School Lunch Report Card
A Report by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Fall 2002

It’s time for the Nnation’s children to be heading back to school, —and back to school lunch.  Because parents and health professionals are interested in the nutrition quality of the meals being offered in school cafeterias, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) graded the nutrition quality of the menus offered in 10 ten of the largest U.S. school U.S. districts participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National School Lunch Program (NSLP). 

The NSLP is a federally assisted meal program operating in nearly 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions. Schools that choose to participate in the program receive cash subsidies, donated commodities, and free bonus shipments for each meal served. In return, they must serve lunches that meet federal nutrition requirements, as well as offer free or reduced-price lunches to eligible children.

Dietitians at PCRM looked at 15 days of recent elementary school lunch menus for New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fairfax County (Virginia), Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Detroit.  One point was awarded for each time the menu included a low-fat vegetable side dish, a whole or dried fruit, a hot vegetarian entrée (meatless), a hot vegan entrée (meatless, dairy-free, and egg-free), and or a vegan option by request over the 15- day period—, totaling 75 possible points. Twenty points were then awarded to each school district for meeting the National School Lunch ProgramNSLP nutrition requirements, including less than 30% percent of calories from fat, less than 10% percent of calories from saturated fat, and one- third of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA’s) for protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories. All of the school districts surveyed are currently meeting these nutrition guidelines. And, aAn additional 5five points were given to school districts that offering non-dairy, calcium-rich beverages, such as calcium-fortified orange juice, on a daily basis to help meet the calcium needs of students who either cannot or do not drink milk. PCRM dietitians consulted the school districts’ nutrition staffs as needed for with information onquestions about food items that could not be answered by reviewing the menus and or the school districts’ websites. Each school district was given a score out of 100 possible points, which was then converted into a letter grade.

All of the school districts included in this survey are using the “Offer vs. Serve” (OVS) menu system. OVS is a federal regulation designed to reduce food waste in the lunch program by allowing students to choose only foods they intend to eat. The school lunch pattern includes five food items: 1. meat or meat alternative, 2. bread or bread alternative, 3. milk, 4. fruits, and 5. vegetables. Under the National School Lunch Act, students are permitted the opportunity of selecting to select anywhere from three to five of the five 3 of the 5 offered components of the meal. OVS is a federal regulation designed to reduce food waste in the lunch program by allowing students to choose only those foods, which they will intend to eat. The school lunch pattern includes five food items: (1) meat/meat alternate, (2) bread/bread alternate, (3) milk, (4) fruits, and (5) vegetables. They may choose to accept all five items, or as few as three items. Students are not allowed to choose two of the same component, but they can request a second portion of fruit or vegetable at for no extra charge.

Background

On average, children in the United States consume too much total fat and too much saturated fat and far too few fruits and vegetables.  This is problematic because it is tThese dietary patterns that contribute to the rising problem with of childhood obesity in children.  And, a A Centerss for Disease Control and Prevention report on obesity in America found that sixty 60 percent of overweight five- to ten-year-olds already have at least one risk factor for heart disease, such as raised blood pressure or insulin levels.

 To reverse these trends, children should be served low-fat, plant-based meals, encouraging them to follow healthy, vegetarian eating habits right from the start.  Choosing a vegetarian diet is a simple way to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, because no calorie counting is necessary, and it contains the nutrients a fit body needs. A diet drawn from varied plant sources easily achieves or maintains a healthy body weight without calorie counting and satisfies calcium and protein requirements, providing all essential amino acids,— even without intentional combining or “protein complementing.”  There is plenty ofample protein in whole grains, vegetables, and legumes, and plenty of calcium in green leafy vegetables, fortified juices, and other plant foods other foods with health advantages the that meat and dairy products lack. In short, diets built from grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans are easy- to- prepare, are low-cost, and satisfying to hungry children, and  while offering the most disease-fighting protection of any dietary pattern..

The Review process and grading systemGrading S

PCRM dietitians looked at 15 days of recent elementary school lunch menus for New York City, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Fairfax County (Virginia), Miami, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Detroit.

One point was awarded for each time the menu included a low-fat vegetable side dish, a whole or dried fruit, a hot vegetarian entrée (meatless), a hot vegan entrée (meatless, dairy-free, and egg-free), or a vegan option by request over the 15-day period, totaling 75 possible points.

Twenty points were then awarded to each school district meeting the NSLP nutrition requirements, including less than 30 percent of calories from fat, less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, and one-third of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) for protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories. All of the school districts surveyed are currently meeting these nutrition guidelines.

An additional five points were given to school districts offering non-dairy, calcium-rich beverages, such as calcium-fortified orange juice, on a daily basis to help meet the calcium needs of students who either cannot or do not drink milk.

PCRM dietitians consulted the school districts’ nutrition staffs as needed with questions about food items that could not be answered by reviewing the menus or the school districts’ Web sites.

Each district was given a score out of 100 possible points, which was then converted into a letter grade.

Note: All of the school districts included in this survey are using the “Offer vs. Serve” (OVS) menu system. OVS is a federal regulation designed to reduce food waste in the lunch program by allowing students to choose only foods they intend to eat. The school lunch pattern includes five food items: 1. meat or meat alternative, 2. bread or bread alternative, 3. milk, 4. fruits, and 5. vegetables. Students are permitted to select anywhere from three to five of the five offered components of the meal. Students are not allowed to choose two of the same component, but they can request a second portion of fruit or vegetable at no extra charge.

Here Below are the possible points awarded for each category. One point is given for each time the menu includes each of the following items in 15 days of sample lunch menus, plus an additional 20 points for meeting NSLP nutrition guidelines, and 5 points for offering non-dairy, calcium-rich beverages:.

Low-fFat Vegetable Side-d Dish:       15

Whole or Dried Fruit:        15

Hot Meatless Entrée:        15

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:   15

Vegan Option:         15 

                                 -----

         TOTAL:   75
 

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition      guidelines

         +  5  for offering non-dairy, calcium-      fortified rich      beverages juices

                        -----

         TOTAL:   100 points

The Criteria

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side Dishes:/ 0 – 15 points

Research indicates that adults who consume regularly eat vegetables are those who consumed these foods during from childhood. Vegetables are packed with nutrients; they provide vitamin C, beta-carotene, riboflavin, iron, calcium, fiber, and other nutrients. Dark green, leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard and turnip greens, chicory, or and bbok choy, are especially good sources of these important nutrients for children. Dark yellow and orange vegetables, such as carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin, provide a the powerful antioxidant, beta-carotene. When schools offer tasty, low-fat vegetable side dishes, such as green salads, mixed vegetables, steamed broccoli, corn on the cob, and raw baby carrots with low-fat Italian salad dressing, children will adopt healthy eating habits that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. In this survey, 1one point was given awarded for each day that the school district offered a low-fat vegetable side dish. Points were not given for French fries, mashed potatoes, or tater tots.

Whole or Dried Fruit Offered as a Side Dish or Dessert:/ 0 – 15 points

As with vegetables, rAs with vegetables, research shows that adults who eat fruits in adulthood also  are those who consumed them as children. Fruits are rich in fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. Fruit juices do not contain very muchless fiber when compared to thethan whole fruits. Thus, iIn this survey, 1 one point was awarded for each day the school district offered a whole or dried fruit on the menu. Points were given for applesauce as well, but not for fruit juice or frozen fruit bars.

Vegetarian and Vegan Entrées, and Vegan Options:/ 0 – 45 points

Nutrition research is now emphasizesing the importance of fiber, the health risks of cholesterol and fats, and the disease-preventive power of many nutrients found exclusively in plant-based foods. It’ has also been discovered that the plant kingdom provides excellent sources of the nutrients once only associated only with meat and dairy products—, namely, protein and calcium. The major killers of Americans—heart disease, cancer, and stroke—have a dramatically lower incidence among people consuming primarily plant-based diets. Weight problems—The condition of overweight, a which contributesor to a host of other health problems—, can also be brought under control by following plant-based diets, even for in children. Research shows that vegetarian children grow up to be slimmer and, healthier, and live longerlive longer than their meat-eating friends. It is much easier to build a nutritious diet from vegetarian foods than to attempt to build one from animal products, which contain animal fat, cholesterol, and other substances that growing children certainly do not need. Vegan diets are best of all, since as they are free of cholesterol, animal fat, and animal protein, while rich in fiber and numerous health-promoting nutrients.

With the approval of Alternate Protein Products (APPs) in the NSLP, schools are now given the freedomable to provide children with meatless, cholesterol-free entreées. However, since these foods are not in the commodity or bonus foods program, few schools districts surveyed actually include them in their menu plans. many of the healthier meat substitutes are not available in the commodity food program and cost the schools more to include in their menus.

In this survey, a maximum of 30 points were was awarded for the frequency of both vegetarian (meatless), and vegan (meatless, dairy-free, and egg-free) entreeentrées. (30 points total). However, due to the dangers of dairy product consumption as (explained below), completely plant-based meals are preferred, and. wWhen hot vegan entreeentrées appeared on the menu, a point was also awarded in the vegetarian categorythe school district received one point in the vegetarian entrée category and one point in the vegan entrée category. 

Because many schools have not yet begun offering to featured vegetarian main dishesentrées, (but still include some plant-based selections in their menus), another the category of “vegan option” was included in this review. Having a daily vegan choiceselection offered daily, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a salad bar, at least guarantees that children at least can have the option to eat something that is meatless and dairy-free for lunch. Ideally, schools will begin offering healthy, vegan main dishesentrées, such as veggie burgers, bean and rice burritos, and veggie chili, on a regular basis, so that children will have no choice but to select abe presented with healthynutritious entréeselections, develop tastes for health-promotingy foods, and acquire healthy healthy eating habits that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Non-dDairy, Calcium-Rich Foods and Beverages:/ 0 or–or 5 points

There are Nnumerous scientific studies showing thatlink the consumption of cow’s milk contributes to obesity, anemia, ear infections, constipation, respiratory problems, heart disease, and some cancers. Due to the dangers of dairy product consumption, cow’s milk with added lactase, such as Lactaid® milk, is not a suitable alternative. What’s more, in contrast to CaucasiansAnd, as people of other ethnicities other than Caucasian are typically unable to digest dairy protein,oducts. Due to the dangers of dairy product consumption, cow’s milk with added lactase such as Lactaid® milk is not a suitable alternative. relying onIncluding dairy productsets as the sole source of calcium in child nutrition programs favors those children of Northern European descent. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians’ 2002 report on lactose intolerance, 60  to – 80 percent0% of Blacksblacks, 50  to – 80 percent % of Hispanics, 80 to  – 100 percent% of American Indians, 95  to – 100 percent% of Asians, and 6  to – 22 percent% of American Whites whites are lactose intolerant.  Intolerance to lLactose intolerance, which is generally apparent by age three3, causes flatulence, cramping, diarrhea, and bloating after eating dairy products in some individuals.  Unfortunately, however, calcium-fortified juices are more expensive for school districts than the unfortified versions. Thereforeus, the USDA needs toshould mandate such non-dairy, calcium-fortified beverages in child nutrition programs so that milk and other dairy products are not the only source of calcium available in these programsin school lunches. 

Despite the extra costsexpense, many school districts are already offering calcium-fortified juices in their school lunch programs. Thus, iIn this review, PCRM awarded 5 extra points to school districts already providing calciumthat provide calcium-rich juices to students despite the extra costs on a daily basis..

Nutrition Grades

Here are the school districts’ nutrition grades:

Broward County School District (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.L): 85 points

The Broward County School District is the 6^th sixth largest district in the United .States.; it is comprised of, with 243 schools with enrolling 251,129 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from May 2002 were reviewed. The healthy quality of the lunches offered in this district excelled surpassed the lunches offered in other districts due to Broward County’s inclusion of a daily salad bar, a hot potato bar with a number of vegetarian toppings, and calcium-fortified juices, not to mentionand the occasional offering of collard greens (—a calcium- and vitamin-rich vegetable). Another unique menu item included in Broward County is plantains, which were is reported to be oneas one of the children’s favorites. The only deficient category for Broward the district was is the hot vegan (meatless, dairy-free, and egg-free) entrée category. By daily offering tasty,, hot vegan selections, daily such as bean burritos;, low-fat, cholesterol-free veggie burgers instead of hamburgers or cheeseburgers;, and spaghetti with marinara sauce instead of meat sauce; daily,, Broward County would end up with earn a perfect score.

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side-d Dish:       15

Whole or Dried Fruit:         15

Hot Meatless Entrée:         15

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:         15 

                      -----

         TOTAL:   60

           + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

            +  5  for offering calcium-fortified juicesnon-dairy, calcium-       rich beverages

            -----

         TOTAL:   85 points

Dade County School District (Miami, FlaL): 71 points

The Dade County School District is the 5^th fifth largest district in the United .States, .; it is comprised ofwith 356 schools with enrolling 368,625 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from July 2002 were reviewed. Dade County did no’t include calcium-fortified juices or non-dairy, calcium-rich foods oin their its menu, but they it did offer quite a good variety of low-fat vegetable side -dishes, such as mixed vegetable salads with light dressing, steamed broccoli, and corn on the cob. They also included, as well as a daily offering of assortedassortment of fresh fruit. Although Dade County offered a number of meatless entreeentrées that included cheese;, they it could go one step further and offer make available completely plant-based meals to improve the nutrition value and score of their its menus. By changing their its cheese lasagna roll-up to a dairy-free lasagna roll-up with roasted vegetables and soy burger crumbles, or substituting their its cheese pizza burrito for a bean, rice, and vegetable burrito, there Dade County would becould provide healthier offerings in their its lunch menu.

(Dade County)

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-fFat Vegetable Side -dDish:       13

Whole or Dried Fruit:         15

Hot Meatless Entrée:          8

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:       0

Vegan Option:         15

                      -----

          TOTAL:   51

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

         +  0  for offering calcium-rich milk alternativesnon-dairy, calcium-rich     beverages

           -----

         TOTAL:   71 points

Fairfax County Public Schools (Fairfax, Va.A): 71 points

The Fairfax County Public School District is the 14^th largest district in the U.S.; it is comprised of the United States, with 195 schools with enrolling 156,412 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from September 2002 were reviewed. Like Broward County, Fairfax also also offersed calcium-fortified juices, which were added to the menu to meet the needs of lactose-intolerant individuals, as well asstudents and those who choose not to consume milk products for religious or other reasons. Unique to Fairfax County was the inclusion of jicama, a root vegetable nick-named the “Mexican potato.”. Although Fairfaxthe district has offers a daily peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a vegan option, it could improve its score by changing its the spaghetti with meat sauce to a spaghetti with marinara sauce, replacing the beef ravioli with a soy ravioli, as well asand replacing substituting the pork egg rolls with steamed vegetable dumplings.

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side D-dish:       10

Whole or Dried Fruit:         15

Hot Meatless Entrée:          6

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:          15 

                       -----

          TOTAL:   46

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition         guidelines

           +  5  for offering non-dairy, calcium-        rich beveragescalcium-fortified juices 

         -----

          TOTAL:   71 points

New York City Public Schools (New York, N.Y.): 70 points

The New York City Public School Districts is the largest school district in the U.S.; it is comprised ofnited States, with 1,213 schools with enrolling 1,066,516 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from June 2002 were reviewed. New York City excelled in their its daily offerings of unique, low-fat vegetable side- dishes, as well as fresh fruit. Their The June menu included such items as fiesta blend vegetables —(a mixture of vegetables and beans), garden salads, romaine salads, seasoned green beans, and seasoned spinach. New York City was also the only school district in this year’s survey to offer a vegetable patty in this year’s survey as a hot, vegan entrée item. However, points were lost for the remaining days where hot vegetarian and/ or vegan entreemain dishess were not offered, as well as for the absence of a daily non-dairy, calcium-rich food or beverage.

(New York City Public Schools)

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side-d Dish:      13

Whole or Dried Fruit:         15

Hot Meatless Entrée:         6

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:    1

Vegan Option:         15 

           -----

         TOTAL:   50

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

         +  0  for offering calcium-rich milk alternativesnon-dairy, calcium-rich     beverages

           -----

         TOTAL:   70 points

Clark County School District (Las Vegas, Nev.V): 66 points

The Clark County School District is the 9^th ninth largest district in the United States, with.S.; it is comprised of 259 schools with enrolling 231,655 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from May 2002 were reviewed. Although Clark County offers calcium-fortified juices daily, they it lost points by offering low-fat vegetable side dishes on only 7 of the 15 days. It did offer a bean burrito as a hot, vegan entrée on one of the days., but Clark County could improve their its score by replacing meat-based Ssloppy Jjoes with a healthier vegetarian Ssloppy Jjoe sauce made from soy crumbles, and by using low-fat vegetable patties instead of higher- fat meat patties.

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-fFat Vegetable Side-d Dish:        7

Whole or Dried Fruit:        12

Hot Meatless Entrée:          6

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free Entrée:      1

Vegan Option:          15

                      -----

          TOTAL:   41

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

         +  5  for offering calcium-fortified juicesnon-dairy, calcium-       rich beverages

                      -----

         TOTAL:   66 points

Dallas Independent School District (Dallas, Tex.X): 65 points

The Dallas Independent School District is the 12^th largest district in the U.S.; it is comprised ofnited States, with 221 schools with enrolling 161,548 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from May 2002 were reviewed. The Dallas Independent School District offers calcium-fortified orange juice to help meet the calcium requirements of the its students. They It also offers a number of legume and black-eyed pea side dishes, which are high in fiber and packed with nutrients. The Dallas Independent School dDistrict’s nutrition department reported the frequency of garden veggie burgers, baked potatoes with vegetarian toppings, and rice- and&- beans selections on the menu, but these did notn’t appear on the days that were PCRM surveyed. Thus, by including a dailyIf these  hot vegan items such as these had appeared in its daily menu, the Dallas Independent School District would have scored significantly higher. would significantly improve their score.

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side-Ddish:       10

Whole or Dried Fruit:         12

Hot Meatless Entrée:          3

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:          15

                       -----

          TOTAL:   40

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition         guidelines

         +  5  for offering calcium-fortified juicesnon-dairy, calcium-        rich beverages

           -----

        TOTAL:   65 points

Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, Calif.A): 60 points

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the 2nd second largest school district in the U.S.; it is comprised ofnited States, with 659 schools with enrolling 721,346 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from July 2002 were reviewed. Los Angeles Unified offered healthy green salads and fresh fruit on most days. However, they the district was were lacking in meatless and dairy-free entreeentrées, as well as in non-dairy, calcium-rich foods and beverages. Including calcium-fortified juices, and a daily hot vegan entrée, such as a vegetable patty, soy hot dog, or veggie burrito, would help their its nutrition score. The website Web site for the Los Angeles Unified School District schools stated that 40% percent of their its students are overweight or obese, and making these healthy changes may might help get reduce that number down.

(Los Angeles Unified School District)

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side D-dish:       13

Whole or Dried Fruit:         11

Hot Meatless Entrée:          1

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:         15

                      -----

          TOTAL:   40

                  + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

                   +  0  for offering calcium-rich milk alternativesnon-dairy, calcium-rich     beverages

   -----

         TOTAL:   60 points

Philadelphia City School District (Philadelphia, Penn.A): 59 points

The Philadelphia City School District is the 8^th eighth largest school district in the U.S.; it is comprised ofnited States, with 261 schools with enrolling 201,190 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from January 2002 were reviewed. Philadelphia only had 8 eight sample days where a low-fat vegetable side -dish was offered, and most of those offerings were corn. To improve the variety and nutrition quality of their menus, they need tothis district should include a daily offering ofvegetable items choice, such as steamed broccoli, green salads with low-fat dressing, oriental vegetable medleys, and raw carrots with low-fat dip. No hot vegan entreeentrées were offered,; however, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be chosen on a daily basis. Also, for lactose- intolerant children with a doctor’s note, Lactaid® milk was provided. However, due to the health complications associated with dairy product consumptions, offering non-dairy, calcium-rich foods beverages is ideal.

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-fFat Vegetable Side-d Dish:        8

Whole or Dried Fruit:         12

Hot Meatless Entrée:          4

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free, Egg-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:         15

                          -----

         TOTAL:   39

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

   +  0  for offering calcium-rich milk alternativesnon-dairy, calcium-rich     beverages

                -----

           TOTAL:   59 points

Detroit City School District (Detroit, Mich.I): 57 points

The Detroit City School District is the 11^th largest school district in the U.S.; it is comprised ofnited States, with 263 schools with enrolling 162,194 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from May 2002 were reviewed.  Detroit City offered a low-fat vegetable side-d dish on only 8 of the 15 selected menu days. By aAdding green salads or raw vegetables with low-fat dip to the daily menu would give them the district a perfect vegetable score. Also, Lactaid® milk is provided for students who are unable to tolerate cow’s milk. However, aA healthier step would be to offer calcium-fortified juices to all the students on a daily basis. In also makingFor  healthier menus, Detroit City needs toshould offer daily hot vegan entreeentrées, such as vegetable patties instead of the chicken and hamburger patties, soy hot dogs instead of the the rib barbecque on a bun, and a bean burrito instead of the bean and beef burrito.

(Detroit City School District)

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side-d Dish:        8

Whole or Dried Fruit:         11

Hot Meatless Entrée:          3

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:         15 

                    -----

         TOTAL:   37

         + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

           +  0  for offering calcium-rich milk alternativesnon-dairy, calcium-rich     beverages

           -----

         TOTAL:   57 points

Houston Independent School District (Houston, Tex.X): 57 points

The Houston Independent School District is the 7^th seventh largest school district in the United States, with .S.; it is comprised of 289 schools with enrolling 208,462 students enrolled. Fifteen sample menus from June 2002 were reviewed. On most days, the district Houston offered a low-fat vegetable side dish,es such as the vegetable stack, mixed vegetables, and or seasoned spinach, on most days, but was lacked ing in meatless, dairylessdairy-free, egg-free entreeentrées as well asand non-dairycalcium-rich, calcium-rich non-dairy foods and beverages. By offeringOffering calcium-rich juices, and replacing exchanging the their spaghetti with meat sauce with for spaghetti with marinara sauce for the spaghetti, the hot soy dogs for soy their hot dogs, and the hamburger for a low-fat garden veggie burger for their hamburger would help their this score significantly.

The frequency of each of the following on 15 sample lunch menu days:

Low-Ffat Vegetable Side-d Dish:       10

Whole or Dried Fruit:        12

Hot Meatless Entrée:          0

Hot Meatless, DairylessDairy-Free Entrée:      0

Vegan Option:         15 

           -----

         TOTAL:   37

           + 20 for meeting NSLP nutrition        guidelines

+  0  for offering calcium-rich milk alternativesnon-dairy, calcium-rich     beverages

   -----

         TOTAL:   57 points

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