School lunches - some new approaches

What would you do if you wanted to improve school lunches in Encino?

Among the things you should know: earlier this year the USDA unveiled new guidelines. School lunches and breakfasts are to include less salt and fat, more whole grains and fruits and vegetables, and fat-free and low-fat milk. The guidelines also established calorie maximums and minimums for the first time. Because they didn’t require congressional approval, they go into effect for the 2011-2012 school year.

I wondered what changes that meant for LAUSD. Are there new vendors and what are they offering? Will the kids like them?

One of those vendors is Benchmark Foods, which was founded in 2003 with the goal of creating an all-natural cake for diabetics who want to indulge.

Now they have pulled off a deal to sell their “Sweet Abandon Cakes” foods into LAUSD middle and high schools (and hospitals too). According to their website (here), there are four flavors - chocolate, banana pecan, carrot walnut and lemon poppyseed - with plans to expand the line. Some of the nutritional highlights include: low glycemic, 2 oz portion-controlled, just 160 calories each, 7 to 9g of protein, 18 to 23g of carbs, all natural ingredients, nothing artificial, no trans fat or hydrogenated oil, and sweetened with crystalline fructose, a natural low-glycemic sugar that is sweeter than cane sugar.

At the moment they are – they claim - the only all-natural dessert to meet California’s SB-12 school nutrition requirements. In the years ahead I think the bigger challenge will be fixing the non-dessert portions of the menu. If you want to poke around the LAUSD Food Services website, go here. And, if you ever wondered why a school district might ban completely lunches brought from home, here is your answer…