A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (subscription only) finds that home-packed lunches are nutritionally lacking, as compared to school food.
As summarized by Reuters, the study’s researchers peered into the lunch boxes of 626 third and fourth graders from 12 public elementary schools in Eastern Massachusetts, and found that only 34% of lunches contained fruit, only 11% contained vegetables, 42% contained snacks and 28% included dessert. And almost one-quarter of the lunches contained sugar-sweetened beverages.
I wasn’t terribly surprised by these findings. Even before I started The Lunch Tray, I’d read in Janet Poppendieck’s Free for All: Fixing School Food in America references to data showing that, on average, children who regularly eat the federally subsidized school meal consume a wider variety of nutrients than those who consistently eat a home-packed lunch. That makes sense, given that food service directors must ensure that their menus meet strict, government-mandated nutritional requirements, while parents (at least this parent, anyway) often pack whatever happens to be in the fridge that morning, and also often cater to a child’s preferences by packing many of the same items on a regular basis.
And there’s no question that some home-packed lunches (such as some seen by researchers in this study, which contained two or three sugary drinks and no entree at all) are completely deficient from a nutritional perspective. At the same time, though, one visit to Pinterest or to many “mom/food” blogs will also show that some parents out there set an extremely high bar when it comes to nutritious home-packed lunches.
It’s also important to note that many parents feel that school meals, despite checking off the requisite boxes when it comes to nutrients and food groups, contain too many highly processed foods, chemical preservatives and artificial additives. That’s the main reason why I still have some concerns about the food in my own district which, though it’s working hard to cook more meal components from scratch, still relies on processed food manufacturers for many of the items served.
Whatever you think of this study’s findings, though, it reminds us that the new school year is only a few weeks away. So stay tuned for The Lunch Tray’s FIFTH (!) annual “It Takes a Village to Pack a Lunch” series, in which I share lunch box recipes, packing tips, experts’ guest posts and news about the latest lunch box gear. Also, speaking of Reuters, I was interviewed last week for another story the news organization is doing about home-packed lunches, and I’ll share that link with you here when the report is published.
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Sally Kuzemchak says
I agree, I’m sure there’s a very wide variety in the kinds of packed lunches kids are getting today–from one extreme (bag of chips and a soda) to another (kale salad with a side of lentils). I wonder if the studies looking at the nutrient intake of kids eating school lunches are factoring in what the children actually ate–or simply what they took (or had to take) on their tray?
Emily says
I agree with Sally – you can fill a lunch tray with all manner of healthy foods, and the cafeteria trash can will be the only one eating healthfully. If you’re packing a lunch, and you know your child doesn’t eat raw veggies, why pack it? Couldn’t that battle be better fought at home?
I’m looking forward to your lunch-packing series. This is the first year my 5th grader will be responsible for his lunch, and he’s excited for new ideas.
Maggie says
Wait…it *isn’t* a good idea for school meals to require that food go on the tray that the student’s don’t want? I thought the point of recent discussion is that we need to force them to take it?
I am being sarcastic. I do understand that parents do choose to pack a lunch so their children will have a meal at mid day that they will consume. Sadly, that is one of the quandaries that those in food service face. We serve the meal pattern that’s been determined to give the proper nutrients – one faction would like us to be certain to put the foods on the tray, hope the children learn from seeing it. Others wonder why we force them to waste food, don’t want to spend $2.00 (or whatever) for a meal the child won’t consume and pack a lunchable so the child has something to eat.
Andi says
Last year I did a PTA program called Caught Eating a Veggie! Basically, I just took pictures of kids eating veggies at lunch and hung them on the wall. For more details, here’s the National PTA blog post: http://onevoice.pta.org/?p=3179
Anyway, one surprising outcome was that the kids on the free/reduced price lunch program had an advantage in this “competition.” They were offered veggies every day whereas the packed-lunch kids often were not. I only took pictures when I saw kids actually eating veggies and I took WAY more pictures of school lunches than of packed lunches. AND a lot of the packed-lunch “veggies” were fruits; I gave credit for cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers.
It’s anecdotal evidence for sure, but what I saw was that for every Pinterest-worthy packed lunch, there were thirty or more bags of PB&J and GoGurt.
Patti says
On the other hand, a parent who is packing a lunch has the whole day’s picture in mind as far as meals. I know my daughter won’t eat a LOT of veggies at school unless it’s leftover soup or some salad. So she doesn’t get veggies *at school* every single day. She DOES however, get some sort of veggies every day, but it’s often at home at dinner time! Would she want me to *send* her some veggies to school so someone could take a picture? Possibly. But that doesn’t mean she would actually *eat* them!
Andi says
As I said, I only took pictures when I saw kids actually eating veggies. 🙂
But you’re right. My daughter didn’t take veggies to lunch every day and there are valid excuses for why she didn’t. Not everyone got a prize and that’s okay.
The purpose of the program was to encourage kids to make healthy decisions (eating the veggies they were given.) No one was penalized for not packing their kids veggies. Kids weren’t made to feel bad if they only had Lunchables and a juice pouch.
Sally Kuzemchak says
Andi–I love that idea!!
Andi says
Thanks! The kids really did love it, too. My friends would tell me that their kids came home saying, “it was Caught Eating a Veggie day and YOU didn’t pack me any carrots!”
Maggie says
I agree. I think that is a great way to increase veggie consumption.
Casey says
As a parent trying to help my kids avoid a family history of diabetes, limiting added sugar is a major concern. I pack lunch because I don’t want them being offered flavored milk and juice every day. I would like to see the floor for school meals raised so that parents are supported in helping kids stay within the American Heart Association’s recommendations for added sugar: http://ushealthykids.org/2013/03/11/infographic-sugar-limits-for-kids/
Until then, I will keep packing lunches and look forward to reading the newest “It Takes a Village to Pack a Lunch” series. Thanks!
Margo Wootan says
Good post. We did some tips on packing a healthy lunch. It is a bit old but still relevant: https://www.cspinet.org/new/school_lunch.html
SK says
Having taught in a school, this doesn’t surprise me at all. The school I taught at was almost 100% free/reduced lunch so most students had the school lunch. Those who had a packed lunch usually had Lunchables, chips, bag of cookies, sugary drink, etc. Some parents would even send their (6-year-old) kids in with a full-size bag of chips, not an individual bag (as their only lunch item). Or a whole box of cookies. One parent would bring a fast food lunch to her son every day because he refused to eat the school lunch. I would like to see how schools or community organizations can provide parents with more information on nutrition and not just the kids. The kids should make better choices (and have a better provided cafeteria lunch) but most of the time it’s the parents who are basically deciding the quality of their food.
aaaa says
I would point out that packed tomato, peach or soft pear can look very ugly and beaten by the time you have to eat it. It can get very messy easily. My kids eat vegetables every breakfast, salad often enough for dinner and they eat them as snacks too. But, I do not think I would necessary insist on an additional vegetable packed into school lunch (unless built-in into main food) if I had to pack one.