Kids Would Rather Talk Than Eat Lunch

The government has figured out why Johnny doesn’t eat. He’s too busy talking, and he doesn’t like the food.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, surveyed school cafeteria managers during the last year to find out why kids throw away their federally subsidized food.

The No. 1 reason: Their attention is “on recess, free time or socializing,” the cafeteria managers said. The second most likely cause, according to the survey, was that the students don’t like the food.

And guess what food they’re most likely to toss out? (No fair reading ahead to find the answer.)

Yes, by a wide margin, it’s cooked vegetables. Based on the managers’ responses, the GAO estimated that 42% of the cooked vegetables served in schools are thrown away.

Next most likely to go in the garbage: raw vegetables, then fresh fruits, and canned fruit. Bread and milk are the least likely; 11% of the milk is thrown away, the GAO estimated.

“Lunch even for adults is a social activity. Sometimes it’s a question of how much energy kids spend eating as opposed to socializing with their friends,” said Thomas Slomba, assistant director of food and agriculture issues for the GAO.

The survey was conducted at the request of Rep. William Goodling (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee. Goodling, a former school superintendent, is concerned that only half the children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches eat them.

“No matter how healthy the meals may be, if they don’t eat them, it doesn’t do much good,” Goodling said.

Wasted food isn’t small change, either. Last year, the federal government spent about $5 billion subsidizing lunches for 26 million children nationwide.

There is little dispute among cafeteria managers about how to get children to eat what’s on their plate: Let them pick what they want. Short of that, schools could seek student opinions in planning menus. Nearly 70% of the managers said that would reduce waste.

In Fargo, N.D., food waste was cut 80% after children were given a say in menu selection through student committees in each school, said Penny Nielsen, the district’s food service director.

Cooked peas are out. So is fish. Students are getting more fresh fruits and vegetables. Pizza and tacos and even shrimp are on the menus now. But prices are stable, since far less food is wasted, and more students are buying lunches rather than packing them or eating out, Nielsen said.

“They’re actually consuming more food than they were before. They go through the line faster. We thought it would take longer,” she said.

Students in high school and junior high were less likely than elementary students to throw away food, according to the GAO survey. But overall there was little difference between urban and rural schools or between poor children and more affluent peers.

Except when it comes to those vegetables. Poor kids and children in urban schools are more likely to toss them out, the survey found.

“Some of the kids from poor areas may not have been exposed to some kinds of raw snacks and raw vegetables,” said the GAO’s Slomba.