District Announces Healthier Changes for School Lunch

The Plainview-Old Bethpage Board of Education has announced significant changes in their school lunch program in advance of the opening of school next Wednesday.

The changes are significant, and are spelled out in the information below. Students will notice the changes. Here is a complete text of that release from the Plainview district:

Healthy Changes in Our School Cafeterias!

This fall, the Plainview-Old Bethpage school food nutrition programs are required to meet stricter new federal nutrition standards for school meals, ensuring that meals are healthy and well-balanced and provide students all the nutrition they need to succeed at school.

When operating under the National School lunch program as we do at our schools, the USDA mandates the nutritional guidelines. As in the past, school meals offer students milk, fruits and vegetables, proteins and grains, and they must meet strict limits on saturated fat and portion size.

Beginning in School Year 2012-2013, there are additional standards that need to be met: Age-appropriate calorie & sodium limits Larger servings of vegetables and fruits Smaller portions of protein/meat alternatives Mandates on vegetable & fruits (students must take at least one serving of produce.)

Mandates on the types of vegetables offered weekly (requiring more dark green and red/orange vegetables as well as legumes) Fat-free or 1 percent milk ONLY (flavored milk must be fat-free) More whole grains (half of all grains offered must be whole grain.)

Our food service management company, are professional nutrition providers that will help introduce the new changes, and create positive experiences in our cafeterias. School meals are now, and remain a great value and a huge convenience for busy families too! Together with Whitsons we look forward to welcoming your children to the cafeteria this fall. To understand more about the new USDA school meal initiatives, you can also visit www.TrayTalk.org