OCEANSIDE -- Fried potato chips in school lunches? No more.
Donuts in the cafeteria? Forget it. Local students will notice
some different, healthier school meals when they return to class
this fall, said Vino Mitra, nutrition director for the Oceanside
Unified School District. Students and parents will also have
access to more nutritional information about school lunches
through a district nutrition Web The school district will no
longer offer donuts in any cafeteria and will cut caffeinated
drinks from middle school lunch menus. But the biggest change in
school cafeteria offerings this fall will occur in middle and
high schools, where the district will focus more on providing
meals with enough nutrients, not just enough items from certain
food groups. The new approach allows school food planners to
create a menu, then input that menu into a computer program that
analyzes its nutritional value. If the meal doesn't include
enough of certain nutrients, such as protein or iron, the
computer system spits the menu