School Lunches Still Too Fatty and Sugary, Critics Say

Despite some improvements, U.S. school meal programs are still laden with unhealthy fat, salt and sugar, nutrition experts contend. Students also have limited choices in foods available in vending machines, á la carte in cafeterias, at school stores and snack bars and for fund-raisers, they say in a series of articles in a supplement to the February issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Echoing these sentiments, a Chicago chef brought to the White House to cook for the Obamas has said that too much of the food available at schools also is high in additives and preservatives. Unhealthy eating at school, these food experts believe, is contributing to the surge in obesity rates among U.S. children.

"Of course, school meals are only one part of the problem," said Anne R. Gordon, a senior researcher at Mathematica Policy Research in Princeton, N.J., and co-author of a paper on school lunches in the supplement. "It's very clear that USDA needs to update the standards of schools" related to nutrition, Gordon said. "They know what they're aiming for, but … having standards is not enough." "We need to explore other ways of making change, which could include items such as providing more training and technical assistance to schools, providing more funding for nutrition education," she said.