FRAC Statement on the Findings of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-II and School Meals Initiative Implementation Study Third Year Report

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) applauds the progress made by schools across the nation in improving the healthfulness of meals served in the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, as reported in two recent studies released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-II (SNDA-II)

According to the SNDA-II, on a typical day in school year 1998-99, approximately 60 percent of all students in public schools with the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participated in the lunch program. We know that this amounted to over 26 million children every day, with well over half (58%, or almost 15 million) coming from low-income families. School Breakfast Program participation during the year studied was 7.3 million children, including 6.2 million low-income children.

"Healthy school meals are particularly important for the many millions of low- income children whose households, because of poverty and food insecurity, struggle to provide them adequate healthy food," said Lynn Parker, FRAC's Director of Child Nutrition Programs and Nutrition Policy. "For them, school meals are often a lifeline, and the healthfulness of the school meals and their adequacy in providing energy and nutrients are particularly critical."

With such large numbers of children receiving breakfasts and lunches at school every day, the nutritional content and healthfulness of these meals become very important. The news from the nation's schools, as reported by the SNDA-II, is good. First, school lunches and breakfasts are chock full of the nutrients children need every day to grow, develop and learn. This has been so for these child nutrition programs for decades, and continues to be the case. According to SNDA-II, school lunches provide one-third or more of the key vitamins and minerals children need, and school breakfasts provide one-fourth or more of these key nutrients.

The second piece of good news is that improvements in school meals since the 1991-1992 school year have led to greater compliance with the consensus nutrition and health recommendations of researchers and practitioners. The overall fat content and the saturated fat content in school lunches have been reduced. Improvements have also been made in the sodium and carbohydrate content of lunches, and the cholesterol content has been further reduced. The School Breakfast Program has seen similar improvements. These changes are very significant because moving in the direction of more healthful meals improves children's health and well-being, sets the stage for better nutrition and health in adulthood, and teaches children through example what constitutes a healthful diet.

In spite of the good news and improvements in so many categories, there is still work to be done to make school meals as healthy as they should be. In 1998-99 schools were still serving, on average, lunches that provided 33.6 percent of calories from fat and 12 per cent from saturated fat, compared to the recommendations of 30 percent or less, and less than 10 percent, respectively. In addition, the sodium content of school lunches was significantly above the recommended amount. School breakfasts, however, did quite well when measured against nutrition and health recommendations.

School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children (SMI)

USDA launched a far-reaching reform of the school meals programs to upgrade the nutritional content of school meals in late 1993. The reform began with public hearings, followed by a proposed rule in 1994, and a final rule in 1995. The several elements of this reform are collectively referred to as the SMI.

The status of this initiative, together with an examination of selected operational issues of these programs, are the principal subjects of the SMI Third Year Report:

• According to the report, in SY 1999/00 a large number of districts increased their purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables (59.7 percent of all districts) and low-fat/reduced-fat foods (49.9 percent). At least 90 percent of all districts made such changes between SY 1997/98 and SY 1999/00. The study generally indicated that districts provided larger servings of fruit and vegetables to their students.
  
  
• The study found that snacks were provided to children participating in afterschool care programs in 15.5 percent of all districts in SY 1999/00. Large school districts and those operating in high-poverty areas are substantially more likely to participate in these programs. Nearly a half million children participated in these programs in SY 1999/00, the equivalent of 2.5 percent of the total enrollment of the participating districts and 1.1 percent of the total national enrollment.
  

The studies show that the SMI has been successful in moving school lunches and breakfasts forward on the healthfulness scale. Continued efforts at the federal, state and local levels, with the assistance of the education community, concerned parents, and the food companies and producers that furnish the child nutrition programs with the foods provided to children, have the potential for great success in improving the healthfulness and appeal of school meals. And continued efforts to get more children to eat these healthy school breakfasts and lunches have equally great potential.

USDA's School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-II (PDF)

USDA's School Meals Initiative Implementation Study Third Year Report Summary

USDA's School Meals Initiative Implementation Study Third Year Report (PDF)