Pittsburgh-based Kraft Heinz, makers of the Lunchables packaged meals, announced yesterday that they would no longer serve the meal kits it created for US schools, The Associated Press reports.
The company introduced two packaged meals (pizza and turkey, cheese, and crackers) for the 2023-24 school year. Based on National Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program requirements, the company noted that the meals were enriched with protein and contained reduced levels of saturated fat and sodium.
But research by Consumer Reports said the school-approved Lunchables contained more sodium than the varieties sold in stores. The organization also reported that commercially available Lunchables had higher lead levels than ready-made meals from several other companies. The school-approved kits, it was discovered, had “relatively high levels of lead, cadmium and sodium,” USA Today quoted Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, as saying.
“Last year, we brought two NSLP-compliant Lunchables options to schools that had increased protein,” the AP quoted a statement from the company as saying. “While many school administrators were excited to have these options, the demand did not meet our targets. This happens occasionally across our broad portfolio, especially as we explore new sales channels. Lunchables products are not available in schools this year, and we hope to revisit at a future date.”
Other lunch news
Students at Oak Forest High School in Illinois say they’re paying higher prices for lunch, reports Kyle Novak in the school’s student newspaper.
“I spend about $10 on lunch every day, so in just two weeks, I have to refill my account,” Kyle quotes one student as saying. “Three dollars for coffee or two dollars for a hash brown is pretty crazy.”
And if you want sweets, you’ll pay even more: Donuts cost over $4, Kyle reported, contributing to “the rising cost of lunch prices.”
Nationwide data from the School Nutrition Association for the 2023-24 school year reflect a small increase in the median charge for school lunch paid by students who pay full price for reimbursable meals at schools that do not offer free lunch to all students. The median per-meal charge increased from $3.00 in 2022-23 to $3.05 in 2023-24. Data are yet to be made available for the current school year.
“While the quality of the food might not be exceptional, it’s better than what was offered in middle school,” Kyle wrote.
That’s more than anyone can say about food products and even brick-and-mortar restaurants being launched by individuals whose only qualification is that they are social media influencers, reports Nairie De Gregory in the student newspaper at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Influencers have created PRIME, Lunchly, and BeHappy snacks, Nairie tells us in an opinion piece titled “Influencers need to stop feeding the masses.” What is Lunchly? “A moldy Lunchable dupe,” she says. “Yep, the KSI, Logan Paul, and Mr Beast creation of Lunchly is somehow worse than a Lunchable.”
Of course, restaurants and food products tend to fluctuate, given the marketplace’s demands and product quality, even if they’re promoted by someone famous.
“Influencers know that if they put their brand on a product (no matter the quality), people are going to buy them, and it works,” Nairie writes. “So respect them for exploiting that side of people because it is a smart business move. But also, please just stop trying to feed the world with moldy cheese.”
