What new federal sugar, salt limits mean for Long Island school cafeterias
Naim Wolcott, food services director at Westhampton Beach High School, is pictured on Thursday. Credit: John Roca
New federal nutrition standards will limit added sugars for the first time in school meals and cut back on sodium for millions of students nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced changes that will gradually go into effect, with full implementation by the start of the 2027 school year. Stricter guidelines had been considered but pulled back after the federal agency received more than 136,000 comments on the issue.
Some food service directors and educators in districts across Long Island said the changes are attainable and that school meals — including lunches and breakfasts — have been moving away from overly processed foods to serving more meals made from scratch in cafeterias and lunchrooms.
Educators said school food often is the most nutritious meal accessible to students and a healthy diet can contribute to greater academic success. More local school districts have been able to offer free meals to students because of changes in federal guidelines in recent years.
The Uniondale district has made efforts to serve healthier meals, so a transition to the new guidelines will not be hard to do, school leaders said.
“We're pretty confident that we're moving in that direction already,” said Mary Martinez-Lagnado, Uniondale's interim assistant superintendent for business affairs.
Schools will not be required to make any changes to their menus for 2024-25 school year, according to the USDA. Changes will phase in between fall 2025 and fall 2027.
The first phase limits the amount of added sugars allowed for specific foods that tend to be higher in added sugars: breakfast cereals, yogurt and flavored milk.
Currently, there are no added sugar limits in the school meal programs, and schools may choose to serve some menu items and meals that are high in added sugars.
Starting in 2027-28, in addition to limits on added sugars in those specific foods, no more than 10% of weekly calories in the meals can be from added sugars.
There had been a debate over whether to ban flavored milk before release of the new regulations, but school food groups argued that flavored milk is one of the best ways for kids to get calcium.
Flavored milk will be allowed but with limits on added sugars.
In response to public comments, the USDA is only requiring one sodium reduction, instead of the three incremental reductions that were proposed last year.
Also starting in fall 2024, schools have the option to require unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, according to the USDA.
Schools will continue to push for more unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, local food directors said.
Some Long Island districts already do this. In the Westhampton Beach district, there's a salad bar in all school buildings with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken and a host of other healthy options, and fresh fruit is offered at breakfast and lunch. The district partners with the East End Food Institute to bring in local produce.
“You'll see across the Island way more healthy school food options that are less processed with both fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in the daily offerings,” said Naim Walcott, school nutrition director for Westhampton Beach and president of the New York State School Nutrition Association.
The American Heart Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and national School Nutrition Association said the standards represent a healthy upgrade for school meals.
“Particularly at breakfast, where cereals, flavored milks and even yogurts can have too much added sugar to fit into a healthy diet, USDA’s final rule will bring added sugars down to safer levels in alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” said Meghan Maroney, CSPI's Federal Child Nutrition campaign manager.
But there are questions about funding and training staff when these changes come into play.
The School Nutrition Association “appreciates that [the] USDA is moving forward with more attainable, long-term nutrition goals that acknowledge the tremendous challenges schools face when working to adjust menus and gain student acceptance of healthier meals,” said the nonprofit's president, Chris Derico. “Further sodium and sugar reductions will require investments in staffing, training and equipment to expand scratch cooking.”
Officials in the Uniondale district said a new food vendor has given students more healthy options and they have seen an increase in participation among students accessing breakfast and lunch this year. Meals are free in the Nassau County district.
School food staff make pizza and macaroni and cheese from scratch and flavor taco meat with their own recipe. With such a focus on healthy foods, officials said it will be easy to adjust recipes under the new standards and are planning to train staff to meet the guidelines.
“We have already definitely implemented a lot of healthier choices in our school district,” said Yohana Arevalo, Uniondale's school lunch manager.
The timeline also gives schools and suppliers time to adapt, Walcott said.
In a statement shared by the Port Jefferson district, the system's food service vendor, Whitsons Culinary Group, commended the standards and pledged to support the changes.
There's a balance that school meal programs must maintain to make a product healthy, but also something that children will want to eat. A cheeseburger made to nutrition standards in a school setting is not going to taste the same as one outside of school, Walcott said.
“We all agree with lowering added sugars and lowering sodium to comply with the new guidelines of a healthy diet,” he said. “Every school nutrition professional will tell you the same in that regard. But there's a way to go about that.”
Many of the meals served in Westhampton Beach are made from scratch, and Walcott looks for creative and healthy ways to make them more appealing. He plans to do the same under the new standards. Meals are currently free for district students.
“You need to train your staff to process whole food recipes and then that meal has to be vetted by the children,” he said. “You can have the healthiest menu you want. But if your kids don't like it and don't eat it, it doesn't mean anything.”
New federal nutrition standards will limit added sugars for the first time in school meals and cut back on sodium for millions of students nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced changes that will gradually go into effect, with full implementation by the start of the 2027 school year. Stricter guidelines had been considered but pulled back after the federal agency received more than 136,000 comments on the issue.
Some food service directors and educators in districts across Long Island said the changes are attainable and that school meals — including lunches and breakfasts — have been moving away from overly processed foods to serving more meals made from scratch in cafeterias and lunchrooms.
Educators said school food often is the most nutritious meal accessible to students and a healthy diet can contribute to greater academic success. More local school districts have been able to offer free meals to students because of changes in federal guidelines in recent years.
WHAT TO KNOW
- New federal nutrition standards will limit added sugars for the first time in school meals and cut back on sodium for millions of students nationwide.
- Schools will not be required to make any changes to their menus for 2024-25, according to the USDA. Changes in the rule will phase in between fall 2025 and fall 2027.
- The first phase limits the amount of added sugars allowed for specific foods that tend to be higher in added sugars: breakfast cereals, yogurt and flavored milk.
The Uniondale district has made efforts to serve healthier meals, so a transition to the new guidelines will not be hard to do, school leaders said.
“We're pretty confident that we're moving in that direction already,” said Mary Martinez-Lagnado, Uniondale's interim assistant superintendent for business affairs.
What's changing and when?
Schools will not be required to make any changes to their menus for 2024-25 school year, according to the USDA. Changes will phase in between fall 2025 and fall 2027.
The first phase limits the amount of added sugars allowed for specific foods that tend to be higher in added sugars: breakfast cereals, yogurt and flavored milk.
Yogurt may have no more than 12 grams of added sugars per 6 ounces (2 grams of added sugars per ounce), beginning July 1, 2025.
Currently, there are no added sugar limits in the school meal programs, and schools may choose to serve some menu items and meals that are high in added sugars.
Starting in 2027-28, in addition to limits on added sugars in those specific foods, no more than 10% of weekly calories in the meals can be from added sugars.
Breakfast cereals may have no more than 6 grams of added sugars per dry ounce, starting July 1, 2025.
There had been a debate over whether to ban flavored milk before release of the new regulations, but school food groups argued that flavored milk is one of the best ways for kids to get calcium.
Flavored milk will be allowed but with limits on added sugars.
Flavored milk may have no more than 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces or, for flavored milk sold as a competitive food for middle and high schools, 15 grams of added sugars per 12 fluid ounces, beginning July 1, 2025.
In response to public comments, the USDA is only requiring one sodium reduction, instead of the three incremental reductions that were proposed last year.
Also starting in fall 2024, schools have the option to require unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, according to the USDA.
Schools will continue to push for more unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, local food directors said.
Some Long Island districts already do this. In the Westhampton Beach district, there's a salad bar in all school buildings with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken and a host of other healthy options, and fresh fruit is offered at breakfast and lunch. The district partners with the East End Food Institute to bring in local produce.
“You'll see across the Island way more healthy school food options that are less processed with both fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in the daily offerings,” said Naim Walcott, school nutrition director for Westhampton Beach and president of the New York State School Nutrition Association.
Why are these changes being made?
The American Heart Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and national School Nutrition Association said the standards represent a healthy upgrade for school meals.
“Particularly at breakfast, where cereals, flavored milks and even yogurts can have too much added sugar to fit into a healthy diet, USDA’s final rule will bring added sugars down to safer levels in alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” said Meghan Maroney, CSPI's Federal Child Nutrition campaign manager.
But there are questions about funding and training staff when these changes come into play.
The School Nutrition Association “appreciates that [the] USDA is moving forward with more attainable, long-term nutrition goals that acknowledge the tremendous challenges schools face when working to adjust menus and gain student acceptance of healthier meals,” said the nonprofit's president, Chris Derico. “Further sodium and sugar reductions will require investments in staffing, training and equipment to expand scratch cooking.”
What will this mean for local school cafeterias?
Officials in the Uniondale district said a new food vendor has given students more healthy options and they have seen an increase in participation among students accessing breakfast and lunch this year. Meals are free in the Nassau County district.
School food staff make pizza and macaroni and cheese from scratch and flavor taco meat with their own recipe. With such a focus on healthy foods, officials said it will be easy to adjust recipes under the new standards and are planning to train staff to meet the guidelines.
“We have already definitely implemented a lot of healthier choices in our school district,” said Yohana Arevalo, Uniondale's school lunch manager.
The timeline also gives schools and suppliers time to adapt, Walcott said.
In a statement shared by the Port Jefferson district, the system's food service vendor, Whitsons Culinary Group, commended the standards and pledged to support the changes.
There's a balance that school meal programs must maintain to make a product healthy, but also something that children will want to eat. A cheeseburger made to nutrition standards in a school setting is not going to taste the same as one outside of school, Walcott said.
“We all agree with lowering added sugars and lowering sodium to comply with the new guidelines of a healthy diet,” he said. “Every school nutrition professional will tell you the same in that regard. But there's a way to go about that.”
Many of the meals served in Westhampton Beach are made from scratch, and Walcott looks for creative and healthy ways to make them more appealing. He plans to do the same under the new standards. Meals are currently free for district students.
“You need to train your staff to process whole food recipes and then that meal has to be vetted by the children,” he said. “You can have the healthiest menu you want. But if your kids don't like it and don't eat it, it doesn't mean anything.”
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
