What are the calorie and fat requirements for each meal? How do these requirements have unintended negative consequences?
A school district must supply at each lunch 664 calories for a child in grades K-6 and 825 calories for a child in grades 7-12. These seemingly high calorie requirements, which were set before we became a nation of constant snackers, represent 1/3 of a child’s RDA for calories. No meal may have more than 30% calories from fat or 10% from saturated fat. School districts are often challenged by the need to supply a relatively high number of calories without tipping over the fat limit and, as a result, often offer low fat but sugary foods.
