BETHLEHEM Students in the Bethlehem Central School District will
be seeing some culinary changes in the new school year under new
federal food service regulations implemented in July. In 2010,
President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
While the new law increases the number of children eligible to
participate in free school lunch programs and now requires
school districts to be audited to improve compliance every three
years, it also sets new nutritional standards for all foods sold
in school. “The goal is to provide healthier and more varied
food options,” said Paul Franchini, the food service coordinator
for BCSD. The new regulations are based on recommendations from
the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and are
“expected to enhance the diet and health of school children and
help mitigate the childhood obesity threat,” according to the
USDA. The rules require schools to increase the servings of
fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free milks. The amounts
of sodium, tr