The Tater Terminator
Good Morning Tom, Sybil, and Jay.
Tom, August is upon us once again and, in the South, it’s back to school for those countless students hoping summer would never end…
…don’t know if they’re gonna run that Staples commercial again where the joyous father floats through the aisle past those sad-lookin’ children on a shopping cart singing, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” but they need to…
And speaking of sad realities for children going back to school, a new year brings a not-so-delightful return to school lunches as our children become reacquainted with such memorable entrees as Tater Tots, that durable American classic; Turkey Tetrazini, which most researchers have yet to figure out…
…and hot dogs & burgers as rubbery as MC Hammer’s checkbook…
But wait a minute –bad jokes aside—what if, this year, schools and communities became interested in taking a healthier, more local approach to their student lunch programs…?
What if, Sybil –given the mountain of research linking our poor diets to such childhood disorders as obesity, diabetes, Attention Deficit Disorder and other learning disabilities—there was a movement afoot to transform school lunches, where healthy food is a priority and where chicken nuggets lose out to fresh local produce…?
Well guys, there is… and the Kellogg Foundation is a big part of it…
The WK Kellogg Foundation, of course, has supported and advocated for children and their communities for almost 80 years… One of their current targets for reform is, in fact, school lunches…
In April, Kellogg surveyed adults across the country and found that most Americans believe nutrition in local school meals falls far short of what children need, and that the foods most associated with school meals – pizza, nuggets and burgers – are the same foods parents believe should be significantly reduced on school menus…
The survey also revealed that, given the crisis of childhood obesity, there is near-unanimous agreement that improving the health of American children requires communities to prioritize access to fresh produce and daily exercise…
Now this information is all well and good, Jay, but there are reasons why what these parents want has, for the most part, not happened thus far… especially in our communities…
The federal government currently only provides a few bucks to schools for subsidized lunches and most of that goes to pay for cafeteria workers and overhead, leaving little money for meal ingredients…
As a result, many schools don’t cook at all, but merely rely on reheating cheap, processed foods for their cafeteria menus…
But Tom, check this out… Here’s an example of what one innovative community is doing to combat this…
In Washington, D.C., some local chefs are collaborating with parents to take over kitchen operations on a nonprofit basis at Tyler Elementary, a school that is over 80% African American with most of its children receiving subsidized lunches…
They are replacing the prepackaged meals with food cooked from scratch and served on real plates with real silverware…
They’ve pledged to get rid of all processed foods filled with preservatives, additives, food coloring, and other chemicals, and to buy directly from local farmers, and organically when possible…
And they are getting around the money issue by putting parents to work in the cafeteria as volunteers and using the savings in labor to buy better food from local growers…
Wow… Now this is democracy in action… a community taking control of its food supply for the sake of its children…
And isn’t it time we stopped allowing institutions to feed our students whatever kind of crap they may while we sit around as parents and wonder why our children are obese, diabetic, inattentive, struggling in school, and constantly ill…?
Fortunately, Tyler Elementary is not alone; Other school communities, in CA and other states, have taken similar steps…
You can find out more about how your community can keep your children healthy and well fed by going to foodandcommunity.org…
I leave you with a very simple saying that is as timeless as it is true…
And that is: “You are, what you eat.”
Until Next Time, this is Stephanie in Love and Hope.
Dear Stephanie:
While I support the subject of your commentary, I must disagree with some its content. In my opinion and observation, childhood obesity has almost nothing to do with the school nutrition system. Lets start with the simple math; if a child eats 3 meals per day for 365 days that’s a total of 1095 meals per year. In my school district there are only 173 school days and they only serve breakfast and lunch (2 meals at 173 = 346 meals) 346 is only 32% of the total (standard possible)consumption of meals. Furthermore, most schools have healthy alternatives to the pizza/burger/nuggets. But what are the school nutritionists to do if a child’s only interaction with a vegatable is limited to the carrots and celery that comes with an order of hot wings. Also, how can the school nutrition system be at any kind of fault when there are children entering into the system (Pre-K and Kindergarden) that are already obese, have type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure or cholesterol. I do agree that there needs to be more physical activity in schools (ie: recess, phys. ed.). However, as is the case when we discuss the issues of our children, PARENTS must take responsibility for what’s happening.