaller sizes. Barbara also said she believes she can eat healthier by bringing food from home.

“I’m not eating school lunch this year,” she said while eating with her friends. “It is too expensive for the portions you get—the portions are too small.”

Other students, like 15-year-old Jeffrey Paz, were more optimistic. The Hampton Bays High School sophomore said even though he misses his chicken patties, he thinks students will eventually adjust to the healthier options.

“They are just used to McDonald’s and Taco Bell,” he said. “But this food is really good—they should try it.”

In a prepared statement this week, East Hampton School District Food Service Manager Melissa Curran said her district has not had to make too many changes to its lunch menu this year. She explained that officials started offering healthier options in recent years, moves that helped ease the transition when the federal guidelines were implemented.

“We already follow very healthy guidelines,” she said.

According to Ms. Curran, her district, which added a salad bar to the high school cafeteria last year, has been working this month to double the fruit and vegetable portions offered to students and to decrease the amounts of proteins and grains being served.

For now, district officials are working to fine-tune their menus and remain hopeful that, as the school year progresses, their students will start to enjoy the healthier foods.

“My goal now is just to get kids to try it,” Mr. Luce said. “If they try it a few times and don’t like it—that’s fine, but at least they tried it.”