School lunch has not had the best reputation over the years. But Seminole County school administrators say they’ve been pushing to make the food served to students better and healthier.
“We offer between five and eight selections of fresh fruit and produce every day,” said Seminole County Public Schools Dining Service Director Chad Wilsky.
Wilsky said it’s making a huge difference in the fight against childhood obesity.
The Florida Department of Health tracks students’ weight. While the percentage of students who are overweight or obese across the state has steadily gone up - 34 percent in 2006 to 36 percent in 2012 - it has gone down in Seminole County, where it was also 34 percent in 2006. In 2012 it was just over 31 percent.
Seminole County school administrators say their push for more nutritious food is a big reason for the decrease in childhood obesity in the county. Dining Service Administrators said they not only give students healthier food, but they give them many different options to choose from.
“Maybe they don’t like an apple or maybe they don’t like an orange, wonderful, you can still have a plum or some fresh grapes. And all those things add to healthy habits and healthy habits is what has turned that trend around,” said Richard Miles II, a registered dietician and the Coordinator of Special Programs for the county’s Dining Services Department.
The county still offers popular foods like pizza. But instead of frozen, the school district makes its pizza in the school kitchens using whole grain crusts and fresh ingredients. School officials say it costs more to make, but saves money in the long-run, because more students actually eat school lunch.