School Nutritionists Prepare To Serve Healthy, Less Colorful Meals

As an estimated 240,000 students head to class in some 630 schools across the state, they might notice something missing from their favorite cafeteria foods: color. 

A new law, passed by the West Virginia Legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, bans certain artificial dyes that make foods more appealing but not necessarily healthier. 

A list of the dyes that are now banned reads like a box of crayons. There’s red numbers 3 and 40, yellow numbers 5 and 6 and blue numbers 1 and 2 – all the primary colors – even green number 3.

As of Aug. 1, none of those synthetic dyes are allowed in food that’s served in schools.  

“I think myself, as well as the other nutrition directors in the state, when we first got word of this, there was a little bit of panic in terms of the unknown,” said Justin Hogue, director of Child Nutrition for Preston County Schools.

There was no one to turn to because West Virginia is the first state in the nation to adopt the new guidelines which are part of an effort to provide more natural foods and eliminate dyes that have been linked to some behavioral problems and health concerns. 

Another issue: Food manufacturers don’t have the same restrictions until January 2027 – so there’s a gap between when schools need the dyes out and when food companies – who distribute nationwide – have to comply.

“The challenge with this has been the shor timeline to rework menus, come up with substitutions for products that aren’t available, that they can no longer purchase,” said Tony Crago, director of the Office of Child Nutrition for West Virginia. “And, you know, just to get the right products that still produces not only a nutritious meal, but one that’s appetizing and looks good.”

He oversees school food programs in all 55 counties. 

So far? He says it’s gone far more smoothly than expected. One thing that’s helping is a long time push for schools to purchase local foods through farm-to-school programs. 

“The more a county has been involved in that over the years, the more local items from scratch, items that they already offer, the less impact it’ll have,” Crago said. 

But what about bright red jellos, for example. And those colored marshmallows and cereals with all the hues of a rainbow? 

“The most common products that are affected would be certain cereals, certain chips may not be available right away, some flavored apple sauces, certain canned fruits, pop tarts, yogurts – some yogurts, not all yogurts – just certain ones may not be available right away,” Crago said. 

In Preston County, Hogue is familiar with student favorites that won’t be around right away.

“One of the top favorite meal choices is the walking taco. And unfortunately, Doritos have some of the red dye, have some of the yellow dye in it,”  Hogue said. “So until Frito-Lay is able to make that course correction, which again, could be like late fall, like early winter, for that, all we have to do is substitute a non-additive whole grain tortilla chip.”

Another favorite that’s been adapted is strawberry milk – with its popular bright pink color.

“They use just the slightest bit of beet dye, like beet juice to end up dying the color,”  Hogue said.

He promises – it doesn’t change the flavor at all. 

“Strawberry Pop Tarts don’t have the artificial dye, but the blueberry Pop Tart did. So it’s going to be more that our student students are going to be trying potentially some additional flavors,” Hogue said. “They may find that they have a new favorite flavor.” 

Some flavored applesauces may take a back seat in favor of fresh fruits. One thing that’s been particularly helpful, Hogue said, is the distributors who saw these changes coming and were prepared with a list of all the affected items.

“Once we got that list, we could start looking at the alternatives that were already available, as well as starting to have those conversations with our suppliers. ‘Hey, when are you going to meet this timeline?’” Hogue said.

Overall, both school nutritionists said, the process has been smoother and easier than expected.

“It is wildly impressive to see how many different entities are jumping very quickly to make these changes, and they’re doing that all for the same goal that we have and, you know, and that’s to feed our kids and to ensure our kids are getting healthy meals, whereas maybe they may not be able to get those elsewhere,” said Hogue.

“I’m 100% confident that the kids will be fed, well fed, nutritious meals, and that our staff in these counties are going to make this work. They’re not going to let kids go hungry. That’s just not what they do. I think they’re going to pull it off just fine,” Crago said.