Mystery meat, cartons of milk, and soggy peas that go straight from the can to the tray -- the school lunches we remember are still around. But in middle schools and high schools across the country, more and more kids are bypassing the lunch lady and heading straight for an "á la carte" counter where they can design their own meals. While the school serves turkey with a salad and side of creamed corn, students can choose a huge cookie with a side of potato chips, an entree of nachos with Skittles as dessert, or the classic burger and fries combo instead.

The federal government sets standards for the nutrition (if not the taste) of regular school lunches. The national school lunch program, in fact, was developed after too many young men during World War II failed their physicals due to malnutrition. But in schools today, á la carte meals answer to nobody -- except possibly Ronald McDonald. According to a nationwide survey conducted in 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 20 percent of schools sell McDonald's hamburgers, Pizza Hut pizzas, or other brand-name fast foods. A second survey of California high schools, also done in 2000, found that 95 percent sold á la carte fast foods, including many items from Taco Bell, Subway, and other big-name franchises.

From a nutritional standpoint, things could hardly get any worse, says Melinda Sothern, PhD, director of the Pediatric Obesity Clinical Research Section at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and coauthor of the recent book Trim Kids. Almost without exception, fast foods are loaded with fat and sugar, she says. (Check out our Fast Food Fact-Finder to get the real scoop on fast food fat and calories.)

All of those burgers, pizzas, and super-sized fries have helped fuel the obesity epidemic among American children and teenagers, according to the Public Health Institute, a northern California think-tank. So has all the soda they consume. Soft drinks are the single biggest source of refined sugar in the American diet, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. An article published in the Lancet on Feb. 17, 2001 noted that each additional can of soda per day that a child drank substantially increased his odds of becoming obese.

And obesity among children and teenagers is growing. The percentage of children and adolescents who are considered overweight has more than tripled since the mid-1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 17 percent of kids and teens in the United States are now overweight.

"No sensible parent would take their kid to a fast-food restaurant every day," Sothern says. "But if that's available in a cafeteria, that's what kids are going to eat."

Despite the obvious nutritional concerns, schools have their reasons for putting Big Macs and candy on the menu. A questionnaire distributed to California schools by the Public Health Institute in 2000 turned up the classic rationales: Kids won't eat anything else. They don't have enough time for a real meal. Above all else, fast food makes money, especially when it comes with a brand name. The same arguments are made all over the country. And in the eyes of one food service director, they're all bunk.

When Al Schieder first took a look at the high school and middle school cafeterias in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, a district that serves 17,000 students northeast of Sacramento, California, he didn't like what he saw. The cafeteria was sharply divided into two classes: poor kids who ate the bland, uninviting school lunches, and kids who could afford the á la carte items. The kids who lined up for school lunch had to take a daily walk of shame, but at least they were served a nutritious meal (much of which, unfortunately, ended up in the trash). The "privileged" kids lived on nachos, doughnuts, burgers, and similar fare.

Today, it's a much different scene. In a bold move, Schieder banished á la carte foods and soda from every cafeteria in his district several years ago. Skeptics said he would drive students out of the cafeteria and send the lunch program into financial ruin. But something strange happened: The school cafeteria started pulling in crowds that any restaurant manager would love. The long lines translated into big profits. Before the overhaul, the district lost about $200,000 every year on lunches. According to the latest tally, the district has close to $400,000 in reserves.

Schieder, who previously owned a chain of pasta restaurants, did it by turning the lowly school lunch into one of the best meals in town. Every day, students can choose from a tantalizing selection of entrees, including pasta, rice bowls, sushi, southwestern wraps, oven-baked chicken, and -- for the traditionalists -- pepperoni pizza. The entrees are rounded out with a piece of fresh fruit and a carton of milk. Every lunch is freshly made and geared towards the tastes of the lunchroom crowd.

The new lunches also score high marks in nutrition. Through extensive tinkering and taste testing, Schieder found ways to cut the fat without sacrificing appeal. The pizza, for example, is made with modest amounts of real cheese. Low-fat cheese was an option, but Schieder didn't think it melted properly. He also resisted the temptation to pile vegetables on every slice. (The kids wouldn't eat it, he says.)

By banishing á la carte items -- and the fast food companies behind them -- Schieder gained control over his lunchrooms. He used his own recipes, and he no longer feels like a hypocrite since he stopped selling junk food in the same building where kids learn about nutrition. "I didn't do anything miraculous," he says. "I just went back to the original intention of school lunch. We are supposed to give kids nutritious meals."

Whether school officials have the courage to do away with á la carte foods completely, they can still take steps to improve the lunchroom nutrition, according to Sothern. "School lunch shouldn't be driven by money or marketing," she says. "It should be driven by a policy that says that the health of the children is the primary goal." Local governments could help by providing incentives for schools that banish junk foods. Such incentives could counteract the lure of fast money from McDonald's or other franchises, she says.

Now that he has transformed his own cafeterias, Schieder is spreading the word. He has shared his experiences with several other food service directors who see a need for change. Of course, he realizes that the meals served at Folsom Cordova aren't likely to become standard nationwide. The lunch lady in Roundup, Montana, shouldn't have to compete with McDonald's, but she shouldn't have to have to learn how to make crème brulée, either.

-- Chris Woolston, MS, is a health and medical writer with a master's degree in biology. He is a contributing editor at Consumer Health Interactive, and was a staff writer at Hippocrates, a magazine for physicians. He has also covered science issues for Time Inc. Health, WebMD, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. His reporting on occupational health earned him an award from the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists.

Further Resources

For more information school lunches and nutrition, go to the National School Link Program web site.

References

First published July 24, 2002
Last updated July 23, 2007
Copyright © 2002 Consumer Health Interactive