The hunger games in US schools
School districts have to balance the ledger for the entire system.’’
Her group wants more flexibility.
Vilsack says the Department of Agriculture already provides that. For example, it listened when districts said protein portions were too small for high-school students and it provided flexibility when districts said whole-grain pastas were falling apart in lasagnas. And, he says, the department has distributed recipes that meet the standards and that it can provide technical assistance to help districts procure ingredients.
‘‘We are happy to work with school districts as they raise issues, but seeking a waiver for the entire set of requirements really is a step backward and jeopardises the progress we’ve already seen,’’ he says.
But the nonprofit National School Nutrition Association, which represents 55,000 cafeteria workers, says no amount of technical assistance will alleviate districts’ financial concerns. Vilsack is unrelenting. ‘‘This is working. We know kids are eating more fruits and vegetables, and we’re seeing a generational change in the way kids are eating,’’ he says.
Districts, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, already find the standards challenging – and they’re about to get more restrictive.
More stringent requirements for less sodium and more whole grains are set to take effect next school year, although lawmakers in Washington are stepping in to try to delay implementation.
Curtistine Walker, food service director for Pittsburgh Public Schools, says the changes are a step too far when cafeteria managers already are trying to find ways to make fresh fruits and vegetables more appealing to students who are used to highercalorie side dishes.
The changes in sodium levels and whole-grain content will affect taste and texture, says Walker, a past president of the National School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania. ‘‘Food isn’t going to be palatable,’’ she said.
It also could become more expensive.
Walker already has had to tap into her kitchen-equipment budget to pay for the increased costs of fresh fruit and vegetables and to cover additional labour costs of preparing them. She has found that children will only eat fruit if it is sliced and presented nicely, and they will eat raw vegetables only if they are served with ranch dressing. Both add expense.
The changes can be inconvenient but, mostly, they have been worthwhile, says Walker, who has worked in food service for the district since 1987, when the cafeterias served a lot of starchy, canned and comfort foods.
‘‘Now we’re doing more with salads, fresh deli wraps and things like that. It’s fresh. There’s a huge difference in the menu selections and the way food is prepared,’’ she says. ‘‘They’ve been good changes. It’s just that they’re making them too drastic now.’’
High-schoolers are finding the changes hardest to swallow because they’ve grown up on highcalorie, processed school lunches, Vilsack says.
Dauphin County 17-year-old Josh Herzing is among them.
From kindergarten through to freshman year, he happily bought his lunch in the cafeteria and went
Serve the sliced pork on a bed of the caramelised apple mixture, with kumara mash and other cooked seasonal vegetables on the side.
Photography: Lindsay Keats In some Pittsburgh schools, cafeteria garbage cans seem to fill faster than children’s bellies, thanks to nutrition standards that brought healthier – if less appetising and more expensive – foods to lunchrooms.
Districts say they are struggling to meet requirements of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which went into effect in 2012, and congressional Republicans are trying to help. They’ve introduced a proposal to waive requirements for districts that can demonstrate the standards create economic hardship and their school-lunch programmes have been operating at a loss for at least six months.
But their plan, introduced last week, puts them at odds with President Barack Obama’s top adviser – his wife, who has made children’s nutrition her signature issue.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native, is also pushing back.
‘‘A waiver would give schools the opportunity to go back to a day when meals were heavily laden with sugar and fats. We’re dealing with an obesity issue and a hunger issue that affects millions of kids, that affects their educational achievement and that’s certainly going to lead to higher healthcare costs later,’’ Vilsack says. ‘‘I don’t think we need waivers.’’ The National School Boards Association disagrees.
Federal reimbursement rates are too low to cover increased costs of healthier items – foods that often end up in garbage cans, says Lucy Gettman, the association’s director of federal programmes. Further, she says, in some areas it can be difficult for food service directors to find suppliers carrying affordable products that meet the United States Department of Agriculture guidelines.
‘‘The vast majority of school districts are trying very, very, very hard to comply with the standards because they are absolutely committed to meeting the nutritional needs of their students. But at the same time they need to keep the boiler running, they have to meet the physical needs of the plant and they have human-resources costs. back to class feeling satisfied and fuelled for the afternoon. Back then he could get a burger or a hotdog with fries and, if he was still hungry, he could add chips or cookies a la carte. No longer. ‘‘Sophomore year is the last time I remember having a good school lunch. They’re smaller now and portions and not as good tasting as they used to be,’’ says Josh, who has started bringing lunch from home – usually a ham sandwich, a bag of chips and a sports drink.
Otherwise, he would have two meal choices each day at Susquehanna Township High School – neither appealing or filling, he says. Students who are still hungry often buy a second full meal, spending $6 a day and defeating the purpose of the department’s portion-control guidelines, he says.
Pittsburgh students often do the same, Walker says.
‘‘They do have an issue with the portions. The average high-school athlete would want two hamburgers or two sandwiches, but that knocks them out of the calorie range,’’ she says. up with the following:
‘‘Two rows of pinot noir vines, together with 12 of pinot meunier, stood for most of the 20th century at the Mission vineyard at Greenmeadows, on the slope where the annual Mission concerts are now held.
‘‘Remembered as being ‘pretty gnarled and low cropping’ by Brother John Cuttance, the vines are thought to have been planted by Henry Tiffen, from whom the Marist Brothers bought the vineyard in 1897.’’
Saker goes on to say that, through the 50s and 60s, the fruit of these vines contributed to the Mission Reserve Pinot, a table wine popular among enthusiasts.
Pinot noir had a tentative toe in the door at Mission but that ended when in the early 80s these old troupers were pulled out. Saker says the old Mission vines survived just long enough to see the rebirth of the variety in New Zealand.
It is the Bordeaux reds that do best in sunny Hawke’s Bay – merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. For this reason, when Mission Estate decided to reintroduce pinot noir to its portfolio in 2000, it looked south.
Paul Mooney, Mission’s chief winemaker, oversaw what the company views as the re-launch of its pinot noir. He sourced grapes from vineyards in Martinborough, Central Otago and latterly in Marlborough.
The acquisition of the Cape Campbell vineyard in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley was a special time for Mission, as the estate was finally able to once again produce a pinot noir crafted from grapes grown in a vineyard it owns. The 2013 Vineyard Selection (VS) Pinot Noir is the result and it’s a very good value ‘‘drink now’’ wine priced at $25. All the Mission pinots, with the exception of Jewelstone, retail for under $30 and, while we haven’t tried the least expensive of these, the others are fruity, delivering some complexity and plenty of lively flavour.
Now it’s time to consider the word reserve in relation to two of the wines we review today. One is a pleasant, easy-drinking pinot; the other an extremely highquality sauvignon blanc. But are they both deserving of the ‘‘reserve’’ label? What in fact is reserve standard?
Reserve is an overused term and there is no control over its use. In our minds, ‘‘reserve’’ suggests only the best wines – but you see it cropping up on labels where the contents simply don’t justify the title. Be a little wary of depending on the word ‘‘reserve’’ to denote particularly high quality. It could simply mean fruit set aside or held in ‘‘reserve’’ for another company. Such are the complexities of the English language.
Mission Estate Martinborough Reserve Pinot Noir 2012 ($29)
Sweet red berry fruit notes are supported by a light floral note and gentle smokiness.
A soft, luscious wine with gentle tannins and some oak spiciness. Ripe dark cherry and milk chocolate flavours make this light to medium-bodied wine quite appealing. Drinks a little off-dry and is an approachable crowd pleaser; if you want a pinot that goes well with tuna, swordfish or lamb chops, this could fit the bill.
Flying Sheep Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2012 ($24)
Continuing with the Hawke’s Bay theme – and a single vineyard wine from a label with an interesting background. The ‘‘flying sheep’’ refers to clouds spotted by early settlers in Hawke’s Bay. They were surprised by the local cumulus cloud formations’ likeness to the sheep that grazed their land.
Subtle and gentle, the aroma carries a soft whiff of ripe pear.
The palate is a light wash of flavour, rounded, lively with some sweet pear and poached quince notes. The gentle, slightly sweet, spicy finish is lingering.
Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013 ($30.99)
The savoury, sweaty aroma is cut through by enticing notes of capsicum, lime and tomato leaf.
The palate has excellent depth, well-rounded with gentle stone fruit, passionfruit and mineral notes to the fore. Fruit sweetness kicks in ahead of the acid, resulting in a wine that has lovely balance. We love the passionfruit flavour on the finish.
Lawson’s Dry Hills Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013 ($27)
No point beating around the bush – this wine has a fantastic aroma; lemon grass, citrus – a lovely ripe fruity/herbal blend with a soft floral note sitting in the background.
The weighty, ripe palate delivers plenty of passionfruit and citrus flavour with clean, crisp herbaceous definition. A very generous, full-bodied wine that will suit a special occasion and deserves its ‘‘reserve’’ title.
Both the sauvignon blancs reviewed here are proof that, when well-made, a good savvy will age with increasing generosity in terms of taste and texture. They will partner baked salmon or light white meats.