The 1997-98 recipient of the ConAgra Fellowship in Child Nutrition is publishing research on the nutritional analysis of school lunches versus lunches brought from home. Alice Jo Rainville, PhD, RD, CHE, assistant professor at Eastern Michigan University, concludes that reimbursable school lunches are lower in fat, provide more nutrients overall, and provide more food variety than lunches brought from home.
Financial awards allow individuals to engage in child nutrition research for one year.
Rainville, the first recipient of the fellowship, conducted the study, Nutritional Analysis of Reimbursable School Lunches Versus Lunches Brought from Home in Two Southeastern Michigan Elementary School Districts. Dr. Rainville s findings confirm what we suspected about school lunches, says Phyllis Griffith, president of the American School Food Service Association. They contribute to children s health by providing recommended nutrients, lower fat content and greater variety. Trained observers recorded contents and amounts eaten for 570 lunches of 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders. RSL provided more protein, fiber, vitamins A, D, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, calcium, iron and zinc.