Yes, students will eat kiwi at lunch. And they will eat veggies if given choices.

Credit: Maureen Downey

Credit: Maureen Downey

So, as a school nutrition director, I support the national standards — by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and based on sound science — requiring schools to serve healthier meals and snacks.

Yet, even as these standards have helped schools across the country make great strides in teaching our kids to eat well, some in Congress want to let districts opt out of the requirements on the grounds that they’re too expensive and that compliance with them is too difficult and instead serve meals with more sugar, fat and salt.

We cannot weaken our commitment to children’s health, and the standards have proved to be an effective and practical way to improve kids’ nutrition.

Nine out of 10 schools nationwide are already meeting them, resulting in more than 30 million students eating healthier school meals with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein than ever before.

Across the country, school systems are thinking creatively and saving money by serving locally grown foods: beef in Montana, boat-to-school salmon in Alaska, and vegetables from their own school gardens. In our rural district, we curb costs by buying foods from nearby suppliers.

We purchase whole-grain grits that are grown and milled locally, and students love our breakfast smoothie made from locally sourced blueberries plus strawberries, bananas, yogurt and skim milk. We have very little waste because the kids get to choose from an array of healthy items; they must have a fruit or vegetable with their meals, but we offer at least three to four healthy entrée selections and five to eight fruit and vegetable choices.

So students who dislike spinach, for example, can select carrots instead. The emphasis on variety has led children to venture beyond the familiar: The kiwi is now the most popular fruit we serve.

And kids aren’t the only beneficiaries. In teaching them how to eat better — not just now, but for their lifetimes — we reach the whole family. Even the teachers in my county now eat more fruits and vegetables after trying them at school.

Some school districts have struggled with the standards, and USDA has responded not by punishing them but by providing assistance to help them with menu planning, staff training, and upgrades to kitchen equipment. And USDA is acting on districts’ concerns.

For example, the agency removed weekly limits on lean protein servings in light of evidence that the caps were too rigid. After schools reported poor cooking results with the approved whole-grain pasta products, USDA gave districts the flexibility to use non-whole-grain pasta for two more years while food companies improve their offerings.

Kids’ health will get a further boost when guidelines for foods and beverages sold in school stores and vending machines take effect in July. Under USDA’s Smart Snacks rules, schools can offer granola bars, vitamin-enriched water and thousands of other healthy items but will no longer be able to sell high-calorie candy and soda. Although some districts say they fear a loss of revenue from snack sales under these rules, many that have already met the standards report that their food service revenue has remained steady or increased.

I hope Congress, school boards and superintendents will support these positive goals and give food service directors and students time to adapt to the standards. Change is hard, yes, but we can’t keep postponing the decision to do the right thing. Our children’s future is at stake.