What’s in Your Child’s Lunchbox?

Does your child’s lunchbox meet nutritional standards? About 40% of American elementary school children bring parent-prepared meals to class. But many actually get a failing grade when it comes to meeting federal guidelines for good nutrition.

Sandwiches were a feature of nearly 6 in 10 lunches. But while packaged snacks like chips, pretzels, or popcorn were found in about 4 in 10 meals, only about a third contained fruit. In fact, desserts were almost as common as fruit while sugar-sweetened drinks found in about 1/4 of lunches were almost as common as water.

In the end only about a quarter of lunches met 3 out of 5 National School Lunch Program standards. And with snack content even worse the findings suggest that parents may need to ratchet up the nutritional quality of the lunches they prepare.