Things You Wanted To Know About School Lunch But Didn't Ask

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This post is part of a partnership with the School Nutrition Association. Please note that, as always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

I remember school lunches as a child. I ate them for many years. In the early 80s, school lunches were industrial looking and didn’t look much like real food. Noone really knew what was in them or where they came from. Fast forward over thirty years and you’ll find that some things haven’t changed. There are still people out there that don’t know much about school lunches. I was one of them myself until recently.
When I told my oldest son I was attending the School Nutrition Association’s National Conference, he fired a barrage of questions at me. When I asked people on Facebook what they’d want to know about school lunches, many people had questions there. Some of the questions were the same ones I’ve had for years. The same questions I never really bothered to ask myself. It brings to mind the phrase “the only stupid question is the unasked question”. Of more then 30 questions people asked me, most fell under two recurring themes. Nutritional values and food allergies.
So off to Boston I went, looking forward to learning about school lunches and getting some answers. I spent a good portion of my day at the convention on the expo floor with Jon Dickl, the Director of School Nutrition for Knoxville County in TN. He was a really nice man who was super friendly. He took me around the floor to see what he looked for in products, He introduced me to brokers and manufacturers alike. It was absolutely fascinating and very interesting. I was late to one of my demonstrations because I was really having a great time talking with everyone and learning a ton!
Here’s some things I’d like you to know.
First of all, and this is something I should have done myself, ask the questions you have. If you want to know more about your child’s school lunches, ask. It is as simple as dialing the phone or visiting the school. You might be surprised at what you find. Back in the early 80s the women in my high school cafeteria were definitely the stereotypical grouchy, elderly lunch lady. I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the people involved with the school lunch process are experts in their field, including chefs, nutritionists and more.
Next, take everything a child tells you with a  grain (or pound) of salt. I heard more then a few anecdotes about how kids told their parents horror stories, only for parents to go into the school and see for themselves that the horror story was grossly inaccurate. Kids exaggerate. If you’re in doubt or skeptical, go check it out for yourself.
Foods on school menus are not just pulled randomly out of the air. Foods on school menus must meet several sets of guidelines. There are daily requirements set by the USDA that meals must meet. There are also regulations in place to ensure there are healthy choices. Regulations put into place with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) require the USDA to update their nutrition standards for schools, which in turn required cafeterias to offer more fruit, vegetables and whole grains while also limiting sodium and unhealthy fats.

Did your school lunches look like that? Mine sure didn’t. I borrowed those two photos from the SNA Facebook page, the pictures come from two very real schools in the US. Because we were on an expo floor all of the vendors had their own booths, so trays were not possible. I just wanted you to know that real school cafeteria food can look good.
To that end. Foods do not necessarily come in industrial vats. I was surprised to find how many things are made fresh, within a school or school district, on a daily basis. Some schools offer freshly made salads and meals. And best of all, every bit of food that I saw looked like real food, not fake, nasty stuff. It all looked appealing.
Food served on a large scale basis does not have to taste bad. The different manufacturers and vendors on the expo floor were only to proud to let me sample just about anything I wanted. They work hard to make their products taste as fresh and tasty as possible. Every single thing I tasted was good. (And I did a LOT of tasting.)
Food brokering was something new that I learned about and it is fascinating. Some foods are commodities. A school can buy a tractor trailer full of USDA quality chicken and have another company turn that chicken into something. For example, my guide buys chicken and has a company turn it into Asian meals. I tasted four different dishes and I was shocked to find that they tasted as good as dishes I have had out in restaurants. Who knew!
Ever heard of Red Gold? I’ve used their products in my own home and blogged about them on From Val’s Kitchen. Well, their tomatoes are considered a commodity. A school buys tomato paste as a commodity. They make a number of products approved for schools including spaghetti sauce, marinara, ketchup, BBQ sauce and others.

Foods in the school cafeteria may surprise you. How so? Well, there are brands you know, right in school cafeterias.
Heard of Pillsbury? Yep. Starkist tuna? Yep.
Heard of about Domino’s or Pizza Hut? Yes that’s right, the well-known national pizza companies do make appearances in school cafeterias. But they don’t bring their consumer pizza with them, they bring an approved school version of pizza that is made with whole grains as well as lower sodium and fat that meets USDA requirements.
Anyone know Lindy’s cookies? I had a package of their chocolate chip cookies almost every school day for almost four years. Those three cookies were so yummy! Well, Lindy’s is still making yummy cookies. The cookies are a little smaller and there are two to a package. These days they’re made with whole grain contain no trans fats, and have no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
Milk is always available in the cafeteria. Some cafeterias are also now offering products such as new Nestle Pure Life Exotics Sparkling Water and Nestle Splash flavored water, in an effort to provide healthier options then soda.

Dole? Yep yep yep. They’re actually in recipes in the district. And the great thing is that by being a part of the School Nutrition Association all of the great recipes they come up with share shared to many schools. They made some yummy stuff for us during a session right on the Expo floor!
Chobani. Greek yogurt is considered better for you then regular yogurt by many. Well, it’s in our schools.  Their Greek yogurt is now being used in some schools as a healthier ingredient then common things like oil. mayo, butter, buttermilk and cream cheese.
Parents concerned about food allergies will be delighted to know that there are products out there available for schools to buy. There are a lot of them and more and more come onto the market all the time. If you aren’t seeing food allergy friendly foods on your school’s menu or if want to see more of them in your school you need to do something. What? That’s easy. Tell them. Let your school know that your child has specific food allergies. If the nutritional department doesn’t know how many children need these types of foods they won’t know that they need to get it on the menu. Many people have concerns about peanut allergies. I tasted Albie’s EZ Jammers, which like an Uncrustable but made with whole grain bread and WOW butter, which is a soy butter that tastes just like peanut butter but isn’t made with nuts. it tasted just like peanut butter, seriously.
Speaking of food allergies. Some of you may have heard of a product called Butter Buds, it’s a butter flavored product you sprinkle on foods like potatoes. I spent a bit of time with some of the folks from Butter Buds and they were just some of the nicest people. We talked a lot. Their Alfredo Buds make an amazing sauce, and their Cheddar Buds make a cheese sauce that macaroni would be happy to have on it. Many of their cafeteria foodservice products are all natural and gluten-free, and contain no transfats. Cafeterias using products like this instead of margarine for cooking are making a sound choice.
I was truly surprised by everything that I learned while at the School Nutrition Association’s 2014 National Conference in Boston. I’ll have a little more to share with you in another post, so be sure to check back.

Did you learn anything new or unexpected about school lunches from this post? Do you have any other questions about school lunches?

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The School Nutrition Association is a national, nonprofit professional organization representing more than 55,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country.
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