School Lunch
Ryan moved silently through the lunch line. The cook put a cheeseburger (奶酪汉堡)and an applesauce cup on his tray. He grabbed a bottle of milk from the cooler at the end of the line and found a seat in the cafeteria (食堂). Ryan saw that his friend Tyler had brought lunch from home. "What did you bring today, Tyler" he asked. Tyler pulled his meal out of its brown paper sack. "I’ve got a ham sandwich, chips, two cupcakes, and a can of soda." Ryan’s mouth started to water. "Uh, Tyler," he said. "If you don’t want one of those cupcakes, I’ll take it. They sure look good. " Tyler handed Ryan his cupcake. "Sure," he said. "I won’t eat all this."
Lunch Requirements
Is Ryan eating a healthy meal if he eats the school lunch School lunch supporters say "Yes." Recent studies show that a government-approved school lunch has more variety and is more nutritious (有营养的) than most lunches brought from home. It’s also lower in fat. The National School Lunch Act requires that school lunches go along with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans developed by the government. Meals must contain a variety of foods with plenty of grains and at least one fruit or vegetable each day. Foods must not contain too much sugar or salt. A hot lunch can contain up to 30% fat, but not more than 10% of its calories (卡路里) should come from saturated (饱和的) fat. In an average week, you should get one-third of the daily Recommended Dietary Allowances for protein, iron, calcium (钙), and vitamins A and C from your school lunch.
Dare to Compare
Let’s compare Ryan’s and Tyler’s meals to sec which is healthier. Ryan’s hot lunch (without the cupcake from his friend) has 577 calories, 25 grams of total fat. and 12 grams of saturated fat. He had one serving of fruit, 26 grams of protein, and 483 milligrams of calcium. Ryan ate more total fat (39%) and saturated fat (19%) than the dietary guidelines recommend. However, schools can still meet the guidelines by having the numbers average out over a week of lunches. Tyler’s lunch from home (this includes both cupcakes) had 1 014 calories. 45 grams (40%) of total fat, and 10 grams (9%) of saturated fat. He ate 21 grams of protein and 155 milligrams of calcium, but no fruits or vegetables. Tyler’s meal met the saturated fat guidelines, but had too much total fat. Tyler ate more calories and total fat than Ryan did. Ryan ate more protein, calcium, and fruit than Tyler did. Which meal would you say is the healthier choice à la Carte Options Federal standards and most school districts forbid selling food in the cafeteria that competes with the school lunch. Many programs do, however, offer à la carte choices for students who don’t want the hot meal. Foods sold à la carte separate from the main meal and are priced individually. These foods do not have to meet the same nutritional standards as the foods on the hot lunch menu. Neither do the foods sold at a snack-bar or those foods available elsewhere in the school. A study in one Texas school district compared the lunches of fourth graders who did not have food choices with those of fifth graders who could choose either a standard lunch or select from a snack-bar. The fourth graders ate 25% more fruits and vegetables than the fifth graders. Food sold as fund-raisers can also have an impact on school lunch. The money raised is important to provide needed funds for many after-class activities. But the meal’s overall nutritional quality usually goes down. Many of these foods are high in fat, sugar, or both, and often come in extralarge portions. Fundraisers rarely sell fruits and vegetables.
Choosing Wisely
School food-service programs are trying to please students, and still offer quality, nutritious meals at low cost. That task isn’t easy. One school district in New York decided to do something about it. A student advisory board kept the food-service director up-to-date on what the kids wanted. They also worked with school snack-bars to sell smaller servings of chips and candy. You can make healthy meal choices at school even when not-so-healthy choices are available. You can be sure to get a nutritious meal when you pick foods from the Food Guide Pyramid. For example, always drink milk or a calcium-rich juice for lunch. Even chocolate milk is more nutritious than soda or a sports drink. Stay away from snack foods offered à la carte. They may fill you up now, but the ones that contain a lot of fat and sugar will slow you down later. Always eat the fruits and vegetables offered at the meal. They help give you the energy and vitamins you need to get you through the rest of your school day. Some people like to make fun of school lunches, but good nutrition is no laughing matter. Your school’s hot lunch is based on the Food Guide Pyramid, so it’s full of nutrition. Give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised. It’s a Team Effort Team Nutrition is a program that gets schools excited about healthy eating. Schools across the nation pick a team leader who develops fun nutrition activities. The leader works with students, teachers, parents, food-service workers, and people from the community. Activities can range from running a school health fair to planting a garden. At the Jordan Community School in Chicago, Illinois, one group of fifth graders showed off their "pizza (比萨饼) garden" in a big, colorful poster showing vegetarian pizzas. The students and foodservice staff planted and took care of the vegetables that they would later use as ingredients on their pizzas. The group started growing the plants in the school’s cafeteria. Then they moved them outdoors to the students’ demonstration garden. This is just one way to get everyone involved in school lunch healthy and fun. Team up with your own group and see how creative you can get.

School Lunch
Lunch Requirements Dare to Compare Choosing Wisely The Jordan Community School students eat pizzas with vegetables （）in their pizza garden.

School Lunch
Ryan moved silently through the lunch line. The cook put a cheeseburger (奶酪汉堡)and an applesauce cup on his tray. He grabbed a bottle of milk from the cooler at the end of the line and found a seat in the cafeteria (食堂). Ryan saw that his friend Tyler had brought lunch from home. "What did you bring today, Tyler" he asked. Tyler pulled his meal out of its brown paper sack. "I’ve got a ham sandwich, chips, two cupcakes, and a can of soda." Ryan’s mouth started to water. "Uh, Tyler," he said. "If you don’t want one of those cupcakes, I’ll take it. They sure look good. " Tyler handed Ryan his cupcake. "Sure," he said. "I won’t eat all this."
Lunch Requirements
Is Ryan eating a healthy meal if he eats the school lunch School lunch supporters say "Yes." Recent studies show that a government-approved school lunch has more variety and is more nutritious (有营养的) than most lunches brought from home. It’s also lower in fat. The National School Lunch Act requires that school lunches go along with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans developed by the government. Meals must contain a variety of foods with plenty of grains and at least one fruit or vegetable each day. Foods must not contain too much sugar or salt. A hot lunch can contain up to 30% fat, but not more than 10% of its calories (卡路里) should come from saturated (饱和的) fat. In an average week, you should get one-third of the daily Recommended Dietary Allowances for protein, iron, calcium (钙), and vitamins A and C from your school lunch.
Dare to Compare
Let’s compare Ryan’s and Tyler’s meals to sec which is healthier. Ryan’s hot lunch (without the cupcake from his friend) has 577 calories, 25 grams of total fat. and 12 grams of saturated fat. He had one serving of fruit, 26 grams of protein, and 483 milligrams of calcium. Ryan ate more total fat (39%) and saturated fat (19%) than the dietary guidelines recommend. However, schools can still meet the guidelines by having the numbers average out over a week of lunches. Tyler’s lunch from home (this includes both cupcakes) had 1 014 calories. 45 grams (40%) of total fat, and 10 grams (9%) of saturated fat. He ate 21 grams of protein and 155 milligrams of calcium, but no fruits or vegetables. Tyler’s meal met the saturated fat guidelines, but had too much total fat. Tyler ate more calories and total fat than Ryan did. Ryan ate more protein, calcium, and fruit than Tyler did. Which meal would you say is the healthier choice à la Carte Options Federal standards and most school districts forbid selling food in the cafeteria that competes with the school lunch. Many programs do, however, offer à la carte choices for students who don’t want the hot meal. Foods sold à la carte separate from the main meal and are priced individually. These foods do not have to meet the same nutritional standards as the foods on the hot lunch menu. Neither do the foods sold at a snack-bar or those foods available elsewhere in the school. A study in one Texas school district compared the lunches of fourth graders who did not have food choices with those of fifth graders who could choose either a standard lunch or select from a snack-bar. The fourth graders ate 25% more fruits and vegetables than the fifth graders. Food sold as fund-raisers can also have an impact on school lunch. The money raised is important to provide needed funds for many after-class activities. But the meal’s overall nutritional quality usually goes down. Many of these foods are high in fat, sugar, or both, and often come in extralarge portions. Fundraisers rarely sell fruits and vegetables.
Choosing Wisely
School food-service programs are trying to please students, and still offer quality, nutritious meals at low cost. That task isn’t easy. One school district in New York decided to do something about it. A student advisory board kept the food-service director up-to-date on what the kids wanted. They also worked with school snack-bars to sell smaller servings of chips and candy. You can make healthy meal choices at school even when not-so-healthy choices are available. You can be sure to get a nutritious meal when you pick foods from the Food Guide Pyramid. For example, always drink milk or a calcium-rich juice for lunch. Even chocolate milk is more nutritious than soda or a sports drink. Stay away from snack foods offered à la carte. They may fill you up now, but the ones that contain a lot of fat and sugar will slow you down later. Always eat the fruits and vegetables offered at the meal. They help give you the energy and vitamins you need to get you through the rest of your school day. Some people like to make fun of school lunches, but good nutrition is no laughing matter. Your school’s hot lunch is based on the Food Guide Pyramid, so it’s full of nutrition. Give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised. It’s a Team Effort Team Nutrition is a program that gets schools excited about healthy eating. Schools across the nation pick a team leader who develops fun nutrition activities. The leader works with students, teachers, parents, food-service workers, and people from the community. Activities can range from running a school health fair to planting a garden. At the Jordan Community School in Chicago, Illinois, one group of fifth graders showed off their "pizza (比萨饼) garden" in a big, colorful poster showing vegetarian pizzas. The students and foodservice staff planted and took care of the vegetables that they would later use as ingredients on their pizzas. The group started growing the plants in the school’s cafeteria. Then they moved them outdoors to the students’ demonstration garden. This is just one way to get everyone involved in school lunch healthy and fun. Team up with your own group and see how creative you can get.