Minnesota schools adjust breakfast menus to abide by new federal sugar restrictions

The questions started coming as soon as the line formed at the breakfast cart in the hallway of R.L. Stevenson Elementary School in Fridley.

“What are those?” students asked on repeat about the pile of whole-grain apple muffins — a new offering to help meet updated federal requirements limiting added sugar in school meals.

The new sugar restrictions, aimed at certain breakfast items like yogurt, cereal and flavored milk, went into effect in July, prompting many Minnesota schools to revise menus for breakfast, which is free for all students. The new rules are part of the initial phase of regulations that will, beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, limit sodium in school meals and limit added sugars to less than 10% of all weekly calories in school meals.

Those new standards were announced in spring 2024, before President Donald Trump took office and appointed Robert F. Kennedy as secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has called for the removal of ultra-processed foods and artificial dyes from school meals as part of his plans to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Research shows that school meals are the most nutritious food source for American schoolchildren and that students who eat school lunch are more likely to consume milk, fruits and vegetables at lunch than students who eat a meal from home.

“School meals have changed dramatically over the last 20 years,” said Renee Arbogast, the nutritional services director for Fridley Public Schools. “We’re making a lot of food from scratch because we are so focused on making sure that our students have access to healthy, nutritious meals to help them be supported in the classroom.”

Selling students on scratch-made items, like the apple muffins, can sometimes take a little convincing, especially if they’re accustomed to a brand-name sugary cereal for breakfast, Arbogast said.

“We want to feed every student and let them know that our food tastes good, just come and try it,” she said. “Our staff are the biggest advocates of healthy school meals.”

Many of the menu revamps in St. Michael-Albertville Schools this year already have a stamp of approval from students, said Glen Ritter, the district’s food service director and the president of the Minnesota School Nutrition Association.

Last spring, the district surveyed middle and high school students about their favorite foods and asked which items they’d like to see on the menus more often. As kitchen managers test new recipes, they hand out small samples during lunch and ask students to give the item a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” before following up with a survey that asks more detailed questions about taste and texture.

“Healthy eating isn’t just a while-you’re-in-school kind of a trait or behavior,” Ritter said. Providing tasty options at school can build habits and spark curiosity about healthy eating and cooking, he said. However, healthy eating habits and education must extend beyond the school grounds, he said.

Ritter invites parents to ask about school breakfast options or join their students for lunch to see that the often joked-about “mystery meat” on a tray is a thing of the past when it comes to school meals. Now, schools are sourcing fresh foods from local farms and making healthy recipes in-house, he said.

After choosing their breakfast items (with an occasional nudge to try the apple muffins), a class of Fridley third-graders headed to their desks to eat while working through math worksheets.

One boy finished his applesauce and dried cranberries before taking a tiny, skeptical lick of the muffin. His eyes lit up and he went back for more.

“Oh, that’s not so bad!” he said in between two large bites.