RX for Change: Confronting the health care crisis in Kansas

Dec. 7, 2005

By MICHAEL STRAND

Salina Journal

Cafeteria food is a common topic for high school newspapers — and the coverage usually isn't flattering.

When students in Salina's two public high schools returned this fall, many old lunch favorites — such as spicy fries covered with cheese sauce — no longer were available as a super-size, stand-alone option. Pop machines also were turned off during the school day, and vending machines contained healthier snacks, such as baked potato chips and pretzel sticks.

Yet when Fawn Lembke, a senior editor for the Tripodium, Salina South High School's student newspaper, decided to write about the changes in late September, she called them “a big step in the right direction.”

The changes were made this year as part of a district-wide initiative involving nutrition, education and physical fitness.

Whatever the good intentions, though, such changes will be effective only if students accept them.

As for her fellow students, Lembke said, “I think they're OK with it.”

Cindy Foley was pleased with Lembke's story; it showed student acceptance of the healthier offerings. Foley, as head of nutrition services for the Salina School District, was the point person during last year's re-write of the district's policies on vending machines, changes to the a la carte offerings in the cafeterias and other changes.

Foley also took steps to eliminate many items students previously bought individually, such as the cheese-covered fries, nachos and pizza by the slice. Many are still offered, but in smaller, side-dish portions as part of a regular meal.

“People were getting that stuff every day!” Lembke said. “A lot more people now are getting a regular lunch ... because the snack line's not there any more.”

Foley said that in the first 34 days of the school year, South High's cafeteria sold 1,000 more complete meals to those who qualify for free lunches than in the same time last year. Salina's other public high school, Salina Central, reported similar numbers. In mid-October, each high school was selling about 50 more meals each day.

Foley suspects students had been spending several more dollars a day for the nachos, fries and other snacks.

“The managers (at each school) are telling me the same thing,” she said. “A lot more kids are going through the hot food line.”

That's important, Foley said, because it's not enough to simply change menus; students have to actually take it and eat it.

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Acceptance also is evident in the vending machines, said Mike Scanlon, owner of Salina Snack Sales.

The vending machine policy, which went into effect at the start of the school year, limits snacks to 7 grams of fat, 200 calories and 30 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Next year, the fat content limit will drop to 5 grams.

“I really thought sales would drop dramatically,” Scanlon said, “and the Quik Shops and Green Lanterns would reap the benefits.

“The dollar sales are within 5 percent of what they were last year. I really wasn't expecting the kids to eat the items. I was pleasantly surprised.”

Scanlon also said he hasn't had a problem finding items that meet the requirements; snack food makers prepared for the shift to more health-conscious fare.

But, Scanlon said, many of those healthier snacks are typically “maybe 5 to 10 percent” more expensive.

“I have never figured out why a 1.5-ounce granola bar is more expensive than a 2-ounce Snickers,” he said.

John Bennet, general manager of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Salina, said students already were moving away from carbonated soft drinks in favor of juices and water before the new policy.

Now, juice is the leading beverage, making up 25 percent of sales, followed by water at 24 percent, milk and carbonated drinks at 20 percent each and noncarbonated soft drinks at 11 percent.

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The trend appears to be nationwide.

A study at San Francisco's Aptos Middle School during the 2002-2003 school year, for example, showed that over a period of weeks, carbonated soft drinks and potato chips, then cupcakes, Slim Jims and juice drinks with less than 100 percent juice were eliminated. Fresh deli sandwiches were added to the menu; “Mega Deluxe” cheeseburgers were replaced by smaller hamburgers, and big servings of pizza gave way to a smaller piece of pizza with a side salad.

Although there had been dire predictions for revenue, “the actual result is sales went up, not down,” according to a report, “Waistlines and Bottom Lines.”

The report concluded that “students who formerly made a lunch of a bag of chips and a can of soda are instead buying a bottle of juice and an entree, which costs more than a 'snack' lunch.”

And Philadelphia-based Aramark, which provides food services to 420 school districts — and numerous hospitals, colleges and other institutions — also found that students will eat healthy fare.

“We're finding that if you provide healthy options, it doesn't mean your participation rates have to suffer,” said Aramark spokeswoman Kate Moran.

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Under the new “Eat Smart” guidelines approved in August by the Kansas State Board of Education, the “minimum requirements” state that “students are allowed to converse with one another while they eat their meals.”

“The school nutrition programs are designed to provide a little bit of socialization time,” said Jodi Mackey, director of child nutrition and wellness for the Kansas Department of Education.

Talking to each other during lunch isn't a distraction from education — it's part of it, many say.

“These are children, and children need to learn to interact with their friends,” said Jim Hughes, principal at Sunset Elementary in Salina. “If we only educate an academic child, we've only done part of the job to make them a valuable citizen.”

At many schools, the lunch “hour” has been reduced to just 20 minutes — largely in response to the ever-increasing requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law and its emphasis on core academics.

But just as schools have for years found ways to reinforce math lessons in science class and vice versa, lunch time increasingly is being considered another learning opportunity.

Besides writing nutrition guidelines for the state's school districts, groups working under KDHE's Mackey also are designing ways that lessons on healthy eating can be worked into other parts of the curriculum.

“We can incorporate nutrition education into math, into social studies, into science,” she said. “Children could measure foods to learn about fractions — and that can be done across the curriculum.”

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School districts across the state work on the same kinds of changes.

“We're still in the very early stages of getting a wellness policy together,” said Hilary Hanvey, director of food service for the Hutchinson School District.

“At breakfast, right now we only offer two cereals that aren't really sugary, and we want more with whole grain,” she said.

Other goals include serving at least two or three fresh fruits or vegetables weekly.

“That's tough when they're out of season,” Hanvey said.

At the high school, Hanvey cut back on “things like cookies and muffins” on the a la carte menu, and French fries are available only three days a week instead of five.

But Hanvey intends to make available at least a few “bad” foods.

“We strongly think kids need to learn how to make choices,” she said. “We want to post nutrition labeling, and still have some unhealthy choices available.”

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Back in Salina, Foley plans more menu changes for the near future. One shift is to use more whole grains in the baked products turned out by the district's kitchens.

“We're gradually increasing the share of whole wheat flour,” she said.

The district is also working on a recipe for a healthy muffin.

“It's hard to find a (commercial) muffin that's not just a glorified cupcake,” Foley said. “We're one of the few districts in the state that still makes its own bread.”

She expects to involve students in taste-tests this spring, rolling out the muffins next fall.

Sodium is another issue: meals for a week in early October averaged 877 calories — with 30 percent of calories coming from fat — and 9.9 grams of fiber.

But they also contained 1,983 milligrams of sodium, about 50 percent higher than guidelines. Foley already took steps there, too. The spice mix for the spicy fries is mixed by the district, replacing commercially available mixes that are much higher in salt.

“We've just got a couple of the pieces in place,” Foley said. “The vending and a la carte were the toughest parts.”