There have been a few studies done on student nutrition and school lunches, and the results may be surprising. Those of us who have not been in school recently and do not have children currently in school have probably been under the impression that nutritious meals are being served in cafeterias every day. In 1946 President Harry Truman founded the National School Lunch Program to give students a nutritional "head start" during the prime growing years of their lives. Although this program was implemented with good intentions, it has become time to rethink the types of nutrition our children are getting from school lunches. The standards for nutrition, which make no effort to limit fat, calories or sodium in the meals, have not been updated in more than thirty years.
School lunch menus today are filled with a preponderance of processed food, junk food and produce covered in pesticide. And if that isn’t enough, all of this gets washed down with sugary sweetened soda or soft drinks.
These modern "nutritional" school lunches are being blamed for a rise in allergies, asthma, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) and even certain types of cancer.
We don’t need to get into the reasons why this shift from healthy nutritional food has digressed to processed unhealthy food. It is mainly because of cost effectiveness, but other factors apply as well. What we do want to do is examine ways to get healthier foods into your local school cafeterias. This goal has been defined as a priority for President Obama, who allocated $1 billion in his 2010 budget proposal, which includes child nutrition programs. Many ideas have been discussed, and one of these ideas is called the Farm to School project.
Farm to School projects rely on dedicated farmers who can supply fresh locally grown foods to school lunch services around the country. Although in its infancy, this program gets highly nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables onto school lunch menus, replacing their frozen equivalents. Not only does it benefit the nutritious requirements of the students, but by purchasing local produce, it also benefits the farmers and growers.
Obviously, not every farmer qualifies, as each supplier must be evaluated for a good fit to the program, as well as a positive and sustainable value for both sides. But the movement is growing, so people can expect more participation from both farmers and schools in the coming years.
If you are a farmer or a grower, or know someone who is, research where to contact regional lead agencies about getting involved in the Farm to School programs across the country.
Because Action speaks louder than words, lets give our kids the healthy nutrition they deserve at school lunch time. That’s what Farm to School programs are all about.
