WRIGHTSTOWN SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM GETS HEALTHY:
Dear Wrightstown School Families,
As part of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act to improve the health and well-being of children, healthy nutrition guidelines are now in effect around the United States. Wrightstown school cafeterias have tackled the challenge of meeting tough new federal standards to improve your child’s nutrition by ensuring that meals are healthy, well-balanced, and provide students all the nutrition they need to succeed at school. These standards have an emphasis on fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fat free and low fat milk choices. Now is a great time to encourage your child to choose school lunch!
School meals currently offer each student a choice of milk, fruit, vegetable, proteins and whole grains.
All food and beverage choices must continue to meet strict limits on calories, saturated fat, sodium, and portion sizes based on the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act signed into law on December 2010.
Some of the healthy changes that have been implemented include:
- Age-appropriate minimum and maximum calorie limits set in the grade groupings of K-5, 6-8, and 9-12
- Increased portion size of fruits and vegetables (with the new USDA requirements students are now required to choose a minimum of 1/2 cup of vegetables or fruit or a combination of both daily at lunch for the meal to be considered a combination meal or the meal must be charged separately at ala carte pricing.) Please speak with your child about the importance of choosing these options on a daily basis.
- A wider variety of vegetable sub groups will be offered including dark green, red/orange and legumes, please encourage your child to try the new vegetable choices that will be offered.
- Milk served will be fat free.
- All grains offered will be whole grain rich.
- Sodium range limitations per age based on grade groupings, your child will notice that some of the items they have had in the past may have a slightly different taste profile with the reduced sodium preparation methods and manufacturer product reformulation being implemented to meet the new restrictions.
- Items served must be zero trans-fat with limitation on allowable saturated fat percentages of total calories per age group.
- Snack and beverage offerings must meet restrictions based on size and nutritional value.
Along with the above listed requirements, Section 205 of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act requires all schools to gradually increase lunch prices in order to meet the federal reimbursement rates for lunch, this means whether schools need to or want to meal prices must be raised in order to meet this new requirement. Even with the slight increase in meal prices school lunch still remains a great value.
If you have any questions regarding school lunch please feel free to contact me.
Thank You for letting us serve your children.
Jennifer Tilot
Director of Food Service, 920-532-0525 EXT: 6243 or tilot@wrightstown.k12.wi.us
For more information please contact Jennifer Tilot at 920-532-0525 or email at tilot@wrightstown.k12.wi.us
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