Super-sugary school breakfasts have been a longstanding concern of mine (see, e.g., my Civil Eats piece, “Why There Is So Much Sugar in Your Kid’s School Breakfast“) so I read with interest a story in today’s New York Times titled “Healthier Cereals Snare a Spot on New York School Menus.”
In the piece, food industry reporter Stephanie Strom explains how a small company in California, Back to the Roots, has managed to get two of its certified organic cereals onto the New York City public schools’ breakfast line-up. And even though its cereals are lower in sugar and sodium and higher in whole grains than the standard Kellogg’s varieties (some of which remain on the menu), taste tests show kids love the Back to the Roots products.
Strom’s piece gives readers a good sense of just how hard it can be for small players to crack the school food market. But if districts are able to combine their considerable purchasing power, as is the case with the Urban School Food Alliance (discussed in past TLT posts linked below), we may start to see more “real food” offerings like Back to the Roots cereal on kids’ trays. That’s great news!
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