Food for thoughtCharleston County schools to serve up healthier meals in cafeterias, raise prices By Diette Courrégé (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Friday, June 20, 2008
Mic Smith A lunch tray is passed to a camp student at Burke High School on Thursday. Charleston County schools plan to serve healthier food. Comparing the Lowcountry--Berkeley County schools have proposed increasing lunch prices, pending board approval. Lunch would increase from $1.50 to $1.75. Breakfast would remain $1. --Charleston County schools have proposed increasing meal prices, pending board approval. Breakfast would increase from $.75 to $1.25. Elementary school lunches would increase from $1.65 to $2; middle and high school lunches would go from $1.75 to $2. --Dorchester 2 schools will not change meal prices. Breakfast will cost 85 cents and elementary and middle school lunches will cost $1.40, while high school lunches will cost $1.50. --The state average for a school lunch in the 2006-07 school year was $1.44. The state average for a school breakfast was 59 cents. --The national average for a school lunch in the 2006-07 school year was $1.80. Preliminary data shows the national average for a school lunch in 2008-09 at $1.97. Lunch prices are expected to rise an average of 26 cents nationally for the new school year. Ranit Katz didn't let her daughter eat lunch served at Jennie Moore Elementary School this past school year because it wasn't healthy enough. But her days of spending 45 minutes packing a lunch are over now that the Charleston County School District will be serving more-nutritious food. "The quality of food is going up, and I can be assured that I can send her to school and she'll get a healthy lunch," Katz said. Charleston school meals will include more grains and fiber and eliminate sugary foods whenever possible. That means no-more Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops, vanilla-flavored milk, corn dogs or Pop-Tarts. Their replacements will be items such as Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Mini-Wheats, skim milk and whole-grain muffins. The school district will serve more local fresh fruits and vegetables and multigrain breads, and it will stop frying certain foods. Some high schools, such as Stall, will eliminate fried foods altogether. "We think it will go over well," said Walter Campbell, the school district's director of nutrition and food service. Those changes, combined with skyrocketing food prices nationwide, have caused breakfast and lunch prices to jump by up to 50 cents for the next school year. It's been four years since Charleston raised its lunch prices and even longer for its breakfast prices. The school board must approve the change, and it's set to do so Monday. School districts nationwide are battling inflated food, milk and energy costs, according to the national School Nutrition Association. The prices for staple school lunch items have soared, with milk costs increasing by 17 percent, rice and pasta by 13 percent and bread by 12 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultural Economic Research Service. Healthier menu items also are higher-priced, in part because increased consumer demand means suppliers can charge more, and in part because some items, such as whole grains, tend to be more expensive to produce, said Erik Peterson, director of public awareness for the association. Fresh fruits and vegetables also tend to be more expensive, he said. In South Carolina, at least nine school districts already have reached the $2 mark for lunches. In the Lowcountry, Dorchester District 2 schools aren't planning to increase meal prices, but Berkeley County schools are considering raising prices. Members of the Berkeley County school board wanted more information about comparable rates, and they plan to discuss the issue again at their upcoming meeting, said Pam Bailey, spokeswoman for the district. Federal law requires schools to serve at least one fruit, vegetable, bread, protein and milk, but nutritional requirements leave room for school districts to make meals healthier, Campbell said. Charleston schools' new menu will be the healthiest it has ever had, he said. "It's not going to end this year," he said. "We're going to keep moving forward." A registered dietician has worked all school year to improve the district's menu, and a wellness committee of parents, educators and community leaders gave feedback. The menu had to achieve a balance between meeting federal requirements and being cost-effective, Campbell said. Katz, who moved here last summer, was so concerned with the food she saw at Jennie Moore that she decided to do what she could to make it better. High-quality food increases a child's ability to retain information, earn good grades and behave well, she said. She met with Campbell, who invited her to serve on the wellness committee, and she said she was amazed at the hard work the group has done to improve students' physical well-being. The biggest change is a decrease in the amount of sugary options and the addition of local, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, she said. The price increase didn't concern her; lunches in her daughter's former school district cost nearly $1.50 more, she said. "I think people are getting a deal," she said. "We can't put a price on our children's nutritional health. ... It is going to be a huge change, but it's the best thing for our kids." Students had mixed reactions about the prospect of healthier meals. Some groaned and moaned while others shrugged their shoulders. Thirteen-year-old Novian Lucas, an incoming eighth-grader at downtown Charleston Progressive Academy, eats school breakfasts and lunches and said he thought school meals should be healthier. "If they're unhealthy, then that's going to make us kind of sluggish and tired after lunch," he said. "If they're healthy, we might not fall asleep in class." Twelve-year-old Alexis Smalls, an incoming sixth-grader at West Ashley's C.E. Willams Middle, said she liked the idea of a healthier menu. "Fried food is good, but baked food will be much better," she said. Reach Diette Courrégé at dcourrege@postandcourier.com or 937-5546. |
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Comments
This article has 17 comment(s)
Posted by Cid95 on June 20, 2008 at 1:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wando High School, 1987-1991
Lunch EVERY DAY was some fried potato product (in various forms) plus mains like pizza, cheeseburgers, corn dogs, and other crap plus cookies or other hard desserts. Even being stupid teenagers, we knew that sucked and we used the bags they were served in (yes, bag lunches every day) to blot up the grease.
I'm glad to hear there is some thought put into school menus now.
Posted by auger on June 20, 2008 at 4:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thomas1776,
Same thing I'm wondering about. What delicacies was she preparing for this child? When my Mom made my school lunch, all I got was a pb&j, an apple, and a note reminding me that she loved me and p.s., don't annoy the teacher. Total elapsed time 2-3 minutes tops.
Posted by majorjohnson on June 20, 2008 at 6:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey, they get breakfast too. Soon the schools will be cooking their dinner and tucking them into bed at night. Seems the schools do everything but educate.
Posted by captivated on June 20, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Today's public schools are nothing but taxpayer funded daycare centers and the kids are learning about as much as they did in daycare. Why do they even bother with report cards? They do not reflect the true progress your child is making, anyway.
Posted by Early on June 20, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm surprised nobody has sued the school system because they made their kid fat!
Posted by drp7773 on June 20, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe we need more fatty meals, that way the baggy pants kids pants will stay up longer...45 min to pack a lunch, sounds like another lazy parent that lets the school babysit their spoiled kid while they do anything but get involved with the kids upbringing. School lunches are not cheap and now they are going up again I wonder what this is going to cost the taxpayer for all the free and reduced lunches. Sounds like another screw job from the school to make extra money from the state.
Posted by grannyofsix on June 20, 2008 at 8:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
how does taking 45 mintues making a kid luch make them lazyseems to me she was busy cooking the meal not being lazy
Posted by drp7773 on June 20, 2008 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cooking a meal for a kid to take to school???? most of the kids I see take a backpack, not a fonzie lunchbox and they throw a 1/2 bag of dorritos and a bologna sandwich in the back pack and off they go and the ones that get lunch money well a lot not all but a lot of these kids still throw the bag of dorritos or a box of cereal to munch on in the backpack and use the money for cigs or to spend at the mall/
Posted by shoelaces on June 20, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
God bless her....45 minutes for a lunch. The kid gets 20 minutes to eat it.
Here is what happens at the CCSD school where I teach...
I think breakfast is free for all of the students. I could be wrong on that. None of my students pay full price for their lunch. In fact, most pay NOTHING. But they do bring money in to buy the cookies, chips, slushies, and various other goodies that are for sale. I have a HUGE problem with this!!! Why do we allow the "free" kids to buy anything??? If they have any money it should go for the food being dished out.
If I want my child to eat at school it will cost me $16.50 per week X 36 weeks = $594 for the school year. Now multiply that by however many free/reduced kids eat in CCSD everyday. Wonder how much that is costing the district. Don't forget about all the free food they are serving during the summer too!!!
Healthy or unhealthy stop the government cheese handouts and make everyone pay something then the prices could come down. Then again, when has the government ever lowered the price of something once it went up?
And do you really think the kids are eating their veggies???? Come by and check out the trash line and see what gets thrown away.
Posted by RTC on June 20, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wish they had cared about the food when my kids were in school. The one that really got me was the fried veggie sticks. Frying healthy veggies, most probably in trans fat grease!
I know when they started offering breakfast, it was only free if the student qualified for free lunches.
I remember filling out those forms and all I needed was one more kid and we would have qualified for reduced lunches.
Put it this way, you could make a pretty good salary and still qualify for the free meals if you had enough kids.
I don't know how much that has changed now, as they may have changed the eligibility requirements.
I am just glad that they are improving the quality of the meals.
It's taken long enough.
If I ever have grandkids, I would prefer that they take their food from home where you know what they are getting.
Posted by proudmomma on June 20, 2008 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, I feel like a horrible mother for not even spending 3 minutes on packing lunch! It's really all about the prep work.
In my past experience in the public school system, I know that kids don't eat what is served in the cafeteria. I am happy that they are aware the healthier options are needed, but I bet my kids won't eat it.
Posted by shoelaces on June 20, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I miss those veggie sticks....mmmm....fried food.
Posted by echo on June 20, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
45 minutes to make a lunch is not laziness, its love. You dont know what she's doing or what else is going on while she's doing it.
As for veggie eating, that starts at home. If parents eat veggies and other healthy items and serve it at home, kids will eat it too.
We are one of the only countries in the world where low socioeconomic status equals obesity. Everywhere else, the poor are starving, literally, and are thin. In many countries, having a layer of fat is a sign of wealth. Why is that? Fresh foods and whole grains are more expensive here; processed fatty articifial foods are cheap, both financially and nutritionally.
Posted by jeff61 on June 20, 2008 at 12:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Do you walk to school or pack a lunch
Posted by coolfreaknbeans on June 20, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
When I lived out of state briefly my childs school started a "sandwhich line".It was a nice option for a healthy sandwich or salad.I'm all for healthy choices.But we have to be careful with this.There are schools where this has gotten out of hand.Ive seen repeated stories of "no cupcake" kindergartens and schools mandating what snack you send your child to school with.(healthy one the teacher approves of or they cant eat it)I don't want any teacher or the govt telling me what snack my child can or cannot have-that I have paid for!There was one school that started grading kids on their weight.(their BMI was included on their report card!)I'm all for consumer freedom and responsibility.I love the consumer freedom website too.
Posted by ashleyatwork on June 20, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I went and ate lunch with my daughter at her elementary school last year and I would say 80%-90% of the food on the trays was thrown away. We need to do something about the waste first.
Posted by ptmama73 on June 20, 2008 at 4:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
45 minutes to pack a lunch? What ARE you feeding this kid? Scones, crumpets, freshly prepared prime rib?
I agree with proudmomma! I must be a horrible parent to be able to pack 3 healthy lunches in less than 10. (Sometimes I even pack an extra one for the hubby in that same time frame)
My children see eating the school lunch as a "treat" on Friday (Pizza Day). This is for their health and for my budget.