Eating Healthier in School

School feeding programs must meet federal nutrition guidelines, but less-nutritious ‘competitive’ foods also sold in schools do not have to. Here’s what should be done.

Food Technology Magazine | Article

MARILYN A. SWANSON

One can hardly read an article about obesity in children in either the popular press or the scientific peer-reviewed literature and not see the words “school lunch” somewhere in the article. But is this connection warranted? Let’s take a close look at school meals in the United States.

Students choose items from a salad bar in the new lunch program called “Cool Foods,” part of the Healthy Schools Campaign, at Chicago’s Nettelhorst Elementary School.Value of School Feeding Programs
More than 100 years ago, in 1894, the Starr Center Association in Philadelphia started serving penny lunches in one school. This was soon expanded to a second school. A lunch committ…



Figure 1. Types of beverages sold in schools


Figure 2. State legislative initiatives to combat obesity in schools, 1998–2005. From NCSL (2006), cited in Mello et al. (2006).


Premium Content
You've reached your monthly limit of free articles.
Access Food Technology
Log in Subscribe

In This Article

  1. Food, Health and Nutrition
  2. Food Policy

Food Technology Articles right arrow

Continuing the Conversation With Nora Khaldi

Continuing the Conversation With Jim Jones

Continuing the Conversation With Katie Stebbins

Continuing the Conversation With Caree Jackson Cotwright

Healthy Heartbeats

IFT Podcasts right arrow

EP 11: The Challenge of Water

Episode 28: Spicing Up the Future of Food

Episode 27: Understanding and Addressing Global Hunger

up arrow Top