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Many children in diocesan schools are eating their vegetables, whole grains and fruits - or, at least, seeing them on cafeteria trays. Whether the food actually makes it into the students' bellies is up to them.

Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its school nutrition standards in 2012, schools across the country have made a lot of adjustments in their lunch offerings. Catholic schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program, which provides low-cost or free meals to eligible students, have been scrutinized to follow new rules just as much as public schools.

St. Augustine's School in Troy, when the new guidelines proved too complex and costly for the school to handle alone, hired Senior Services of Albany to provide meals.

Joseph Slichko, principal, said the company monitors sodium, fat and calorie content in the school's lunches, uses only whole grains, offers specific vegetable subgroups weekly, and uses fresh fruit or fruit canned in water instead of sugary syrups.

St. Augustine's collaborates with the company to develop menus. About 45 students get lunch and breakfast through the federal program every day; another 40 or so may buy lunches.

Too much, too new?
Mr. Slichko doesn't see too much waste, even though the federal program requires that "you have to serve it all," he said. "That's kind of the tricky part: When push comes to shove, it's whether or not they like the taste of it."

Children can surprise staff with their choices, the principal added: Some clean up their vegetables, but leave meat untouched.

Overall, following the regulations "has been a great transition," he said. "I definitely think the lunches are healthier."

For three years, All Saints Catholic Academy in Albany has used the same company - also as a result of signing up to provide federally-reimbursable meals. The service has helped the school avoid hiring a nutritionist, but its lunch program has actually taken a hit financially.

"Our paying lunch, we have found, is decreasing because of the strict guidelines," said Traci Johnson, principal. "It's hard to [be compliant] with chicken nuggets every day. The food choices are a lot more mature than children are used to."

All Saints' 175 students are offered items like roasted chicken with mixed vegetables, pulled pork sandwiches and turkey tetrazzini with pasta and California-blend vegetables. Up to 130 buy lunch on any given day - 75 of them reimbursement-eligible students - but the children sometimes need a nudge to actually eat the food.

"There's a lot of food on their trays, and it's stuff they haven't seen," Ms. Johnson said. "There's a lot of modeling that's needed to introduce new foods. I'll eat with them" to demonstrate interest in the new foods.

Kid-friendly hits
The highest-sales days feature childhood favorites like chicken fingers, pizza and cheeseburgers - but the school can't offer such high-calorie items every day of the week. Ms. Johnson is working with the food provider to determine how to include more "kid-friendly" choices in the two-week rotation.

After all, "it is part of our business to run the cafeteria program," Ms. Johnson explained.

In the meantime, the lunch director - who recruits volunteers on Wednesdays to continue the school's homemade pizza tradition, now with healthier ingredients - uses creativity in her presentation of foods.

"Instead of putting an apple on their plate, she'll cut it up" to make it more accessible to little fingers, Ms. Johnson said. Low-calorie dipping sauces make vegetables more palatable. Leftovers are made into sampler platters and children who didn't buy lunch that day can get free tastes of what they're missing.

"We have to get creative," Ms. Johnson said. "The guidelines are not going away."

Beyond the cafeteria, All Saints' wellness policy prohibits students bringing in fast food and sodas; its vending machines contain no soda or junk food. The school's website has information encouraging parents to serve healthy items at home, and each grade has a nutrition unit built into its curriculum.

Financial aid
Ms. Johnson says All Saints wouldn't have been able to afford a hot lunch program without its new provider; it had operated at a deficit a few years ago. Still, there's room for improvement, and maybe it starts with teaching the students lessons about eating what they're given.

"They don't like the brown bread or the brown pasta," she said. "We say, 'Try one bite and don't be wasteful. We're grateful for the food the Lord has given us.' But we don't use [religion] as a form of punishment or bribery."

There's little food waste at Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush, which does not offer free- and reduced-price lunches, but still adheres to regulations. Zachary's Pastry Shoppe in Rensselaer cooks and delivers balanced entrees and a la carte items like soups and sandwiches. Meals come with vegetables, fruits and skim milk.

"The kids seem to enjoy the food," said principal Michael Piatek. "We sit down and we go over the menus. You have to, with the number of children with food allergies."

Up to 60 out of Holy Spirit's 200 students buy lunch each day. Staff members supervise the cafeteria and talk to the nurse if they observe children not eating. Teachers talk to parents about sending students to school with healthy food.

"If they're bringing in sugary snacks on a regular basis, that would raise red flags," Mr. Piatek said.

Teaming up
For at least a decade, St. Pius X School in Loudonville has received lunches from North Colonie Central Schools, which now offers two or three rules-compliant choices every day. Menu changes have not affected the number of lunch buyers, said Dennis Mullahy, principal.

In the past, private vendors made the school little money; Mr. Mullahy encourages other Catholic schools to partner with local districts.

"It's been a godsend because they run the program," he said. "We found out very quickly that you can't have parents come in and boil hot dogs for 600 kids."[[In-content Ad]]

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