Potato chips, cola, and sweets, oh my!

"School lunches are pretty good and could be better - and are getting better," says Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, who points to studies showing that the fat content of school lunches has dropped significantly in recent years, and that it is scheduled to drop even further.

In addition, others say, school-lunch innovation is not an item of interest for the Bush administration, which appears to be focusing most intensely on tightening eligibility requirements for students who currently qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at school.

Real change will only come at the grassroots level, "one school at a time," says Ann Cooper, executive chef and director of wellness and nutrition at the Ross School in Easthampton, N.Y., and a self-described school-lunch reform advocate.

At individual schools there's plenty of interest in change, she insists.

"I have public-school administrators calling me all the time and asking" how to improve school meals, she says.

Ms. Cooper recalls in particular the superintendent who called her and moaned that lunch at his school that day comprised two soft pretzels and an apple - and that it was considered a complete and healthy meal according to government nutritional standards.

One school to take a stand has been Aptos Middle School in San Francisco. There, concerned parents and educators got together and decided to ban all sales of soda, chips, and candy from the school. They then focused on creating healthier and more appealing cafeteria offerings such as sushi, turkey dogs, and chili.

"We just stopped" sales of junk food, says Laura Hurley, assistant principal. "The kids weren't crazy about losing soda and chips, but they've adapted."

There were also logistics to work out, says Ms. Hurley, like finding a cost- effective way to bring in sushi from a local restaurant, but the trade-off, she adds, has been improved after-lunch behavior and concentration in classes.

Cooper has also found a proving ground for some of her ideas about reforming public-school lunch in the Bridgehampton school.

There she works as an outside contractor - the school has no kitchen facilities - providing breakfast and lunch meals that are fresh, made of organic products, and sometimes almost gourmet in quality.

Each meal costs a few cents more than last year's, which came from another public-school cafeteria, but Bridgehampton administrators say the trade-off in terms of quality has been well worth the added expense.

Of course, the students have needed some coaching in order to accept strange new dining experiences, such as scones and chicken tandoori, and not all have been converted.

"I'd rather eat normal food," scowls sixth-grader Paschelle Street, and several students laugh at the idea of zucchini as a pizza topping.

But a whole tableful of fifth- and sixth-grade boys eagerly shout: "Salad bar!" when asked what's best about this year's lunch fare, and a solemn group of second- and third-grade girls are quick to point out that their new diet is better for them and more slimming as well.

"Cauliflower, boiled fish, cottage cheese," second-grader Mikeyia Stanfield recites enthusiastically when asked what new foods she has tried at lunchtime this year.

Old habits, however, die hard.

"Broccoli is great," she says as she dips a large green spear into a pool of familiar-looking red stuff. "It's good for you - and it's great with ketchup."

Nutrition may be on the minds of parents and educators around the country, but the top five foods students reach for at lunch haven't changed:

1. Pizza

2. Chocolate chip cookies

3. Corn

4. French fries

5. Chicken nuggets

Source: American School Food Service Association

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