Is that yogurt parfait on students’ plates? Eating healthy is schools’ goal

During a typical lunch break at Newport Harbor High School, cups filled with celery, broccoli, jicama and red peppers sit in the cafeteria beside plastic containers packed with fresh fruit and yogurt.

Teenagers file through the lunch line, piling carrots with ranch and blueberry yogurt parfaits next to slices of Domino’s Pizza — specially made for the district with whole-grain crust — into cardboard lunch containers.

“We have to come up with healthy items that everyone would like,” said Dale Ellis, director of nutrition services at Newport-Mesa Unified.

However, some items are more difficult to market than others, she said.

In recent years, fresh, low-calorie and low-sodium items have replaced what was once rows of chips, cookies, microwaveable offerings and other processed fare.

Food guidelines have become increasingly stringent over the years, beginning with the elimination of soda in school vending machines and lunch rooms in 2005.

This school year is no exception. Beginning this fall, schools were required to adhere to the Smart Snacks in Schools initiative, federal requirements that not only aim to improve the nutritional value of school lunches but also regulate the content of many offerings that students can purchase in addition to their meals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

While Newport-Mesa had in large part eliminated popular snack food items, such as chips and candy, with the reduction of acceptable sodium levels, officials were forced to reduce the size of salty snacks such as baked cheese puffs and pretzels.

In compliance with the initiative, many popular items served in the cafeteria, such as wraps and flatbread pizza, are now made from whole grain. In previous years, the district could serve items that were at least 50% whole grain.

Students were hesitant when their schools began serving wraps on whole-grain tortillas.

“That was a little shocking for them, but they’re getting used to it,” Ellis said.

However, the district is looking at using a white, whole-grain product that is lighter in color and less intimidating to students.

For the past year, students have been required to take a fresh vegetable or fruit item when they purchase lunch.

“There’s a few you have to coerce in taking them, but for the most part they want to eat healthy,” said Jan Reid, nutritional services supervisor at Newport Harbor High School.

During lunch at Newport Harbor on Wednesday, one boy made it to the end of the line after just picking up a slice of pizza.

Ellis noticed, but said it’s difficult to force kids to take something they’re not going to eat.

“We try to educate them about healthy options as much as we can, but I don’t think it’s right to make kids take something they don’t want,” she said. “It’s just going to end up in the trash.”

Freshman Colby Franz feasted on a blueberry parfait and granola in the lunch area. After consuming the last spoonful, a classmate appeared and handed him another.

“We’re only allowed to grab one,” he said before digging into a second helping.

His friend, Sami Petkov, a senior, decided against the pizza and instead grabbed a variety of fruit, a parfait and carrot sticks.

“Some food isn’t as good for you because it has gluten in it,” he said of the offerings at Harbor. “I wish we had even more healthy options.”

In order to gauge what food kids are willing to eat, the district does taste tests, where it introduces an item for a certain period of time to see how it’s received.

“If they’re offered healthy choices and consume healthier foods, then obviously they’re going to perform better inside the classroom,” Ellis said.