That cheeseburger or pizza students select from a school lunch line may not be what it appears.

Tooele School District food service staff are getting creative in planning menus that meet federal guidelines while getting the equally tough stamp of approval from students.

The moves come partly in response to criticism that school lunches aren't nutritious enough. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C, based non-profit research organization, gave Utah an "F" on its 2007 state school nutrition report card. The grade was largely due to the state's reliance on USDA guidelines, which the research group views as outdated.

"It is not fair to lump all the schools into one and judge them together," Roberts said. "[In the Tooele County School District] we are trying to follow the most recent guidelines published by the USDA, and in some cases we exceed them."

The research group's report card also factors in policies on vending machine sales and school store food sales. While the state has not adopted guidelines on these, the Tooele County School District has policies regulating both areas.

"We try hard to make our menus both pleasing to students' tastes and full of healthy choices," said Elva Roberts, food service department supervisor for the Tooele County School District.

Roberts and her staff use computerized menu planning and disguised food to meet federal nutrition guidelines that require that school lunches have no more than 30 percent total fat, no more than 10 percent saturated fat, and provide one-third of the daily requirements for protein, Vitamin A and C, iron, calcium and total calories.

While there are no standards for cholesterol, sodium, and fiber, the federal School Meals Initiative encourages the overall reduction of cholesterol and sodium, and an increase in fiber in school meals.

To accomplish these requirements, the food served may not be what it appears. In Tooele County schools, a cheeseburger is made with ground beef that is less than 2 percent fat, low-fat cheese, and a white, whole-grain bun. Most of the crumbled, pre-cooked ground meat used in cooking is ground turkey. Turkey also appears in dishes as pastrami and ham.

The Domino's pizza at school is different than the Domino's pizza you get at home -- though both are trademarked by the company. The school version is made with low-fat cheese and turkey pepperoni, and the district is switching to a crust made with white, whole-grain flour.

The district is also trying to hold the line on fat and caloric content in the face of a growing epidemic of childhood obesity. Still, those numbers vary widely based on student meal choices.

For example, a menu now might include a slice of pepperoni pizza, salad with dressing, a banana and milk -- for 808 total calories with 28.7 grams of fat. That fat content would represent 32 percent of the total calories, just slightly above the 30 percent guideline, though the guidelines are based on a weekly average.

Or, perhaps on the same day, a student could choose spaghetti with meat sauce, frozen peas, a banana and milk -- for a total of 488 calories and 6.17 grams, or 11.2 percent total fat.

"To reduce total calories and fat we are serving more fresh fruit, substituting low fat turkey and hamburger, and eliminating fried foods," Roberts said.

Estimated caloric requirements, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, vary according to age, gender and level of physical activity -- ranging from 1,600 calories for a sedentary, 9-year-old female to 3,200 for an active, 18-year-old male.

Menus for elementary and secondary schools are varied to meet the needs of the different age groups, Roberts said.

"We try to keep up with current food trends while staying nutritious," Roberts said. "We are looking at adding oriental salads, chicken wraps, and rice bowls with orange, kung pao, and teriyaki chicken."

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com