The National School Lunch Program defines “nutritious” as all of the following EXCEPT:
requirement vitamin C
requirement for zinc
requirement calcium
No more than 30% kcal from fat
The correct answer and explanation is :
The correct answer is: requirement for zinc
Explanation (Approx. 300 words):
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program established in 1946 to provide nutritious, low-cost, or free lunches to children in schools. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and aims to improve the health and nutrition of school-age children across the United States.
The USDA has established detailed nutritional guidelines that meals must meet to be considered “nutritious” under the NSLP. These guidelines are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and are designed to ensure that children receive balanced meals with the essential nutrients they need for growth, development, and academic performance.
As of the most recent standards, school lunches must meet the following key nutritional criteria:
- Calories – Meals must provide a specific calorie range depending on the age group of the children.
- Fat – No more than 30% of total calories should come from fat, and less than 10% from saturated fat.
- Vitamins and Minerals – Meals must contain one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for key nutrients such as:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Calcium
- Iron
Notably, zinc is not a required nutrient under the National School Lunch Program’s definition of “nutritious.” Although zinc is an essential mineral important for immune function and growth, it is not mandated in the NSLP meal planning guidelines. This makes the “requirement for zinc” the correct answer to the question about what is not included in the NSLP’s definition of nutritious.
By focusing on calories, limits on fat, and inclusion of key vitamins and minerals like calcium and vitamin C, the NSLP seeks to combat childhood obesity and undernutrition, while not requiring every trace nutrient such as zinc.