
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 14, 1994                   TAG: 9409150009
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By CAROLE SUGARMAN THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GUIDE POINTS WAY TO BETTER LUNCH

The Department of Agriculture recently released ``Parents' Guide for Healthy School Meals,'' a checklist for parents to guide their kids to better food choices in the cafeteria. The guide will be distributed to more than 25,000 PTA chapters across the country and is available free to individuals as well.

``You can't mandate change on the plate without involving parents,'' Ellen Haas, USDA's assistant secretary for food and consumer services, said last week. In June, the USDA announced a plan to reduce the fat content of the 4 billion lunches served annually at the nation's 92,000 schools. The proposal gives schools until 1998 to make improvements.

Here are USDA's suggestions for parents:

(1) Do lunch with the kids. Eat breakfast or lunch at school. See what the meals are like. Notice the atmosphere. If you don't like what you see, do something.

(2) Talk out of school. Make your opinions heard. Talk to other parents. Work with your PTA and school board to support healthful school meals.

(3) Discuss your principles. Go to the principal. Discuss the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. Suggest programs. Ask for cooperation. Follow through.

(4) Know what's for lunch. Get a weekly menu of school meals. Discuss nutritious choices with your kids.

(5) Team up with food-service staff. Visit the school cafeteria. Get to know the staff. Let them know you value their services ... and good daily nutrition for your child.

(6) Plant a seed. Show your kids and their friends where healthful food comes from. Help your school start an edible landscape by growing fruits, vegetables and herbs.

(7) Throw a tasting party. Volunteer to organize a classroom tasting party to introduce and promote nutritious new foods the kids may never have tried.

(8) Set up a group. Get involved. Form a parent advisory committee for school meals. Recruit enthusiastic, ``can do'' people to work with you.

(9) Serve your kids food for thought. Make sure kids appreciate how healthful breakfasts and lunches serve their minds as well as their bodies.

(10) Listen. If you listen to what your kids are learning at school about good nutrition, you can help them put their knowledge to work at home too.

Interested parents can order free copies of the parents' guide, which includes the 10 tips, a copy of the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid, a bookmark and a refrigerator magnet. Write: USDA's Team Nutrition, 3101 Park Center Dr., Room 802, Alexandria, Va. 22303.

by CNB