Acton Students Speak Out on Changes to School Lunch Menus

Upon arriving home after his first day of school, RJ Grey, eighth grader Michael Gecawicz headed to the kitchen to fix a second lunch for himself. Then he sat down at his computer.

While this may be standard routine for many 13 year-old boys, Michael said he was exceptionally hungry that day, even after buying and eating lunch at school. And his motivation for logging on: creating a Facebook group called “Don’t Buy RJ Grey Lunch.”

Michael, who purchased lunch at school every day as a seventh grader, was reacting to changes he observed in the lunchroom since June.

“All the snacks and juices I used to get were gone,” he said. “The food quantities have gone down. And the prices have gone up.”

Classmate Connor Cates said, “They took away most of the extras. There are no more of the Izze drinks, iced tea, or lemonade. They got different cookies, and they sell one in a pack instead of two.”

McCarthy -Towne siblings Kelsey and Kyler Maira have noticed differences in their school’s lunches as well.

“The pizza has gotten smaller,” said Kyler.

“They give you three smiley fries with your hamburger,” said Kelsey. “The mini bagels are the size of a half dollar. The chicken patties are different; they’re even worse than last year.”

These cafeteria changes are a result of new USDA standards required by The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Guidelines include adhering to minimum and maximum portion sizes of meats and grains/breads, offering a wider variety and quantity of vegetables, and lowering the calorie count, sodium levels and saturated fats in school lunches.

All students are now required to take at least ½ cup of fruit or vegetable as part of their lunch. Cafeteria staff have been charged with ensuring that the students choose three of the five food groups offered—meat, vegetable, fruit, grain, milk—as well.

Students at the high school have had mixed reactions to the changes in their lunchroom.

“The fruit idea is a good one,” said sophomore Nick Long. “But a lot of times the fruit is very ripe or not yet ripe, and a lot of people end up throwing it out.”

ABRHS Principal Alixe Callen was asked so many questions about the changes in lunchroom fare that she emailed a memo to the entire student body. It was authored by Kirsten Nelson, Food Service Director for Acton Public and Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools, and included a list of the new mandates.

“The new standards are based on research and current understanding of human nutrition and prevention of diseases and health conditions including obesity,” Nelson wrote. These national changes, the first in 15 years, "will cause everyone across the country to comply with a uniform set of high standards for meals for all children.”

“Menus will not look terribly different,” Nelson explained.

Juniors Max Ahern and Tyler St. Lawrence, who have been leaving school during their lunch period and eating elsewhere, disagree with Nelson’s assertion.

“Nobody eats it,” said Max of the new food.

"A lot of it ends up getting wasted,” said Tyler.

Luciana Petcu, Sonia Richmond, Kim Dixon and Christian Thiim had lunch at Bagels Plus on a recent school day.

“There was nothing that we wanted,” Luciana said of the group having perused the offerings in the cafeteria before deciding to head out.

“The food isn’t popular anymore,” she said. “Even the underclassmen are trying to leave.”

Nelson’s statistics do indicate a decrease in the number of students buying lunch at school, but not to the extent one might expect.

“We have seen a slight drop from this year to last, a difference of 130 lunches a day,” she said.

As far as the waste goes, Nelson shares Nick’s concern. “We are going through a ton of produce. Unfortunately, if the students do not eat the produce it either ends up in the trash or compost bin.”

There has been recent negative press about The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.  Some writers and talk show hosts blamed Michelle Obama for influencing the USDA and dictating what kids can eat at school.

Nick is not opposed to teaching kids about nutrition, which he feels is the real goal behind the new regulations. He’s seen “junior high kids take five packs of cookies and nothing else.”

“I think it’s better in the health department that there are limits,” he said. But if the towns decided for themselves, with input from parents, it would be better.”

One might surmise that the local school system is being forced to comply with the new guidelines lest they lose out on federal funding.

“Yes, that is true,” said Nelson. “It is a substantial amount of money for our district.”

Have your kids been complaining about the school lunches? Should this legislation have been adopted? Are Acton kids at risk for obesity and other health issues due to poor diets?