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Louisiana Action for Healthy Kids - Team Nutrition
School Lunch
Nutritional Requirements
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), administered by the USDA, is designed to provide one-third of the calories for students needing the most calories. School lunches must meet the applicable recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which state that no more than 30 percent of an individual's calories come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also establish a standard for school lunches to provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories. School lunches must meet Federal nutrition requirements, but decisions about which specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food authorities.
The NSLP requires that foods offered meet certain nutritional requirements -- for example, bread items must be made with either whole-grains or enriched flour and fruits and vegetable must be offered daily.
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Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value
According to federal regulations, foods of minimal nutritional value cannot be served in the NSLP, nor can those foods be offered during the operation of the NSLP. Foods of minimal nutritional value include candy and sodas. State agencies and school food authorities may place other restrictions on all foods sold at any time throughout the school. In Louisiana, extra sale items must meet component requirements as defined by the Enhanced Food-Based Menu regulations for the Child Nutrition Program or must be an item offered on the menu that day. The only exceptions are that milkshakes, yogurt, frozen yogurt, ice cream, and ice milk may be sold as extra food items. Full-strength juice, milk, and bottled water (unflavored with no additives) may be sold at any time during the day to students and adults, whether or not they have purchased a meal.
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