President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act on June 4, 1946. The federally assisted meal program intended to safeguard the health and well-being of the nationís children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities, according to the Illinois School Nutrition Association website.Monica Deines-Henderson, the director of nutrition services for El Paso County Colorado School District 49, said the lunch act came about in response to the many young American men being rejected for World War II service because they were malnourished. ìThe program was literally established for national security reasons to make sure our men were ready in case we had to go to war again,î Deines-Henderson said.Congress continues to reauthorize the program every 10 years, adjusting meal patterns as needed. Currently, the nationís school programs are running on an extension, Deines-Henderson said. The last reauthorization, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, involved some of the biggest changes ever made, she said. They are just starting the talks in Congress for the 2020 reauthorization meal pattern.Deines-Henderson said Congress sets up the program, which falls under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to be self-sufficient; no money is taken from per-pupil revenue or educational funds. It also does not receive any local tax dollars to operate (in a normal non-COVID year). ìIt is the highest regulated program under USDA,î she said.Their revenue stream comes from three primary sources, Deines-Henderson said. The first is from the federal reimbursement rate, which equals $4.3175 per meal served and is the core of their funding. The second source is revenue from a la carte sales at the secondary school levels; for example, buying chips or an extra piece of pizza. The third source are co-pays from students who do not qualify for meal benefits, meaning they are not on the free and reduced meal program.She said because they are self-sufficient, the program operates as a business inside the school district. The revenue they receive needs to cover all food costs, serving equipment and supplies, 91 staff and operating costs; e.g., if the oven breaks, they are responsible. ìWeíre like a franchise inside the school system, operating 26 little restaurants,î Deines-Henderson said.COVID has hindered operations. The nutrition department is still short 16 staff, she said. The shortage of truck drivers has slowed down the transport of products. ìItís also harder to find chicken; so much chicken is being diverted to the fast-food industry and the grocery store market because so many more people are cooking at home since COVID,î Deines-Henderson said.Fortunately, in response to COVID, the USDA offered waivers for school districts to participate in the Seamless Summer meal pattern option for the 2021ñ2022 school year, which means all children eat for free, she said. School districts can choose to accept the waiver or run a traditional nutrition school program; D 49 chose to accept the waiver, Deines-Henderson said. ìWe wanted to do this because it not only removes stress from the students about whether†they have lunch money to be able to eat that day, but it also removes any stigma that may be attached to a family living in a household with food insecurities; all kids get a meal, no questions asked,î she said.At present, 19% of D 49ís students qualify for free and reduced meals. Deines-Henderson said that number is historically 28%, but with the waiver, families are not applying.Nationwide, 1 in 7 children is from a home with food insecurities, according to the Coalition on Human Needs. In Colorado, 1 in 5 children lives in homes where there is not enough to eat, and D 49 has a 1 in 4 child ratio, she said. ìThere is a definite food insecurity in our nation and our most at-risk population is our children,î Deines-Henderson said.Meeting the federal meal pattern is challenging in a normal school year, she said. The meal pattern limits how many calories can be served per meal and week; how many grains are offered per week, plus those grains vary by age level; and meat alternatives must be available, Deines-Henderson said.ìItís important for the community to know that every aspect of this program is highly regulated,î she said. ìWe donít have the flexibility to say ëthis is a young man playing football, letís give him two scoops of mashed potatoesí ó we arenít allowed to do that.î Students can buy another scoop of potatoes or another slice of pizza a la carte, but the meal pattern is one-size-fits-all nationwide, Deines-Henderson said.They also offer a garden bar in all of the schools to not only provide fresh produce, but also to meet all the requirements of the types, amounts and colors of vegetables that need to be offered per week, she said.D 49 has been sourcing in clean label products for the past 15 years, and they only use products with no artificial dyes, colors or antibiotics and allergen-free hamburger products, Deines-Henderson said. ìWe were doing that back before it was cool,î she said.They work with manufacturing partners in the K12 industry who make it a priority to ensure the schools have the highest quality possible, Deines-Henderson said. ìK12 food is not the same kind of food you can buy at a grocery store, because our restrictions are so tight,î she said. For example, they use Schwanís for their pizza and Tyson for their chicken; however; the school products differ from consumersí products because K12 food has a lower sodium, lower fat content. Among other food regulations for schools, all breads have to be whole grain and cheese has to be low-fat and sodium reduced, Deines-Henderson said.Year to date, the district has provided 129,479 (1,474 daily average) breakfasts and 649,479 (7,216 daily average) lunches for about 18,000 students district-wide in traditional schools (not counting the online learning students), she said. About 50% of the students are eating at school, 50% are getting their meals elsewhere (pre-COVID that number equaled 38%), Deines-Henderson said.ìWeíre providing more meals, doing it with more sourcing struggles and less staff,î she said.For more information about the meal program requirements, visit https://www.cde.state.co.us/nutrition/nutrimenuplanning
