School Lunches Improving as
Districts Nationwide Take Action to Halt Rising Rates of Childhood Obesity
Doctors Issue Nutrition
Report Card: Schools Earn Top Grades by Promoting Healthy Vegetarian Fare, Banning Vending Machines, and Focusing on Local
Produce
WASHINGTON—Children
heading back to school this
fall will benefit from the
recent push at all levels of
government to fight childhood
obesity by promoting healthy
eating, with a focus on increasing
consumption of fruits, vegetables,
and whole grains, according
to a new School Lunch Report
Card. For the report, nutrition
experts with the Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine
(PCRM) analyzed lunch menus
at elementary schools in 18
major school districts participating
in the National School Lunch
Program. PCRM also evaluated
the availability of nondairy
beverages and schools’
efforts to promote healthful foods to children.
Results show that school lunches
are increasingly healthful
in many districts. Fairfax,
Virginia, came out on top with
an A. The nation’s largest
school district, New York City,
is another star pupil with
its focus on local produce
and whole grains and a ban
on whole milk. But a few districts
continue to lag behind: Memphis
City School District received
an F.
“Childhood obesity is
a bigger threat to kids than
the schoolyard bully, so lunchrooms
must provide healthful, low-fat
vegetarian fare,” says
PCRM nutritionist Dulcie Ward,
R.D. “The biggest change
our report found this year
is in much greater availability
of vegetarian and vegan options.” The
school lunch report card is
shown below. For the entire
analysis and report, please
contact Jeanne S. McVey at
202-686-2210, ext. 316, or jeannem@pcrm.org.
School District |
Score |
Grade |
Fairfax
County Public Schools
(Virginia) |
94 |
A |
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
School District (North
Carolina) |
92 |
A- |
Pinellas
County Schools (Florida) |
92 |
A- |
San
Diego Unified School
District (California) |
92 |
A- |
Broward
County Public Schools
(Florida) |
89 |
B+ |
New
York City School District
(New York) |
88 |
B+ |
Miami-Dade
Public Schools (Florida) |
88 |
B+ |
Seattle
Public Schools (Washington) |
86 |
B |
Dallas
Independent School
District (Texas) |
85 |
B |
Montgomery
County Public Schools
(Maryland) |
84 |
B |
Palm
Beach County School
District (Florida) |
84 |
B |
Hillsborough
County School District
(Florida) |
82 |
B- |
School
District of La Crosse
(Wisconsin) |
79 |
C+ |
San
Francisco Unified School
District (California) |
76 |
C |
Oakland
Unified School District
(California) |
75 |
C |
Minneapolis
Public Schools (Minnesota) |
67 |
D+ |
Hancock
County Schools (Mississippi) |
63 |
D |
Memphis
City School District
(Tennessee) |
54 |
F |
Founded
in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine is a nonprofit
health organization that
promotes preventive medicine,
especially good nutrition.
PCRM also conducts clinical
research studies, opposes
unethical human experimentation,
and promotes alternatives
to animal research.
-30-
Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.,
Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 | E-mail: pcrm@pcrm.org |
