‘Fat-Laden’ School Lunch Food Criticized by Nutrition Group

School lunch cooks are hampered in efforts to provide nutritious meals because the government donates mainly “fat-laden foods” such as ground beef, pork and processed luncheon meats, a consumer health group said Wednesday.

Ellen Haas, director of the Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, criticized the Agriculture Department, which administers the National School Lunch Program, for “not providing the critical leadership necessary to speed progress in reducing fat in school lunches.”

Scott Dunn, acting administrator of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, said that the department is committed to dietary guidelines developed jointly with the Department of Health and Human Services. He said those guidelines do not set quantitative standards for fat.

School Food Policy

The American School Food Service Assn. said in a statement that “children’s eating habits are influenced by multiple factors, such as home, school and restaurants.” It said parents and community groups must share responsibility for improving young people’s eating habits.

In California, Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation that would require the state to set guidelines for limiting fat and cholesterol in school lunches. California would be the first state to approve such guidelines, Speier said.

Public Voice said its survey of school food service directors found that the government school lunch program lends little encouragement to dietitians working to lower the fat content of lunches.

The consumer group said that 67% of 177 school food service directors surveyed said the USDA’s commodity distribution program presents one of the most significant barriers to supplying nutritious meals.

More than 24 million children participated in lunch programs at more than 91,000 schools during the 1988-89 academic year.

The school lunch programs are dependent, to some extent, on commodities donated by the federal government, the statement said.