Smaller servings hit school cafeterias

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – New federal regulations are resulting in smaller servings in school cafeterias across the country, and some families are complaining that the new portion sizes are leaving students hungry.

Under the new guidelines children in kindergarten through fifth grade are served no more than 650 calories, middle school students are allowed 700 calories, and high school lunches are allotted no more than 850 calories.

"They're cutting back a bit on grains and grains that are served are whole grains. And the other items they're limiting to some extent are the amount of protein that's in a diet. But this is all based on science. This is not arbitrary, it's evidence-based science, so it's the way we need to go," said Becky Bessette, The Rhode Island Department of Education’s School Nutrition Specialist.

Bessette said that while the new guidelines are causing a stir around the country, it’s not having a big impact in Rhode Island because the Ocean State has been taking similar measures for a few years.

"We started working on it back in 2009. USDA has now caught up with what Rhode Island has been doing for a number of years with some additional twists so we're in the process of fine tuning the work that we do to comply with USDA, but we're already 95% the way there," said Bessette.

All schools are required to meet the nutrition standards in order to qualify for federal meal reimbursements.