Ah, school lunch. For many of us, this brings back memories of hairnetted ladies looming over trays of mystery meat. There have been sweeping changes lately in the way meals are served at schools, but has it been enough? Take our quiz to find out.
President Truman started the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in 1946. How many students received meals through the program in 2007?
5.5 million
15.5 million
30.5 million
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
About 30.5 million kids got their meals through the NSLP in 2007. More than 101,000 schools and child-care organizations participate in the program.
What do critics of the National School Lunch Program cite as one of its problems?
The program isn't funded enough, so the food is cheap, processed and not very nutritious.
The schools waste too much food.
The schools charge too much for the lunches, so not enough kids eat them.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
The NSLP has a $9 billion budget, which critics say is just not enough -- so the schools have to buy the cheapest food available, which is usually not the most nutritious.
What did a 2009 University of Minnesota study show about school lunches in that state?
that schools don't serve any whole-grain products
that lunch sales don't decrease when the food is healthy
that school kitchens were dangerously dirty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
The study found that, contrary to popular belief, kids buy just as much lunch when the food is healthy. It also found that healthy lunches don't have to cost more to produce.
The Better School Food organization advocates "farm-to-school" programs. About how many schools participated in the 2008-09 school year?
11,000
15,000
19,000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Better School Food says that 10,943 schools in 33 states are involved in farm-to-school programs. They connect local farmers with schools -- for the food and also for nutrition education.
Famous chef and restaurateur Alice Waters has many ideas for improving school lunches. What's one of them?
having parents make the food instead of school employees
building school gardens
eliminating lunches and having children bring their own
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Waters, who is on a crusade for better school lunches, advocates school gardens -- and massively increasing the National School Lunch Program's budget.
Which of the following is NOT an accomplishment of the School Lunch Initiative in Berkeley, Calif.?
installing salad bars in every school
removing almost all processed foods
eliminating all vending machines
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
The SLI has reworked the lunch program in the Berkeley Unified School District, but -- at least to our knowledge -- it has not (yet) eliminated vending machines.
How many servings of whole grains do kids get every day, on average?
one
two
three
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Most kids get only one serving of whole grains a day -- and studies have shown that this could be partially caused by confusion in school food services about exactly what whole grains are.
