What’s for Lunch? Schools Bring Vegetarian Options to the Table

By Juliann Schaeffer
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 10 No. 4 P. 36

Recognizing students’ nutritional needs and preferences, districts across the country are revamping their menus—and receiving kudos for their healthy efforts.

While peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cheese pizza have long reigned as vegetarian option kings in school cafeterias, the face of the vegetarian meal is starting to change for the better of children’s health—and for good reason. A recent report from Johns Hopkins University predicts that if current trends continue, 24% of children and adolescents will be overweight or obese by 2015. And children enjoying vegetarian lifestyles aren’t necessarily immune to this plight.

Just as labeling a food organic doesn’t make it healthy, saturated fat and cholesterol can easily find their way into a vegetarian school lunch when oily cheese pizza is an afternoon mainstay. “A lot of vegetarian foods aren’t necessarily low in fat or saturated fat, and they can be very high in cholesterol and sodium,” says Susan Levin, MS, RD, a staff nutritionist at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). She names cheese pizza as an example: “That to me is not an acceptable alternative to any other junk food like chicken nuggets. Dairy is the No. 1 source of saturated fat in kids’ diets, so you’re not only not getting that out, you’re giving them more.”

But on a brighter note, another trend is also emerging. Not only are more students boarding the meatless train to a vegetarian lifestyle, but schools are also catching on and offering more plentiful and healthful vegetarian options such as Italian pasta fagioli, veggie burger wraps, and build-your-own bean burritos. . .

Erik Peterson, director of public awareness for the School Nutrition Association, recognizes the obstacles that U.S. schools need to overcome in the National School Lunch Program.

Peterson says that while there are exceptions, he sees many schools are overcoming today’s regulations and are serving more healthy meals, including more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat dairy than ever before. . . read the complete article

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