Stow-Munroe Falls city schools serve healthy breakfast and lunch to students

 

Stow-Munroe Falls city schools push health

by: Jasmine Pace

STOW, OH–Over the past few years there has been a major push to make school lunches healthier. Stow-Munroe Falls city schools are a part of the new wave of taking the healthy route.

“We’ve taken initiative eight years ago to change our lunch meal plan because we knew changes were going to come in the future” said Dianne Simko, Food Service Supervisor for Stow-Munroe Falls city schools.

This has been a major plus for them because Ohio Board of Education has teamed up with the United States Department of Agriculture to create National Lunch and Breakfast programs for schools around the state.

Some of these programs include administering school lunches, special milk, after school snack programs, donated food programs, etc.

Creating a healthier meal program for schools was instituted because the state of Ohio and the U.S. government wants to “encourage domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural foods, give children an understanding of the relationship between proper eating habits and good health”, which can be seen on education.ohio.gov.

Stow-Munroe Falls has jumped on board with this perspective of encouraging a health conscious student body.

“We have taken out candy bars from our lunches, we turn off our Coke machines during the day, and we’ve changed our food portion size” said Simko.

She later goes on to say “before we changed our school lunch program, students had the option of getting a fruit and vegetable, but now they must get a fruit and vegetable with every lunch served.”

Although, from a logical stand point, fruits and vegetables are great for nutrients, this logic might not work with some of the students.

“Some students complain about not getting enough to eat, and might not eat their fruits and vegetables” said Simko.

[pullquote]“We have taken out candy bars from our lunches, we turn off our coke machines during the day, and we’ve changed our food portion size” said Simko.[/pullquote]

Concerning the small portions, since Stow is apart of the state of Ohio’s school meal program, they must follow strict guidelines.

“We must follow specific guidelines given by the state concerning food, if we do, we get reimbursed six cents” said Simko.

Following the state rules include meeting federal nutrition requirements, requiring fruits and vegetables with every meal, offering low-fat milk, etc.

Financially, this has not been a burden for Stow-Munroe Falls city schools. The prices have stayed relatively the same.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, “schools may charge no more than $0.40 for a reduced-price lunch. Schools set their own prices for meals served to students who pay the full meal price (paid full-price), though they must operate their meal services as non-profit programs.”

Simko mentioned a small number of parents were mad about their kids complaining about not getting enough to eat during lunch.

However, she explained that they are not allowed to give students extra portions or an extra lunch because that would go against state guidelines.

The state of Ohio seems to be responsible for many of the changes occurring with school meal plans.

Dianne Simko believes the National School Lunch and Breakfast program is working great for Stow-Munroe Falls schools because it is promoting a “healthy lifestyle” for students.

School is supposed to be a learning environment, so creating a nutritious meal for students could be a learning moment for those students that do not get guidance at home.