Ensuring that the food provided to children in schools is consistent with current dietary recommendations is an important national focus. Various laws and regulations govern the operation of school meal programs. In 1995, Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements were put in place to ensure that all meals offered would be high in nutritional quality.

School Meals reviews and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. The recommendations reflect new developments in nutrition science, increase the availability of key food groups in the school meal programs, and allow these programs to better meet the nutritional needs of children, foster healthy eating habits, and safeguard children's health.

School Meals sets standards for menu planning that focus on food groups, calories, saturated fat, and sodium and that incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes. This book will be used as a guide for school food authorities, food producers, policy leaders, state/local governments, and parents.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON NUTRITION STANDARDS FOR NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH AND BREAKFAST PROGRAMS
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Summary
• 1. Introduction and Background
  • THE COMMITTEE’S TASK
  • SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMS OVERVIEW
  • REASONS FOR THE UPDATING OF NUTRITION STANDARDS AND MEAL REQUIREMENTS
  • REVISED TERMINOLOGY
  • SUMMARY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
• 2. Foundation for Revising Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements
  • THE APPROACH
  • MAJOR CHALLENGES IN APPLYING GROUP PLANNING APPROACHES FOR SCHOOL MEALS
  • DEFINING KEY PARAMETERS: AGE-GRADE GROUPS AND ENERGY REQUIREMENTS
  • SUMMARY
• 3. Schoolchildren’s Food and Nutrient Intakes and Related Health Concerns
  • PRÉCIS
  • BACKGROUND
  • FOOD GROUP INTAKES
  • ENERGY AND NUTRIENT INTAKES
  • SUPPORTIVE FINDINGS
  • SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
• 4. Process for Developing the Nutrient Targets
  • PRELIMINARY CALORIE TARGETS FOR MEALS
  • SETTING THE MAXIMUM FOR SATURATED FAT AND CHOLESTEROL, THE RANGES FOR TOTAL FAT, AND ADDRESSING TRANS FAT
  • SETTING TARGETS FOR PROTEIN, VITAMINS, AND MINERALS
  • DAILY SCHOOL MEAL-TARGET MEDIAN INTAKES COMPARED WITH MYPYRAMID FOOD PATTERNS
  • CONVERTING DAILY SCHOOL MEAL-TARGET MEDIAN INTAKES TO BREAKFAST AND LUNCH NUTRIENT TARGETS
  • CONSIDERATION OF THE TOLERABLE UPPER INTAKE LEVEL IN THE SETTING OF NUTRIENT TARGETS
  • CHAPTER SUMMARY
• 5. Process for Developing the Meal Requirements
  • DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS FOR MENU PLANNING
  • DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS FOR MEALS AS SELECTED BY STUDENTS
  • SUMMARY
• 6. Iterations—Achieving the Best Balance of Nutrition, Student Acceptance, Practicality, and Cost
  • NUTRIENT CONTENT, PRACTICALITY, AND APPEAL FOR THE STANDARDS OF MENU PLANNING
  • SETTING THE SPECIFICATIONS OF SODIUM
  • DEFINING WHOLE GRAIN-RICH FOODS
  • MODIFYING BASELINE MENUS TO ASSESS POSSIBLE STANDARDS FOR MENU PLANNING
  • DETERMINATION OF STANDARDS FOR MEALS AS SELECTED BY STUDENTS
  • SUMMARY
• 7. Recommendations for Nutrient Targets and Meal Requirements for School Meals
  • PRÉCIS
  • RECOMMENDED NUTRIENT TARGETS FOR THE SCHOOL BREAKFAST
  • RECOMMENDED MEAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL MEALS
  • SUMMARY
• 8. Food Cost Implications and Market Effects
  • CHANGES IN AMOUNTS AND TYPES OF FOOD
  • METHODS USED TO EVALUATE COSTS AND CHANGES IN THE COST OF FOOD FOR REPRESENTATIVE BASELINE SCHOOL MENUS
  • ESTIMATED CHANGES IN FOOD COSTS FOR MODIFIED MENUS
  • OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING MEAL COSTS
  • OVERALL IMPACT OF THE RECOMMENDED MEAL REQUIREMENTS ON THE COSTS OF SCHOOL MEALS
  • ECONOMIC IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMODITY MARKETS
  • SUMMARY
• 9. Projected Impact of the Recommended Nutrient Targets and Meal Requirements
  • CRITERION 1: ALIGNMENT WITH DIETARY GUIDELINESFOR AMERICANS AND THE DIETARY REFERENCE INTAKES
  • CRITERION 2: AGE-GRADE GROUPS
  • CRITERION 3: SIMPLIFIED MENU PLANNING AND MONITORING AND STUDENT ACCEPTANCE OF SCHOOL MEALS
  • CRITERION 4: SENSITIVE TO COSTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONCERNS
  • SUMMARY
• 10. Implementation, Evaluation, and Research
  • IMPLEMENTATION
  • EVALUATION AND RESEARCH
  • SUMMARY
• 11 References
• Appendix A Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Glossary
• Appendix B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
• Appendix C Critical Issues for Consideration by the Committee on Nutrition Standards for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, as Submitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Appendix D January 2009 Workshop Agenda and Summary of Public Comments
• Appendix E Standards for the Current Food- and Nutrient-Based Menu Planning Approaches
• Appendix F Data Used to Calculate Estimated Energy Requirements
• Appendix G Data Tables Containing Examples of New SNDA-III Analyses
• Appendix H Uses of MyPyramid Food Groups and the MyPyramid Spreadsheet
• Appendix I Dietary Intake Data and Calculation of the Target Median Intake for Iron
• Appendix J Target Median Intake (TMI) Tables
• Appendix K Use of the School Meals Menu Analysis Program
• Appendix L Baseline Menus
• Appendix M Sample Menus
• Appendix N Evidence Considered Related to the Definition for Whole Grain-Rich Foods
• Appendix O Comparison of Recommended Nutrient Targets to Various Nutrition Standards for School-Aged Children
• Appendix P Comparison of Dietary Guidelines for Americans with Recommended Meal Requirements
• Appendix Q Regulations Related to the Sodium Content of Foods Labeled “Healthy”

This study was supported by Contract No. AG-3198-C-08-0001 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2010. School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.