Texas Schools Earn High Marks for Healthy Cafeteria Food

School Food Service Directors And Dietitians Seeing Eye To Eye On Menus

HOUSTON, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Can this really be happening? The deep fat
fryers are gone, salad bars are springing up, and schoolchildren are still
eating their lunch. That's good news for Chad Holcomb, the research and
development chef and test kitchen manager for the Houston Independent School
District. Responsible for 264,000 school lunches daily, Mr. Holcomb goes to
great lengths to ensure that what's put on the menu is well received.
"We're in the process of opening a new bakery and cook-chill facility that
will allow us to maintain greater control in developing healthier food,
including muffins and rolls made with lower fat and fewer calories," explains
Mr. Holcomb. "We have already implemented healthier choices by flavoring our
vegetables with Butter Buds and using Buttermist pan spray for toasting and
making grilled cheese sandwiches."
What are Butter Buds and Buttermist? According to Jim Dodge, Director of
Food Service Sales for Racine, Wisconsin's Butter Buds Food Service, both
products are all natural, zero calorie, zero fat, and zero cholesterol
alternatives to traditional butter applications. "Additionally, our company
has developed other natural, low fat dairy item replacements, such as Alfredo
Buds and Cheddar Buds, which are cost effective, healthy solutions for food
service managers involved in school food service and elsewhere," adds Mr.
Dodge.
Nationally, Child Nutrition Programs are required by law to comply with
the United States Department of Health and Human Services 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans. School lunch menus are designed to provide one-third
of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for protein, vitamins A and C,
iron, calcium and calories for school-age children. For the chefs developing
school lunches, following these guidelines translates into more vegetables,
fruits and whole grain products, while limiting consumption of saturated fat,
cholesterol and especially trans fatty acids.
Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), third largest in
Texas, is also successfully delivering healthier student meals -- 98,000 times
each day. "Our salad production has doubled over the past couple of years,"
boasts Matt Morgan, CFISD's Food Service Director. "One important aspect of my
job is to introduce students to healthy choices. We offer 5 salads, including
spinach salad and a very popular grilled chicken salad every day." Lisa
Widener, a registered dietitian working with Mr. Morgan, helps to ensure that
menus are designed to provide maximum nutrient value while keeping calories,
fat, and especially saturated fat at acceptable levels. "In addition to
offering plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, we also modify existing recipes
to make them healthier. Our chocolate chip cookie recipe contains less than
30% fat thanks to substituting apple sauce for margarine."
Evidently, the Texas Public School Nutrition Policy, developed to
supplement federal policies defined by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Policy,
is producing promising results for Texas schoolchildren and is inspiring other
states to follow their lead.
SOURCE GBA Health Communications

Terri Slater, GBA Health Communications, +1-561-241-8900, tslater@gbafl.com