School Lunch Guidelines | Video

Jessica Roose | 9/25/2012

In 2010, Congress passed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, which is now being implemented across the country. The guidelines are different in each grade level, but overall they require more fruits and veggies in each serving and lower calorie meals.

Students at Dorothy Moses elementary don`t seem to notice the change in menu. Which is a good thing, because students are now required to have a half a cup of beans each week under the new guidelines in the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and that`s not the only change.

It used to be optional, but now students like these little ones here have to get at least a half a cup of fruit each day.

They also get more vegetables, but the students don`t seem to mind getting a little extra fruits and veggies.

"Today we had tomatoes and I ate the tomato and I said it tasted pretty good," said fourth grader Silvia Strangerhorse.

"Today we got some fruit in our classroom from the fruit stand," said fourth grader Destine Gray.

Under the law, students in the age group of K through fifth grade need to be served a meal with at least 550 calories but no more than 650. As they get older, that number goes up slightly. The ninth through twelfth graders should be receiving between 750 and 850 calories per meal.

"When you make a change like this there can be good and bad and we`ve probably heard both. There seems to be a little bit of concern about waste. Not so much at the secondary level but maybe at the elementary level," said Bismarck Child Nutrition Coordinator Doug Joersz.

He says that`s just due to some kids not eating everything they are required to take.

"I think what people don`t understand is we`ve always offered these things that we`re offering. It`s just that we`re offering them in different quantities now than we have before."

No matter what the quantity, most of the kids today seemed happy with what they had on their plate.

Joersz says the Bismarck school district is continuing to implement the new standards and is close to meeting all of them

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