Sugary school breakfasts have long been a pet peeve of mine (read: The Trouble With School Breakfast). It never made sense to me: If there are limits to things like sodium, saturated fat, and calories in school food, why are there no standards set for added sugar? Why is my child able to walk through the line and pick up a breakfast consisting of (true story) chocolate milk, sweetened cereal, sweetened yogurt, apple juice, and graham crackers?
So I was thrilled to see someone find out. Bettina Siegel of the blog The Lunch Tray investigated the topic for a recent piece on Civil Eats called Why There Is So Much Sugar In Your Kid’s School Breakfast. What she found is enough to make any parent angry. Thanks to loopholes, tight budgets, and a regulation that had good intentions but is backfiring instead, it’s common for sugar levels of school meals to be more than double what’s recommended for the general public. In fact, according to the piece, “it’s entirely possible for sugar to account for a substantial portion of the total allowed calories”.
I recently added up the sugar content of the school breakfast my second grader was having one morning (he eats school breakfast once a week while I help out for our Fruit Ninja program). His breakfast topped 30 grams of sugar. That’s more than seven teaspoons of added sugar–the maximum he should be getting FOR THE WHOLE DAY (read What A Day’s Worth Of Sugar For Kids Really Looks Like).
In the latest episode of The Happy Bite podcast, Dina Rose and I interviewed Bettina about the topic (she’s also our very first podcast guest!). We chatted about some of her most surprising findings, and we also asked her what parents could do if they were upset about sugary school breakfasts. Tune in to the episode here or subscribe on iTunes.
- Read Bettina’s piece: Why There Is So Much Sugar In Your Kid’s School Breakfast
- Listen to The Happy Bite podcast episode: Sugary School Breakfasts
- Learn more about the Fruit Ninja program: Fruit Ninjas: A Simple School Wellness Program
Hi! I'm Sally, a dietitian-mom.
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Sandra says
Why so much sugar?, sure, but why are children of affluent families eating breakfast at school? Must we babysit and feed the children of the nanny state? Sounds like it’s past due time to curb the rampant waste in all this overwrought school nutrition complaining. Let’s offer breakfast to the needy and have them show up before school begins to eat their meal in peace. Let’s not go overboard with flavorings but let’s also serve food these needy kids will eat. Trendy food scraped into the trash does no one any good. Everyone thinks they are an expert at knowing how to manage school cafeterias but they only prove the old adage — too many cooks spoil the broth. If you disapprove of the school meal simply forbid your child to take part. That’s your prerogative but all the meddling and scolding and histrionics, we don’t have to indulge any of that elitist nonsense. That should be our right.
Sally says
Sandra–Only giving breakfast to children from certain economic levels would single out those children, which can create a stigma and embarrass children (and their parents). For instance, when paperwork is needed to apply for free/reduced school meals, some parents are too proud (or in some cases, too disorganized) to complete the paperwork, so a portion of those kids aren’t able to take advantage of the program. Making these meals universal means kids who need them are getting them. Universal breakfast also helps children who may not have time to eat at home. Children who eat breakfast perform better academically, which benefits the school as well. But regardless of need, ALL children deserve food that is nourishing and healthy. A school breakfast that has more than an entire day’s worth of sugar will not help a child focus, learn, and perform in the way they’re expected to in school. I am not advocating for fancy and “trendy” (as you say) foods at breakfast. But meals with less sugar–such as lower-sugar cereals and whole fruit instead of juice–would be a good place to start.
Anna says
Hmm. . I can see that argument, but even if offering free breakfast to all provides that benefit (and I have cousins who wouldn’t have eaten at all if they weren’t fed at school, so I really to get it), I would question whether that benefit outweighs the harm done by having such a large number of children who could be eating at home with their own families instead spend that extra time at school, eating institutional food in an institutional setting. At least I think that cost-benefit question should be asked. Obviously you’re right that even so, no kids should be fed such sugary food, but isn’t that the problem with institutional food? It’s nearly impossible to make it palatable without making it horribly unhealthy.
Sally says
Anna–I agree that it would be nice for kids to eat at home if their families have the means and the time, but I think there’s a pretty widespread need for care before (and after) school with parents working, so I’m guessing the extra time at school is a necessity for many families. As for institutional food, there are certainly lots of institutions proving that food can be made in large quantities and be healthy and delicious. It may cost a bit more or require some outside-the-box thinking, but it can be done. Simply choosing lower-sugar cereals or swapping out juice for whole fruit would go a long way.
Shelly says
This discussion is a little uncomfortable but it does make you think. If we have been feeding all kids free breakfast at school and now we find out it isn’t working maybe we should discontinue the program and do something else that might work. Why keep flogging a failed program? Even if we get rid of sugar then it will have unacceptably low levels of whole grain, we’ll fix that and then it will be gluten, we’ll fix that and it will be some other complaint. Better just to have parents get up in the morning an fix breakfast for their own kids then everyone gets it right according to their own beliefs.
Heather Mason @NuttyNutrition says
awesome that you are investigating this!! I always cringe when my patients tell me they eat fruit loops and french toast sticks at school…
Sally says
Thanks Heather! I can’t take credit for investigating it–that’s all Bettina from The Lunch Tray. I just sit around and complain about it. 😉