Remember the "Fat Letters?" East Penn Takes Nutrition Seriously

Michele Obama’s "Let’s Move" initiative is aimed at fighting childhood obesity. The USDA also has proposed healthier school lunch guidelines. But the East Penn School District is already way ahead of the curve.

 In 1998, the district's nurses began noticing more and more overweight students.

Ann Johnson, Department Chair for Health Services in East Penn even wrote about it in Nutrition Today.

She wrote that they came across "a kindergartner who was unable to sit cross legged on the carpet without his legs going numb, a first grader frequently absent due to prolonged exacerbations of asthma, a third grader newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a seventh grader who refused to go to gym class, a ninth grader on medication for hyperlipidemia, and a senior high school linebacker with hypertension."

In 2001, using a Body Mass Index screening, the district started sending letters to parents, notifying them if their child was at risk of being overweight or obese, or even underweight. The so-called "fat letters" garnered national attention.Even Jay Leno on the Tonight Show made a joke about them.

To parents, it was more serious.  They accused the district of meddling in family matters, but the program continued, and East Penn's BMI program became a model for the state.

 It was adopted by Pennsylvania statewide in 2005 and all districts are now mandated to determine BMI for students in kindergarten through 12^th grade and notify parents of the results.

The district also adopted strict dietary guidelines for foods served in cafeterias and vending machines in 2006 with a Wellness Policy limiting the calories, sugars, fats and sodium of foods offered. Baked, not fried, french fries are served only once a week. Gum and candy bars are not sold in the schools. Donuts, tasty-cakes and soda are not available. Whole grain breads and rolls are offered.

The result of this are a little unclear. While East Penn monitors yearly for BMI, and reports those results to state officials, neither  Johnson nor Director of Pupil Personnel Services Dr. Thomas Mirabella would give the percentage of students who are still overweight or obese in East Penn. Johnson said, however,  that "East Penn falls below the national level of 30 percent."

In a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national leader in health related research, Pennsylvania school children rank 32^nd in the nation, with an overweight and obese rate of 29.7 percent.

Nationall,y childhood obesity is still on the rise, prompting the USDA to introduce new dietary guidelines for school lunches.

"The district knew changes were coming and went above and beyond what the state requires. We started making changes eight years ago," said Aneita Sutton, of the Nutition Group from Irwin Pa., works as food service director for East Penn.

Of course, there is a difference between healthier foods and what kids will eat.

Pizza, the largest daily seller at Emmaus High School, is still made with white flour. Sutton experimented with a whole-wheat crust, but said, "students just don’t like it. It has a different taste and texture."

Sutton said that nutrition education begins at home; "If parents begin using more whole grains, kids will gradually get used to it."

The high school cafeteria serves close to 3,000 students and staff per day. A la carte items are extremely popular. Sutton said over 1,000 servings of fruit are purchased daily, and the side salads are a big seller. In addition to the panini sandwich bar, a made to order deli bar, boxed wraps and full-size salad bar, there is the more traditional cafeteria line for daily entrées with fruits and vegetables.

On a recent day the "Signature Style" corner of the cafeteria offered grilled chicken and corn niblets; three cheese pizza and steamed broccoli; hamburger/cheeseburger and baked beans; pizza sticks with marinara sauce; or chicken pot pie with noodles and vegetables along with apple crisp.

Vending machines offer healthy snacks under 200 calories, including baked chips, nutritional bars, granola bars and reduced sugar fruit snacks.

In the elementary schools students are offered two entree choices daily along with fruits and vegetables. Only reduced fat and skim milk is sold. Domino’s pizza is available once a month.

A typical elementary school lunch offers a choice between wheat penne casserole (pasta, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce) or a hot dog on roll, tossed salad and peach cup.

Sutton said menu changes are made as she gets feedback from students and staff. Staff members are encouraged to eat healthy foods and serve as good role models. She visits all the schools in the district on a monthly basis for input and to find out "what’s good."

All school menus are posted on the district’s website, www.eastpenn.K12pa.us. Also listed are food prices and caloric, cholesterol, sodium, fat and sugar values.

When new USDA regulations take effect in several years, districts that haven’t already started making dietary changes will have to make drastic overhauls. The proposed requirements decrease the amount of starchy vegetables, like potatoes and corn, to one cup a week; increase fruits and vegetables to one fruit and two vegetables available at lunch; and require half of all grain products served to be whole grain.

The new meal standards are part of the "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010," signed into law by President Obama in December. School districts must abide by USDA regulations to be reimbursed by the federal government for free school lunch and breakfast programs.

The Nutrition Group, a food service company based in Irwin, Pa., has been contracted by East Penn to operate the district’s cafeterias and vending machines since 1998. They serve 130 school districts in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Sutton is employed by The Nutrition Group and is a graduate of Penn State’s Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program.