How ‘White’ Bread Can Make School Cafeterias Healthier

Innovative grains that deliver both taste and health can be a bonanza for food companies

After a long summer, back-to-school is suddenly upon us. This is a good time to examine what school-aged children and teens are eating for lunch. While nutrition content is improving, rising obesity rates and food waste persist. Food companies can – and should – step up and deliver better nutrition without compromising on taste. It’s a huge business opportunity for the taking while doing good for our kids.

America’s school aged children are at their unhealthiest levels in history. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 5 children and adolescents in the U.S. are living with obesity, up from 6.2 percent in 1971-1974. The CDC notes that obesity rates for the poorest children are more than twice that of the children from the wealthiest families.

Distilling state-by-state obesity data from the CDC and ProCare’s State of School Lunch Report reveals that child obesity rates are higher in the 10 states with the least healthiest school lunch programs compared to the top 10 states. More concerning is that the gap in obesity rates between these states increases as kids gets older, from 2.1 percentage points for children 10-17, to 2.7 percentage points for high schoolers, to 4.0 percentage points for adults.

If we don’t start kids off on the right path, they are doomed to fight obesity and overweight problems over their lifetimes.

Government programs have attempted to make school lunches healthier. In 2010, the Obama administration signed into law The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which set new nutrition standards for schools, a centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let's Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity. The legislation included provisions such as reduced portion sizes in meals, mandating a minimum on fruit, vegetables, and whole grain servings, and establishing a maximum sodium, sugar, and fat content.

Some nutritional improvements have been made since the Act was passed. A Washington state study found an increase in six nutrients: fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and protein. While whole grain density among children 2-19 improved from 0.36 ounce equivalents per 1,000 calories in 2009 - 2010 to 0.47 ounce equivalents in 2017-2018, kids are still eating much more refined grains than the recommended whole grains. Fiber consumption remains woefully short of kids’ dietary needs.

Food companies Must Innovate

All food and beverage marketers know that the #1 reason consumers select something to eat or drink is taste. This includes school children and high schoolers. Nothing else – healthfulness, convenience, mouthfeel – comes close. School children often complain that whole grain foods just don’t taste good. This is reflected in what they consume in the cafeteria: A 2022 report by Chartwells, a supplier to 4500 school cafeterias, found that flour-based items like bread, tortillas, pizza and pasta continue to be popular options. And let’s not forget the cookies, brownies and cakes that populate many menus.

Developing healthier alternatives to white flour that taste the same to finicky school children is a challenge that only the private sector and their R&D programs can handle. One promising area I’ve come across is substituting the flour used to make breads, pizza crusts, spaghetti, etc. with high-amylose wheat (HAW). This is wheat that contains higher levels of resistant starch than standard wheat which delivers augmented levels of fiber without the whole grain nutty taste or the off-white appearance. HAW has great potential to increase fiber consumption among children.

Resistant starches are now available from companies such as Bay State Milling, ADM and Ingredion. Bay State’s testing of its HealthSense flour found that a trained sensory panel couldn’t tell the difference between pasta made from their HAW flour and traditional pasta. Incorporating this type of product into school foods would go a long way in nutritionally improving the laundry list of grain-based products that are served most often in schools.

A Great Byproduct: Less Food Waste

With improved taste and appearance comes less food waste. According to a study by Penn State, plate waste in United States cafeterias ranges from 27% to 53% of the food served. A huge portion of school lunches end up in the trash, producing 530,000 tons of food waste yearly, according to a study done by K-12 Dive. American school cafeterias waste more food than those in other developed countries like Sweden (23%), Italy (20% - 29%) and Spain (30%).

Our kids need healthier mac & cheese, buns, pizza and spaghetti that taste great. Food companies would be wise to innovate and adopt these high-fiber ingredients into their grain-based offerings. Delivering products that satisfy both the tastes and health needs of Gen Alphas and Gen Zs during their formative school years would create a tremendous opportunity to add them to the fold for food companies, and to reduce food waste. As smart marketers, why would they pass this up?