With the implementation of the new school meals rules, some students and parents are looking for more lunch. One of the changes to the rules is a calorie limit to breakfasts and lunches, in order to help combat childhood obesity. Ever since the National School Lunch Program began, a major goal was to reduce hunger, making sure that kids had enough to eat. This goal meant that there were minimum calorie levels for school meals, but there were no upper calorie limits. With the recent rise in childhood obesity, a calorie maximum was added, based on the age of the children being served. The calorie limit for lunches went into effect the beginning of this school year, while calorie limits for breakfast will be implemented next school year. This means that lunches must fit in a range, averaged over a week. The calorie ranges mean that school nutrition directors need to be very careful about the calorie content of all foods and beverages they serve, especially those items served often, like fluid milk that is served every day. This can put pressure on dairy processors to lower the calories, either through reducing fat or carbohydrates. I recently heard about a school that has had to reduce the availability of flavored milk to three days a week in order to bring the average calorie level of lunches below the upper limit. But that limit means that some kids, especially high school student athletes, aren’t getting enough food to fuel their growing, active bodies. So one group of students did what a lot of kids seem to do: they posted a video on YouTube. The video got coverage in USA Today, CNN and other media outlets. The coverage even prompted responses from Tom Vilsack, U.S. secretary of agriculture; Robert Post, the deputy director of the U.S. Department of  Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion ; and the School Nutrition Association. Secretary Vilsack’s statement indicates that there are about 25-50 fewer calories in the average calorie content of high school lunches this year, compared to last year. But were student athletes getting the average number of calories before the limits were put into place? When I went to school (long before the new rules were put into place!), high school student athletes were often given an extra scoop or two of food. There was no required limit to what could be given, and the cafeteria staff knew these boys and girls needed the extra energy to make it through afterschool practice. With the calorie limits in the new rule, these extra scoops aren't allowed and they might account for the loss of food some students are noticing. What do you think about the new calorie ranges? Have you heard from your schools that they are looking for ways to lower the calorie content of meals and of individual foods?