L.A. schools' healthful lunch menu panned by students

[Guest guest]

It's lunchtime at Van Nuys High

School<http://projects.latimes.com/schools/school/van-nuys/van-nuys-senior-high/\

>and

students stream into the cafeteria to check out the day's fare: black

bean burgers, tostada salad, fresh pears and other items on a new healthful

menu introduced this year by the Los Angeles Unified School

District<http://www.latimes.com/topic/education/schools/los-angeles-unified-scho\

ol-district-ORGOV000940.topic>

..

But Iraides Renteria and Gutierrez don't even bother to line up.

Iraides said the school food previously made her throw up, and calls

it " nasty, rotty stuff. " So what do they eat? The juniors pull three bags

of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and soda from their backpacks.

" This is our daily lunch, " Iraides says. " We're eating more junk food now

than last year. "

For many students, L.A. Unified's trailblazing introduction of healthful

school lunches has been a flop. Earlier this year, the district got rid of

chocolate and strawberry milk, chicken nuggets, corn

dogs<http://www.latimes.com/topic/science-technology/science/zoology/dog-%28anim\

al%29-T50023003.topic>,

nachos and other food high in fat, sugar and sodium. Instead, district

chefs concocted such healthful alternatives as

vegetarian<http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/diets-dieting/vegetarian-diet-HED\

I00003.topic>curries

and tamales, quinoa salads and pad Thai noodles.

There's just one problem: Many of the meals are being rejected en masse.

Participation in the school lunch program has dropped by thousands of

students. Principals report massive waste, with unopened milk cartons and

uneaten entrees being thrown away. Students are ditching lunch, and some

say they're suffering from headaches, stomach

pains<http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/symptoms/abdominal-pain-HEISY00003.top\

ic>and

even anemia. At many campuses, an underground market for chips, candy,

fast-food burgers and other taboo fare is thriving.

Acknowledging the complaints, L.A. Unified's food services director, Dennis

Barrett, announced this month that the menu would be revised. Hamburgers

will be offered daily. Some of the more exotic dishes are out, including

the beef jambalaya, vegetable curry, pad Thai, lentil and brown rice

cutlets, and quinoa and black-eyed pea salads. And the Caribbean meatball

sauce will be changed to the more familiar teriyaki flavor.

The district is even bringing back pizza — albeit with a whole wheat crust,

low-fat cheese and low-sodium sauce, according to food services deputy

director Binkle.

" We're trying to put healthier foods in place and make food [that] kids

like, and that's a challenge, " Binkle said. " But we want to be responsive

and listen and learn. "

The new menu, introduced this fall, was hailed as a revolutionary step by

the nation's second-largest school district to combat the growing epidemic

of youth

obesity<http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/physical-conditions/obesity-HEDAI000\

0057.topic>,

diabetes<http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/diabetes-HEDAI00\

00022.topic>and

other health problems. It was the latest healthful food initiative by

the district, which banned sodas on campus in 2004, nixed the sale of junk

food during the school day and called for more produce and less salt and

fat to be served.

This year, L.A. Unified, which serves 650,000 meals daily, has received

awards for improving its school lunches, including one last week from the U.S.

Department of

Agriculture<http://www.latimes.com/topic/science-technology/agricultural-researc\

h-technology/u.s.-department-of-agriculture-ORGOV0000241.topic>and

another from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

The new menus are in line with the federal government's updated dietary

guidelines, which recommend, for instance, that fruits and vegetables make

up half the plate. L.A. Unified has virtually eliminated canned and frozen

fruits and vegetables, boosting spending on fresh produce from $2 million

in 2006 to $20 million in 2010.

For months before introducing the new fare, the district held community

taste tests and collected 300,000 comments — 75% of which were positive,

Binkle said.

But Barrett said the debut was a " disaster. " Participation plunged by more

than 13%, he said. About two-fifths of the loss was tied to 99 schools that

temporarily resumed requiring lunch tickets; typically, a drop-off is

expected when this occurs. In the last month or so, the overall program has

begun to recover; participation is down by about 5% or 6%, Barrett said.

Students have embraced about half of the new fare, according to Binkle; the

salads and vegetarian tamales in particular have been popular.

But some students said they still are not eating — including those who

liked the food at the taste tests.

Andre Jahchan, a 16-year-old sophomore at Esteban High

School<http://projects.latimes.com/schools/search/name/?q=Esteban+E.++High\

>,

said the food was " super good " at the summer tasting at L.A. Unified's

central kitchen. But on campus, he said, the chicken pozole was watery, the

vegetable tamale was burned and hard, and noodles were soggy.

" It's nasty, nasty, " said Andre, a member of InnerCity Struggle, an East

L.A. nonprofit working to improve school lunch access and quality. " No

matter how healthy it is, if it's not appetizing, people won't eat it. "

At Van Nuys High School, complaints about the food were so widespread that

Principal Judith Vanderbok wrote to Barrett with the plea: " Please help!

Bring back better food! "

Among other complaints, Vanderbok said salads dated Oct. 7 were served Oct.

17. (Binkle said the dates indicate when the food is at its highest

quality, not when it goes bad. They have been removed to avoid

misinterpretation.) On campus, even adults — including a Junior ROTC

officer and an art teacher — have been found selling black market candy,

chips and instant noodles to hungry students, she said.

" I compare it to Prohibition, " Vanderbok said.

Van Nuys history teacher Doug Kayne turned the discontent into a class

assignment, asking his 11th-grade U.S. history students to write five

letters about the food to the mayor, the media and First Lady

Obama<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/michelle-obama-PECLB005380.topic>.

In class recently, students complained about mold on noodles, undercooked

meat and hard rice.

At Roosevelt High

School<http://projects.latimes.com/schools/search/name/?q=Roosevelt+High>in

Boyle Heights, Frida Duarte, 16, said her burger was " pretty good " and

her friends liked the hot chicken wings. The rest? " Like dog food, " said

Christian Campus, 14, adding that he and his football teammates eat the

lunches only to sustain them through practice.

Even at ny L. Cochran Jr. Middle

School<http://projects.latimes.com/schools/school/los-angeles/johnnie-cochran-jr\

-middle/>in

Los Angeles, where, according to Barrett, students reportedly loved

the

food, Principal Schmerelson indicated dissatisfaction. He said

students were rejecting the plain milk, jambalaya, Caribbean meatballs and

other new dishes.

" It's not going over well; I have a lot of waste, " Schmerelson said. " They

don't want the weird things. They want down-home comfort food. "

Binkle said the district will continue to make adjustments. But he added

that a return to chocolate milk, nachos and deep-fried corn dogs wasn't

likely.

" We're going to stay the course on healthy

food<http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/diets-dieting/healthy-diet-HEDI000014.t\

opic>, "

he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-food-lausd-20111218,0,2593733.story

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

The Frugal Dietitian <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

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