Nutritional assessment of the School Lunch Program in Puerto Rico: Participants vs Non‐participants

Abstract

Extensive evaluations of the federally‐funded national school lunch program (NSLP) have been carried out on the U.S. mainland. Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the U.S. but with an ethnically diverse population is an active participant in this program but has never been included in assessment studies. Multiple 24‐hr recall questionnaires were administered to groups of participating (P) and non‐participating (NP) children in the NSLP at 3 educational levels: elementary, middl and high‐schools. Comparisons were made for children within the study as well as between comparable children in mainland studies for total intake of several macro‐ and micro‐nutrients, contribution of the lunch to the total daily intake and adherence to U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI's) including acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (AMDR's). Results show Both P and NP groups failed to reach RDA's for Vitamins A, D, E and calcium and exceeded levels for sodium, total fat and saturated fat Nevertheless, results suggest healthier intake of several nutrients in P vs NP which include increased Vitamin B12, folate, iron, zinc as well as less trans‐fatty acids. These findings parallel overall results from mainland reports. The unique feature of this study is that it is the first assessment of the NSLP in a completely Hispanic population. Supported by USDA, NRI Grant # 2003‐35200‐13590.

Interventions and policies aimed at improving nutrition in Small Island Developing States: a rapid review

“…School nutrition policies; school lunch programmes; offering fortified snacks; healthier foods on supermarket shelves ( 23 , 27 – 30 )…”