By Jane Q. Vergnani, RD, LDN, New England Dairy & Food Council

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you’ve probably heard a lot of discussion about taking flavored milk out of schools. This widely debated topic has created quite the buzz, and it has probably led to some confusion in your community! Well, it’s time to set the facts straight about flavored milk using sound science rather than fear or emotion. Let’s shed some light on the subject…

Myth #1: Flavored milk isn’t as nutritious as white milk.

Milk – whether white or flavored – plays a vital role in helping Americans, especially children, meet their needs for important nutrients. In fact, flavored milk offers the same nine essential nutrients as white milk, including three of the four “nutrients of concern” that kids are not getting enough of – vitamin D, calcium and potassium!  The American Dietetic Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and other leading health organizations agree that flavored milk plays a valuable role in keeping children happy and healthy (1).

Myth #2: Flavored milk, like soft drinks, contains a lot of added sugar.

Research shows that flavored milk contributes just 3% of added sugars to kids’ diets as opposed to sodas and fruit drinks which contribute close to half and provide little to no nutritive value (2). Plus, not all the sugar you see on the labels of flavored milk is “added sugar.” A portion of the total grams of sugar actually comes from naturally-occurring lactose. Plus, dairy companies and schools have worked together to reduce the amount of added sugar in flavored milk by 38% in the last five years (3)!

Myth #3: When flavored milk is removed from schools, kids will drink white milk. If consumption dips, it will eventually rebound.

A recent study showed that eliminating flavored milk from schools resulted in a dramatic 35% drop in overall milk consumption, which means many children will miss out on essential nutrients that milk provides. During the second year of that same study, students did not move toward white milk, and overall milk consumption did not rebound (3).  Without a glass of milk at lunch-time, it’s almost impossible for kids to meet their needs for the important vitamins and minerals that milk provides.

Myth #4: Flavored milk is contributing to the obesity crisis among America’s children.

Actually, the opposite is true! Flavored milk provides children with good nutrition, and leading health organizations agree that flavored milk is a positive trade-off for soft drinks, which are the primary source of added sugar in children’s diets. In fact, 95% of all 8-ouce servings of chocolate milk served in schools have 150 calories or less, and studies show that children who drink flavored milk do not have a higher body mass index (BMI) than those who don’t (4).

Myth #5: Most parents want schools to ban flavored milk.

Despite some of the high-profile debates over flavored milk, a recent study of 1,000 moms found that more than half would be opposed to a decision made by their children’s school to stop offering flavored milk. In fact, 80% of moms do not support the removal of chocolate milk from the lunch lines and school cafeterias (5).  Most moms agree that kids need healthy choices at school, including chocolate milk.

There you have it! The bottom line is that the best milk for kids is the one they’ll drink, because the essential nutrients found in milk are much too important to miss!

Call to Action! Looking for more information about flavored milk? Visit www.newenglanddairycouncil.org and check out all the great resources on flavored milk offered there.

References:

1. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools. V.A. Stallings and A.L. Yaktine (Eds) Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way Toward Healthier Youth. Washington., D.C.: National Academies Press, 2007.

2. NHANES. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 2003-2006

3. MilkPEP School Channel Survey conducted by Prime Consulting Group. Projected School Milk Product Profile. 2011-2012

4. Murphy MM, Douglass JS, Johnson RK, Spence LA. Drinking flavored or plain milk is positively associated with nutrient intake and is not associated with adverse effects on weight status in U.S. children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc 2008;108:631-639.

5. KRC Research. Moms weight in on the Great Debate. July 2011

We want to make lunch the way you like to eat it!

In June of 2011 students at all elementary schools throughout Johnston as well as students at St. Rocco School were asked to take the “My Mama’s Meatball” challenge by submitting entries for their families’ favorite beef meatball recipe. All summer long we tested out these new and improved recipes and have been serving “from scratch” meatballs on the lunch menu ever since. The winning recipe included fresh chopped garlic and grated parmesan cheese creating an irresistible smell in the kitchen every meatball day! Meatballs have been the first step in our endeavor to bring more home cooking to the students in Johnston, but we haven’t stopped there. We continue to test out new home-made entrees weekly and in addition to scratch made meatballs we have also begun to experiment with new items like Chicken & Dumpling, Pulled Pork and Home-made Chicken Soup!

Because one day just isn’t enough

ARAMARK School Nutrition Services Present

“EAT A RAINBOW” FOOD WEEK

ARAMARK School Nutrition Services will be featuring some new, tasty foods all  week long! During the entire week of October 24-28 our menus at all levels will highlight fresh, local, colorful and  made from scratch food delights.

All students will be encouraged to “eat the rainbow”!  Each day of the week we will highlight a different color with the foods served that day both on the serving line and in the fresh fruits and vegetables bar.  Tasty new items like Fresh Waldorf Salad, Apple Slaw, Sweet Potato Salad and Pumpkin Pie Parfait will be featured on the menu throughout the week.   

Please help us celebrate Food Day and Food Week by eating a rainbow of healthy fruits and vegetables.

Awarded the 2010 RI Healthy Schools Coalition Award of Honor
At the September 22, 2010 Breakfast for School Leaders

Central Falls Public Schools List of Nutrition and Physical Activity Accomplishments
as of Fall 2010

• Active, vibrant, engaged, well organized and highly supported (by District Leadership)
District Wellness Committee (includes representation from the Board of Trustees,
Superintendent, District Head Nurse, Coordinator for Family, Community & School
Partnerships, ARAMARK, URI Nutrition Educators from SNAP-Ed, Kids First, TALL
University, School Social Worker, Physical Education teachers, and more.)
• Measured Obesity District-wide: the district, with help from the URI SNAP-Ed team,
measured the BMI’s of 2,276 students (indicating just over 50% overweight or obese.) The
data was then used as an impetus for the development of age appropriate interventions
addressing health and wellness needs of students.
• Implemented Breakfast in the Classroom during 2009-2010 in all three K-5 Elementary
Schools. Participation increases are as follows:
o Margaret I. Robertson School - from 29% to 73%
o Veterans Memorial School - from 33% - 81%
o Ella Risk School – from 30% to 73%
• Implemented Breakfast in the Classroom, Fall 2010, in both PreK-K schools, Captain
Harold G. Hunt and Fairlawn Schools.
• Development of Student Centered Individual Nutrition Plans (INP’s) is Underway.
Wellness is being integrated in the 9th grade Individual Learning Plan (ILP). CF is creating
an Individual Nutrition Plan (INP) whose format, goals and tools are being based on
feedback from student focus groups. Behavioral objectives which every incoming 9th grader
will select from to focus his or her wellness efforts include: increasing fruit or vegetable
consumption, reducing soda and increasing low calorie/nutritious drinks, eating reasonable
portions, reducing screen time and increasing physical activity, and limiting fast food.
• Physical Education is a Focus in Central Falls. PE staff were given common planning
time to work on the curriculum, scheduled during the day and after school. PE Teams have
been doing K-12 Gap Analysis and Quarterly Mapping of curriculum and have been working
on scope and sequencing.
• Implemented the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program in all 5 Elementary Schools
• ARAMARK has implemented Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Bars during lunch service,
offering 6 different options, with many RI-Grown options.
• ARAMARK continues to grow the RI Farm to School Program, serving RI grown
potatoes, peaches, plums, apples, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, carrots, and apples in
2009-2010 and adding new items like zucchini and summer squash in 2010-2011.
• Central Falls High School has implemented a Health Academy as one of the Academy
choices for Juniors and Seniors, with two Nutrition Science Classes being taught each year.
• Working with Channel One, the High School students (Juniors and Seniors) planned
and implemented a Health Fair for the entire school. The students calculated BMI’s and
performed blood pressure screenings for their peers.
• High School Sports Coaches have arranged for SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educators to meet
with their teams and teach the athletes about Sports Nutrition.
• Developed and implemented an interactive elementary level nutrition curriculum to
increase breakfast participation through specially designed nutrition games/activities used in
conjunction with the bestselling children’s book, The Hatseller and the Monkeys. All students
at Veteran’s Memorial were taught the importance of breakfast in order to provide energy,
reduce absences and increase grades and test scores.
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• Implemented a Summer School Institute, “Read, Talk and Play.” Teachers used
children’s literature to teach health/wellness to over 650 students. URI SNAP-Ed
provided 68 book kits and curriculum and an additional 70 library books with the goal of
increasing fruit, vegetable and whole grain consumption in children. Chefs from Johnson
& Wales University conducted healthy foods cooking demos with students.
• To address nutrition in the home, working with Kids First and URI SNAP-Ed, Parent
Newsletters were developed and mailed to all families of children in the district. Topics
included healthy eating strategies on a limited food budget.
• CF High School hosted a Biggest Loser Contest, a three month competition with 24 staff
participating. There were weekly weigh-ins and 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for the biggest
losers (highest percentage of body weight.)
• A Central Falls Public Schools ShapeUp Team was organized and competed in the 2010
ShapeUp RI competition.
• The District Wellness Committee was exemplary in how it handled the H1N1 virus
outbreak, recognized for having the state’s highest percentage of its students
vaccinated.

On Thursday, March 4 during breakfast in Ms. Keri Moura’s classroom at Robertson Elementary Center in Central Falls, Principal, Sharon Cabral received  a check for $1000 from Andrew Schiff, Director of the Rhode Island Food Bank.  This award was in recognition for increasing the number of students eating breakfast every day at Robertson where over 70% of students enrolled are eating school breakfast.

Many more Central Falls elementary students are starting their day with a balanced breakfast  courtesy of the new Breakfast In the Classroom program that was pioneered at the Robertson Elementary Center in October by ARAMARK, Central Falls’ Food Service provider.  This program has since also been implemented at Ella Risk and Veteran’s Memorial elementary schools in Central Falls and these schools will  be receiving $1000 checks in April and June respectively.

To encourage schools to make the changes necessary to increase the number of students eating breakfast at school, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Kids First and RIDE developed the “School Breakfast Excellence Awards.”  Schools that achieve 50 percent participation in school breakfast, one-half of the total enrollment, for at least one month, receive a $1,000 check which can be used by the school’s principal to benefit the students. In order to be eligible, a school must be a Rhode Island public school located in a high-need community in which at least 40 percent of the lunches are served to free and reduced-price eligible children.   

As many as 35 percent of U.S. school children skip breakfast, a problem that medical experts say is contributing to our nation’s childhood obesity crisis. ARAMARK is helping its Rhode Island school district partners offer breakfast through innovative programs, including breakfast in the classroom, breakfast in the cafeteria, and portable breakfast delivery options.

“Breakfast helps jump-start a child’s metabolism and mind,” said Dennis Gomez, District Manager for ARAMARK Education in Rhode Island.  “As part of ARAMARK’s commitment to support First Lady Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity campaign, we are actively working with our school district partners to ensure students have access to nutritious meals at school. Several school administrators report seeing an increase in student attendance, behavior and classroom performance after they started offering breakfast at school.”

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According to Dr. Karen Cullen, associate professor of pediatrics at the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine, a balanced breakfast gets students off to a good start in the morning, is part of a healthy diet and helps maintain a healthy body weight. “Unfortunately, up to 35 percent of children of all ages skip breakfast, for a variety of reasons, often economic,” she said.

Studies by the Food Research Action Center (FRAC) have shown that children who skip breakfast are more likely to over-eat later in the day, make less healthy food choices and often end up storing more fat than non-breakfast eaters.

In addition to the link between not eating breakfast and childhood obesity, a study conducted by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that children who ate breakfast in school had fewer absences, higher math grades, and fewer incidences of problems like depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity. 

As part of USDA’s National School Breakfast Program, all schools, private or public, are eligible to receive federal funds for every breakfast served.  During the 2008-09 school year, only about 47 percent of eligible children participated in the Program, leaving over $500 million in federal funding on the table.   In Rhode Island, typically only about 23% of eleigible students participate.

About ARAMARK Education

ARAMARK Education provides a complete range of food, facility, uniform and other support services to more than 500 K-12 school districts in the U.S.  It offers public and private education institutions a family of dining and facility services including: on-site and off-site breakfast and lunch meal programs, after-school snacks, catering, nutrition education, retail design and facilities management services, including maintenance, custodial, grounds, energy management, construction management, and building commissioning.  For more information on ARAMARK Education’s K-12 food service programs, please visit www.aramarkschools.com.

Why eat Breakfast?

Breakfast is proven to be good for children’s bodies and their minds. Research shows that children who eat breakfast have improved memory, problem-solving skills, verbal fluency and creative abilities. School Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day for kids and provides the necessary fuel to start a day of learning and achievement. Research has shown that children who eat breakfast at school:

• Score better in standardized tests
• Have fewer health issues
• Behave better in class

Research also shows that kids who skip breakfast rarely make up for missed nutrients later in the day - so skipping breakfast could also affect the after school activities that they really love!

School Breakfast: Good for your Kids
School breakfast provides 25% of the recommended daily allowance of protein, calcium and iron, vitamins A and C and calories for your kids as well as meeting federal nutrition guidelines based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

What’s in a meal?
Menus change daily, but are designed to meet a child’s needs. The breakfast line-up includes this good stuff:
• Milk
• Fruits, 100% juice or vegetables
• Breads or other whole grains including cereal
• Meat and/or meat alternates

Source: School Nutrition Association 2009

BREAKFAST: An Energizing Start  to Your Day
Your breakfast choices help determine your energy level for the rest of your morning. When breakfast consists mostly of sugary foods, you experience a quick rise in your blood sugar, causing a surge in energy. But after about an hour, your blood sugar and energy both decline and you’re hungry again, long before lunch. Your breakfast can do more for you. A balanced breakfast (like the options offered at school) of carbohydrates, protein and fat causes a more gradual release of energy over the entire morning, maintains your blood sugar levels and delays hunger until it’s time for lunch. The easy breakfast options below are packed with nutrients from three or more food groups.
Source: ADA Public Relations Team

PARENT POINTER
Try some of these great tasting breakfast ideas to fuel your child’s day:

• Rice Pudding - Mix leftover rice, low-fat yogurt, dried fruit, nuts and cinnamon.
  Pita Pizza - Fill pita bread with your favorite low-fat cheese, cooked lean meat, and vegetables. Heat in microwave.
  Sandwich Roll-up - Try peanut butter and banana or jelly on a flour tortilla.
  Fruit Salad - Mix fruit with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and top with granola.
  Egg Burrito - Fill a soft flour tortilla with scrambled eggs, boiled potato, refried beans, or salsa.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides benefits to students at participating schools. All RI schools participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
•    Depending on family income and the number of family members, students could be eligible for free meals or reduced-price meals; these students can be charged no more than 40 cents.
•    If you completed an application at the beginning of the school year and your income situation changed, you can re-apply all year long.
•    Contact your school nutrition department to fill out a school meal application today.

As the cost of everything increases – there is one meal that is still a great value: both nutritionally and economically! School lunch is still an incredible value at Rhode Island school districts.

School Lunch Includes Five Great Choices:
•    Milk – Fat free or 1% - flavored or regular
•    Vegetables – From fresh carrot sticks to steamed broccoli
•    Fruit – Everything from pineapple to locally grown apples; often fresh
•    Grains – More whole grain items like rolls or sandwich bread
•    Meat or meat alternate – Items like white meat chicken, bean chili, lean beef

Save Money: Eat School Lunch
•    On average it costs less to buy a school lunch than to bring a lunch from home.
•    The estimated national average of a school lunch from home was $3.43 last school year.*

School Lunch vs. Bagged Lunch
$2.08          $3.43
Total savings = $243 per year!**

*According to a meal cost analysis by Alice Jo Rainville, PhD, RD, CHE, SNS of Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI

** Comparison of national averages when lunch is purchased every day for a 180-day school year.