Milk is the top school food, survey finds

Market research firm NPD Group recently looked at the source of children's lunches during the school year and found that schools are the primary provider of at-school lunches for students.

NPD’s Lunchtime Mealscape, which looks into what's offered in the way of school food and beverage choices, found that approximately 64% of lunches are school-provided, 28% are carried from home, and 8% are obtained from other sources.
 
According to the research firm, the top school-prepared foods and beverages consumed by kids ages 6 to 12 are milk, sandwiches (including burgers and hot dogs), fruit and fruit salad, pizza, chicken, French fries, tap water and cookies.

Here's NPD's list of the top 10 school-prepared foods consumed by 6- to 12 year-olds, and the percentage of children who consume them at lunch:   
 
1.    Milk, 77%
2.    Sandwiches, 44%
3.    Fruit / fruit salad, 35%
4.    Vegetables, 24%
5.    Pizza, 23%
6.    Fruit drinks, 19%
7.    Chicken, 13%
8.    French fries,    12%
9.    Tap water, 9%
10.   Cookies, 9%

-- Jerry Hirsch