LAUSD NEARS LUNCH GOAL DISTRICT'S HEALTHY EATING CAMPAIGN ONE OF STATE'S BEST.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders and Harrison Sheppard Staff Writers

A state survey of public school meals released Friday showed the Los Angeles Unified School District was close to meeting tough federal guidelines for fat content - encouraging news for the district's healthy-eating campaign.

Federal guidelines call for school lunches to have no more than 30 percent of calories from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat. The LAUSD met the fat content standard, with 28.7 percent, but fell short of the saturated fat goal, with 10.5 percent.

``It's good news that we are ranking near the top, but we need to do a better job of having more nutritious lunches,'' said school board trustee Marlene Canter, who has spearheaded the LAUSD's nutrition drive.

The LAUSD outperformed many other school districts in the state. For example, the survey found Glendale Unified School District lunches had 38.8 percent fat content and 12.5 percent saturated fat.

Statewide, only half the districts surveyed met the 30 percent fat content guideline.

``For many of our students a school lunch is the only healthy meal of the day,'' said Jack O'Connell, the state superintendent of schools. ``This survey shows us that while most California schools are doing a good job in providing healthy meals, we can do better.''

The state survey follows a British study this week that found a one-year campaign to discourage consumption of both sweetened and diet soft drinks led to a decrease in the percentage of elementary school children who were overweight or obese.

LAUSD officials are optimistic that their recent ban on soda sales, implemented districtwide this year, will lead to similar results.

In fact, Monroe High School in North Hills, which has banned soda sales for more than a year as part of a pilot program, has reported significant improvements in student behavior since the soda ban took effect.

Lisa Jones, grant coordinator at Monroe for Linking Education Activity and Food, a program that encourages students to eat healthier foods, said the school has had a 74 percent decrease in fights and a 24 percent decrease overall in violations that lead to suspension.

``We also noticed an almost 50 percent increase in students actually eating a healthy lunch,'' Jones said. ``Teachers are reporting that students' overall behavior in the classroom is more focused.''

And while many critics of the ban thought beverage revenue would plummet, Jones said revenues were higher now selling only juices and other healthy alternatives.

Monroe students said the key to the program's success has been that the school actively sought out the student's input. Students got to sample the healthy snacks and select the ones they liked, and recently got a salad bar they lobbied for.

``I know I've lost weight after they took away the sodas and junk food,'' said Zairah Molina, 18, of North Hills. ``You're in school most of the day, and when I go home, my mom's very healthy.''

But Jose Agular, 15, of North Hills says he eats healthy at home, plays football and works out and would like to see sodas back at school.

``The juices are good, but they're not a substitute for soda,'' he grumbled.

For more information on the state study, including a district-by-district breakdown of nutrition, go to the state Department of Education Web site at www.cde.ca.gov.

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) James Monroe student Chrissy Cervera sells water, juice and other healthy snacks at the student store. No sodas have been sold on the campus for the last year, and administrators have noticed a positive difference.

(2) Student Bernice Arenas, right, makes a sale to George Lopez at the student cart at Monroe High School. Healthy-eating goals have been set.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer