How Nutritional Are The Meals LEUSD Serves To Kids?

Thehas been working to make school lunches healthier. Salad bars, low-fat cheese, reduced sugars … these are just some of the new standards put into place at the district, said Dana Kizlaitis, a dietician and director of Food Services for the LEUSD.

The district joins more than 500 California schools that are improving their menu standards “by improving both student nutrition and food quality,” according to a news release this week from the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “These new standards will help put more fresh fruits and vegetables in school lunches, which means healthier children in our classrooms,” Torlakson said in the news release.

But what is the LEUSD serving up in its school lunches? A look at the district’s website provides the school menu and information about carbohydrates in the food offerings, but caloric and nutrient values are missing.

“We have that information,” Kizlaitis said, but a parent must contact the district and request it. Only carbohydrate data is provided online, and that is mostly to assist parents with diabetic children, Kizlaitis explained.

Both the Murrieta Valley Unified and the Temecula Valley Unified school districts provide menu analysis on their respective websites, with Murrieta’s nutritional information being the most comprehensive.

None of the school’s menus, however, “appear” particularly healthy -- Hot dogs, Chicken Nuggets, Pizza – although the entrées are served with fresh fruit and/or vegetables.

But Kizlaitis argues the meals are nutritional, and she contends portion control is a factor.

“Portion sizes are age-appropriate,” she said, explaining that rations are based on USDA guidelines. Kizlaitis points to the excessively large portions being served up at so many restaurants today as being a contributor to obesity in this country. What a child eats away from campus adds to weight problems more than school meals do, she said. For a child who eats 180 school lunches over the year, that’s only about 16 percent of all meals consumed by that child over the time period, Kizlaitis said.

School districts must also adhere to strict state guidelines for reimbursable meals. Calories from fat, for example, cannot exceed more than 30 percent, Kizlaitis said.

As for some of those unhealthful sounding menu items, Kizlaitis argues the choices are nutritional. The hot dogs are made from turkey, the pizza cheese is low fat, she said.

Reducing sugary foods is also part of the district’s mission to improve nutrition, according to Kizlaitis.

“We changed elementary school breakfasts,” she said, explaining that sugary items, including juices, have been eliminated from the menu and replaced by protein-rich offerings.

Beyond school lunches, Kizlaitis said she works to educate both parents and students about “what are the right foods.”

“We want to make it [food] a positive experience,” she said. “Food is to be enjoyed, and there needs to be a healthy approach.”