CAFETERIA
SCORECARDS
The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program were created to
reduce hunger and improve health. The
Federal and State agencies implemented the programs in order to encourage these
goals. They do this by offering cash
incentives to school systems for implementing these programs and adhering to
stringent guidelines which will ensure that nutritious and healthy meals are
provided. Meals are priced based on
family income. The upside is that more and more school systems are taking
advantage of these cash incentives which are ultimately beneficial to the health
of our children.
See
if the school system in your community participates.
However, keep in mind that not all of them are created equally.
You can evaluate their effectiveness by completing a variety of
self-assessment scorecards, such as the Governor's Nutrition and Physical Activity Scorecard from
Virginia: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/healthyva_scorecard.pdf
Note:
The primary focus of the above questionnaire centers on the caloric and fat
content of food. We will further
explore menus and snacks to determine the quality as it pertains to food
additives, preservatives and other chemicals, and report back to you in the near
future.
It
was interesting to note that the scorecard included a question on whether or not
the menus are posted online. If your
school does not provide this information, they should be encouraged to do so.
There's
also the Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition (B.E.N.) Center's
Self-Assessment Score Card: http://smarterlunchrooms.org/sites/default/files/lunchroom_self-assessmt_score_card.final_.4-3-14.pdf
Smarter
Lunchrooms is endorsed
by the USDA: http://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/2014/003714
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