Soy vey: Veggie push for schools

By KATHLEEN LUCADAMO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, May 4th, 2004

Goodbye, Sloppy Joes. Hello, tofu tacos?

If state lawmakers have their way, vegetarian dishes like meatless meatloaf could replace baloney sandwiches on the school lunch menu.

"The No. 1 health problem is obesity," said Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn). "I haven't found too many vegetarians who are obese."

Ortiz and Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) introduced a resolution that asks schools to serve veggie-friendly dishes and healthy snacks - every day. The measure was approved in Albany last week.

"No one will be forced to serve or eat these meals but vegetarian meals are usually lower in fat and calories," Ortiz noted.

The idea is to keep legume-loving students from having to brown-bag it or resign themselves to a life of grilled cheese sandwiches.

But salt-craving, French fry-happy children might not bite, according to food expert Antonio Demas. "Even if they put out the most nutritious food in the world, the kids aren't going to touch them unless they understand the effect that food has on their body," Demas said.

Thomas Pardue, a sixth-grader at Intermediate School 119 in Forest Hills , Queens , has eyed vegetable burgers in the cafeteria, and even tried one - once. "No one picks them up," the 12-year-old said. "Sometimes kids just eat the cookies and throw out the rest of lunch."

As for tofu, Thomas is far less open-minded. "What's that?" he screeched.

"They should offer healthy foods. I don't know if it has to necessarily be vegetarian," said his mom, Donna Pardue.

Healthy, schmelthy. If it comes in a steaming cafeteria tin, students get squeamish, said Liz Morano, who sends her three children, ages 7 to 10 , to Public School 1 in Tottenville, on Staten Island . "My kids don't like cafeteria food with meat in it. I can't imagine they'll like it without meat," Morano said.

Education Department chefs will work on making meals more appealing by serving good-for-you food in individually wrapped packages - sort of like a healthy Happy Meal, said the food services chief, Martin Oestreicher. "There has to be a way of selling it to kids," Oestreicher said. "If they try it, hopefully they'll like it."

Currently most meat-free meals in city schools involve cheese or peanut butter and jelly, he said, but all lunches include fruits and vegetables daily. Junk food was banned from vending machines in September.

"If there was more junk food in schools, kids would eat that and not eat lunch," Thomas said.

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