Calories & Nutrition in School Food

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) mandates the foods served in most schools across the United States. Public schools, private schools and residential child care facilities--numbering 101,000--work with this program. The nutrition and calories available in school foods is strictly monitored to provide a healthy diet for growing children.

Requirements

• Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program receive cash subsidies and donated goods from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for each meal served. To receive these benefits, the schools must adhere to several requirements. The school must serve federally approved lunches that meet the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Though these guidelines are updated every five years, as of July 2008, the National School Lunch Program was still using the 1995 guidelines. They must also offer free or discounted lunches to children who can't afford a full-priced meal.

Dietary Guidelines

• The 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans states than no more than 30 percent of an individual's calories can come from fat, and less than 10 percent of the calories can come from saturated fat. School lunches must also provide 1/3 of the recommended dietary allowances of protein, iron, calcium, calories, and vitamins A and C.

  There are two tiers of food and beverages that can be offered to students. Each tier has specific guidelines for the foods within it, as well as rules regarding when and where foods in that tier can be served.

Tier 1 Foods

• Foods in Tier 1 are those that can be fed to any student at any time. Tier 1 foods must have no more than 200 calories, of which not more than 35 percent can be from fat. Less than 10 percent of the calories can come from saturated fat, and there must be no trans fat in the foods. In addition, no more than 35 percent of the calories can come from total sugars, and there must be less than or equal to 200 mg of sodium. Tier 1 foods include fresh fruits, dried fruits, vegetables, 100 percent whole-grain bagels and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices.

Tier 2 Foods

• Tier 2 foods can only be served to high-school students after school. Tier 2 foods include prepackaged snack foods and soft drinks. However, the snack foods must still have no more than 200 calories per portion and adhere to the same nutritional requirements listed for Tier 1 foods. Soft drinks must be sugar free and caffeine free with non-nutritive sweeteners and less than five calories per portion. The drinks may not be fortified with vitamins or nutrients. Tier 2 foods include low-salt baked chips, pretzels, crackers, graham crackers and low-fat/low-sugar ice cream bars.

Considerations

• While the above nutrition requirements are designed to help children make good food choices at school, many kids find a way around them. For example, a snack food with less than 200 calories per portion can contain several portions in one bag, and children are likely to consume the entire package. Many schools provide a la carte items, which allow students to pile on a variety of foods, ultimately consuming more calories than intended. Individual consumption of nutrition and calories ultimately depends on the child's eating habits.