District improves kids’ lunches

By Emily Richmond

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

Cafeteria fare in Clark County schools earned a C plus Wednesday from a watchdog group that promotes vegetarian and vegan diets -- a vast improvement over the failing grade the district was handed last year.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based group, hands out the nutritional report cards annually. In the past, districts were graded on the variety of menu offerings. This year's report was expanded to include more specific nutritional information, such as overall fat, fiber and cholesterol content.

Of the 11 districts that agreed to participate in the report, Clark County was the most improved, said Jen Keller, a registered dietician and the group's nutrition projects coordinator. Clark County boosted its overall score by adding vegetarian entrees, ramping up its nutrition education programs and setting new limits on vending machine and school store contents, Keller said.

"Clark County has made some major changes -- instead of just pepperoni pizza and chicken nuggets there are veggie burgers and salads," Keller said. "A lot of districts are starting to see the benefits of these kinds of moves. It's a simple way to help kids have healthy choices."

Clark County also earned bonus points because the average lunch drew 26.91 percent of its total calories from fat. The USDA -- which oversees the Federal School Lunch Program -- has set a limit of 27 percent of calories from fat for the average meal.

Sue Hoggan, spokeswoman for the district's food services department, said the revamped menus are part of a new nutrition policy that includes curbing sales of high-fat, sugary snacks. Oversized "grab bags" of high-fat chips have been replaced with single-portion sizes of baked snacks such as pretzels. Soda pop has been eliminated entirely, Hoggan said.

"Childhood obesity is a serious crisis that not only affects a student's health in the long run but also their ability to learn during the school day," Hoggan said. "Our challenge is to comply with the policy and the federal guidelines and still come up with things kids will actually want to eat."

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has come under fire over the last year. Another group, the Center for Consumer Freedom, claims the committee is nothing more than a front operation for its leading financial contributor, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. The group also calls the committee's name misleading, as physicians make up less than 5 percent of its membership.

Keller noted that the Center for Consumer Freedom draws its funding from restaurant corporations and tobacco companies and -- in addition to attacking the committee -- has also targeted Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

"I'm not sure why they're picking on us," Keller said.

Hoggan said the bickering between the two organizations has no bearing on the district's cafeteria menus. And while the committee's annual report cards have been helpful, the criticism wasn't the primary reason for the district's revised nutrition policy.