Number Of Calories In School Lunches

The National School Lunch Program, or NSLP, provided 31 million children with low-cost meals in 2009. Individual states control the specific requirements of school lunch programs.

Calories

Many school cafeterias sell healthy lunch options, such as the 167-calorie vegetarian chef’s salad that Tulsa Public Schools offers in elementary schools. However, other choices include items such as Canadian bacon pizza -- 424 calories.

Fat

The NSLP requires that lunches meet USDA dietary guidelines by providing no more than 30 percent of the calories from fat, with less than 10 percent from saturated fat.

Vitamins and Minerals

School lunches must provide at least one-third of the recommended dietary allowances of protein, vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and calories.

Effectiveness

State-specific and nationwide reports on school lunch programs published since 2005 in the journals of the American Dietetic Association, Environmental Research and Public Health, and Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity have found that schools are falling short of the nutrition goals set by the NSLP. Children are consuming more calories and more fattening foods, and are drinking more soft drinks at school than mandated.