Efforts to Improve School Lunch Programs--Are They Paying Off

摘要

By setting specific food requirements, the Department of Agriculture tries to provide students with school lunches that, over time, contain one-third of the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) of specific nutrients. However, GAO's tests of lunches from seven school districts which had adopted various innovative lunch programs showed that following these specified food requirements does not ensure achievement of Agriculture's nutrient goals. The conventional format came closer to the goals more often than the salad and fast-food formats, but all types of lunches fell short of providing the recommended levels of as many as 7 of the 14 nutrients tested--some to a serious extent. Upgrading lunch nutrients may be difficult but, if Agriculture considers it important to have a specific RDA goal, steps must be taken to ensure achievement.