WASHINGTON — Food officials in the Abilene Independent School District sampled pizza with whole-grain crust this summer.
“We weren’t that thrilled with it,” said Joann S. Knox, director of child nutrition services at Abilene ISD.
Taste, cost, nutrition and state and federal guidelines are all on the menu for school officials like Knox who want to serve more fresh fruit and vegetables, whole-grain products and other healthier items.
Texas schools are out of the frying business as of this year, and the state has some of the strictest school nutrition guidelines in the country. But the acceptance factor can’t be ignored.
“I’m all for healthy,” said Wylie ISD food service director Marka Riddle. “But it’s not healthy if they don’t eat.”
The district tries to spread the word about new items in the cafeteria, as well as make offerings appealing to gain acceptance, Riddle said.
Sometimes healthier products slip by unnoticed, like the pizza with whole-grain crust at Sweetwater ISD.
“They don’t’ have a clue,” said Barbara Woolsey, Sweetwater ISD director of food services. “You put pizza out there, and they’re going to eat it.”
Fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than canned or frozen.
Last school year, Abilene ISD ran out of U.S. Department of Agriculture funds for buying fresh produce by the end of October, Knox said. The district still offered fruits and vegetables, but more were from cans.
This year’s $53,558 will probably last until Thanksgiving.
Sometimes it’s more about what’s not offered.
Abilene ISD serves dessert twice a week this year instead of daily like last year, Knox said. At least one of those desserts will be fruit-based.
Some Blue Bell ice creams, for instance, have one-fourth of a cup of fruit, she said. The fruit in the ice cream helps meet nutritional requirements.
Most people don’t realize how much science and math is going on in school cafeterias to meet guidelines, requiring those running them to be “pretty smart cookies,” Knox said.
Texas regional reporter Trish Choate can be reached at 202-408-2709 or choatet@shns.com.
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