DALLAS — At Quintanilla Middle School, lunch hour is a favorite time of day. And what youngster wouldn't love it when the menu features pizza, Fritos, beans and fried chicken?
Dora Rivas, the director of nutrition services for the Dallas Independent School District, says the meal does meet USDA requirements.
The district spends about $30 million a year on food for 130,000 students. Public school lunches are limited to 30 percent calories from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat.
Nearly 90 percent of the students at Quintanilla receive free or reduced-price lunches. For some, it is their only meal of the day.
Oranges, cucumbers, and green salads are also on the menu, but few students select them. We did see lots of pizza and pudding on trays.
Juan Jaramillo, an eighth grader, admitted he has selected the fresh salad to eat — "Once."
Another eighth grade student, Taylor Davis, said cucumbers and salad are not an option; pizza is.
Changing those habits, Rivas said, may be the district's — and perhaps the nation's — biggest hurdle.
"I think our biggest challenge is making sure that we are providing a healthy meal, but that the students are also enjoying that meal," she said. "There's no nutrition gained if the students aren't going to consume it."
DISD acknowledges there is a lot of room for nutritional improvement. So next year, they're starting a pilot program where students in after-school programs will be offered only fresh fruits or fresh vegetables. But it's an expensive alternative, and the district had to get a federal grant to try it.
A few years ago, Rivas said students actually protested to the school board when fries were taken off the menu as a side item to pizza.
As she knows only all too well, food revolutions often start slowly.
E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com
