Schools are rolling out menu changes to meet the new USDA regulations for added sugars across the US this school year, which means tighter sugar restrictions on favorite foods like flavored milk, breakfast cereal, and yogurt. School nutrition directors have been working with their teams and suppliers to ensure their meal programs are compliant. New England Dairy and other school partners are stepping up to help them along.
Challenges to Lowering Added Sugar in School Meals
We polled nutrition directors in New England to learn more about actual and perceived challenges to lowering added sugar to their menus. We heard common themes around navigating product availability, labor capacity, and student acceptance of compliant menu items, especially for breakfast.
A school nutrition director from Milford, Connecticut, shared that the hardest part was finding bulk yogurt that met the sugar limits. “We had to use individual cups as those were easier to find. Once [compliant] bulk yogurt became available, it was much easier [to meet the regulations].”
Others are looking into whether their programs can add savory items at breakfast to help reduce added sugar overall.
Another school nutrition director from New Hampshire shared “We’ve gradually started updating our menus. [My] milk supplier has already adjusted products, and the cereal and yogurt companies have made changes. Next steps include adding vegetables with dip, egg bites, and breakfast sandwiches to provide more variety and healthy options.”
Smart Swaps: Easy Shifts with Big Impacts
Over the past year, Amanda Aldred RD, SNS, Senior Manager of Youth Wellness: School Nutrition for New England Dairy, has worked with a national team to develop 25 Smart Swaps recipes and supporting resources, including training videos and sample menus, for schools to address the challenges noted above.
“Schools are looking for ideas to lower added sugar in their menus to meet the new limits, and it’s important that there are a range of solution options and support to meet schools where they are at,” says Amanda about the Smart Swaps resources.
Smart Swaps offers new recipe ideas for breakfast and lunch that cut added sugars and keep the flavor like these recipes that present familiar foods in new ways:
Apple Nachos: Another simple no-cook, quick to portion recipe that turns simple apple slices up a few notches with reduced sugar vanilla yogurt and whole grain granola.
Frozen Yogurt Bark: A simple, no-cook recipe made with plain or lightly sweetened yogurt, fruit, and granola. It has less added sugar than traditional breakfast pastries and provides fiber, protein, and calcium.
Breakfast Mac & Cheese: An easy to prepare and serve recipe is a unique breakfast idea. This recipe features 12 grams of protein and a low sodium and fat profile.
DIY Flavored Milk: Keeping Milk on the Menu
One strategy schools may consider to meet the new requirements is to remove flavored milk. According to Amanda Aldred, “This can be problematic because we know that milk consumption decreases when flavored milk is removed. Students then miss out on the nutrients milk provides and schools may see increased waste.” DIY flavored milk is a creative way to keep milk on the menu and still meet added sugar guidelines.
New England Dairy offers standardized flavored milk recipes for use at schools made with fat-free and low-fat milk, flavor extracts, and syrups with 10 grams of sugar or less per serving. Recipes include chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and maple flavors, and feature hot and cold options. The 1% maple milk recipe was developed for schools participating in Harvest of the Month in Vermont and New Hampshire to connect local foods to school menus.
These easy-to-make recipes help keep flavored milk a highlight on school menus.
Moving Forward with Smart Swaps and Flavored Milk
School nutrition directors are already paving the way, showing that creative solutions can help to meet the added sugar USDA guidelines and keep meals delicious.
By using Smart Swaps and DIY flavored milk recipes, school nutrition directors can feel confident in their transition to the new guidelines.
Try Smart Swaps in your district or explore new DIY flavored milk recipes from New England Dairy.
