“Northern High School senior Mikayla Warner, left, laughs at sophomore Zac Martick as the duo, along with fellow sophomore, Taryn Casey, have lunch Friday. The group admitted they’re not really fans of all the healthy options in the lunchroom, but the school’s offering more because of new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations.” (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS — JASON PLOTKIN)

This York Daily Record article is a good treatment of the newly released U.S. Department of Agriculture standards released earlier this week.

By BILL LANDAUER, Daily Record/Sunday News

“York, PA – Zac “Attack” Martick, a 16-year-old sophomore from Northern High School, is a ham-and-cheese-on-pretzel-bread man.

“Sixteen-year-old Taryn Casey held up a pizza stick, and said it was her favorite thing on the menu.

“Ariel Forbes, 16, pointed at her macaroni and cheese. Other kids gushed about the scalloped potatoes.

“Inside the food-court area of the cafeteria, piles of lettuce sat untouched on the salad bar. Workers had heaped prepared salads on a metal serving tray.

“A new set of standards for school cafeterias will require schools like Northern to lighten up on their favorites and add to the fruits and vegetables.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture Tuesday unveiled new standards geared to make school meals more healthy. It eliminates high-fat milk, requires more whole-grain bread and pasta and more fruits and vegetables.

“Starting this school year, cafeterias around the country have three years to phase in most of the menu changes. During year one, cafeteria workers will target lunch. Breakfasts will come in later years.

“York County’s public schools are examining the rules and expect to hear from the Pennsylvania Department of Education about what they’ll need to do to comply. But most local districts say they have been working toward healthier lunches for years now.

“Dallastown Area School District, which outsourced its food services operations to a St. Louis-based company called Chartwells, said it already implemented many changes that match the proposal and referred all questions to the company’s corporate offices.

“Chartwells representatives were unavailable for comment.

“South Eastern School District also uses Chartwells. Karen Graham, director of dining services, said they’ve largely addressed the new guidelines. They might need to make some tweaks. It already has gotten rid of whole milk and has been moving toward offering more whole-grain products.

“The rub with the proposed changes is that healthier foods cost more, Graham said.

“USDA says the changes will cost roughly $3.5 billion nationwide during the next five years. The standards come with a funding increase — the federal government will be contributing about 6 cents per lunch for the cause. To continue reading this article and to see the new standards, click here.