Dateline: April 8, 2004

Combs forces more cafeteria changes

By Ashlee Kidd, Clarendon Enterprise

If your child didn’t like eating in the school cafeteria this year, chances are they’ll be even less likely to want to eat there next year following mandatory changes handed down by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs.

New nutrition policies from Combs’ office that take effect August 1 require schools to eliminate all fried foods and to limit the portion sizes and fat and sugar contents of other food items. In addition, portion sizes for food items such as chips, cookies, bakery items and frozen desserts at elementary, middle and high schools are limited.

“This policy is the result of months of collaboration with experts and interested individuals around the state who consider children’s health and education a top priority,” Combs said.  “We want to ensure that foods served in our schools are nutritious and balanced, and we are dedicated to promoting an environment that nurtures both mental and physical development.”

But Clarendon ISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger says that while the intention of the policy may be good, it is continuing to handicap cafeteria workers in serving a variety of foods for students.

“The policy may very well do away with the a la carte line that we serve junior high and high school students,” Hysinger said. “I think we will have some kids that will just skip lunch and others that will start bringing their own lunches from home.”

Connie McKinney, Clarendon school cafeteria director, is also concerned that students will skip meals if the a la carte line is removed due to the new policy removing all fried foods from the cafeteria.

“If I can’t serve kids chicken strips and cheese sticks, I’m afraid they won’t eat anything.”

McKinney said that the deep fryer has to be removed from the school by 2006 and that all foods that once were fried must now be baked, including French fries, corndogs, and burritos.

“We tried baked burritos last week, and we noticed the kids didn’t like the change.”

Combs’ portion restrictions limit servings of baked French fries to three ounces, which McKinney says would probably be the equivalent of six or eight fries.

If CISD doesn’t follow Combs’ mandate, the school can lose up to $1.20 at breakfast and $2.19 at lunch in federal reimbursements for each meal lost to a competitive food sale.

But Hysinger says that if children do not eat in the cafeteria, that could also affect the school’s federal funding through the National School Lunch Program.

“If they don’t go through the line, we’re not reimbursed,” Hysinger said and noted that these types of changes could raise the cost of preparing meals.

“A lot of the changes Combs forces us to make change our financial input. We still have to hold down the cost, but we have to make the changes too.”

Field trips during school hours will also be affected by this new policy.

“We will have to get sack lunches from the cafeteria and send with the students,” Hysinger said. “As far as extra-curricular activities go, we may get by with not following the policy. We just need to check into it further.”

Combs says this policy is the result of months of collaboration with experts and interested individuals around the state who consider childhood obesity an enormous concern, but Hysinger feels that schools are not to blame.

“Schools aren’t the cause of the obesity issue,” Hysinger said, “but I guess we have to do our part to remedy it.”