BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Parish Child Nutrition Program serves 50,000 meals every day across 81 sites in the district, the program's website says.

A lot of planning goes into what ends up on students' trays. Famela Scruggs Tanner is the East Baton Rouge regional chef responsible for planning and producing daily meals for schools in the region.

"We're regulated through the USDA and the state so to make sure that we meet all components," Tanner said. "It's five components we have: our milk, we have our fruit, our vegetables, our grains, our meat and meat alternate."

Students then choose at least three of those components to meet federal USDA nutrition standards. Those requirements guide everything from the foods being served to the nutritional balance of each meal.

The EBR child nutrition program also aims to build healthy habits that stay with students long after they leave the cafeteria. 

For families weighing whether to pack a lunch or rely on the school cafeteria, the research points in one direction.

"The research tells us that school meals are healthier than packed home lunches hands down," Cathy Carmichael, a registered dietitian, said.