School Lunch Program Politics: Food Fight #31

Trading Progress in the 3 R's for the 4 P's

After reading, Nation's schools could learn something from Chicago's early lunch trials [and errors] by Monica Eng, the following thoughts arise.

Just when adults have the chance to reenforce healthy eating, they fail to make the grade.

Instead of depending on vendors to supply 100% of the food, if school districts used a little land use sensibility, many schools could grow a lot of their own fruits and vegetables, on school property, in the community or in their county.

Out of all parties involved, educators and administrators should not expect brain cells to retain all they can unless brain cells contain all the nutrition they demand.

Not feeding children wholesome food is counter to whole learning and is counter to the notion of education which is supposed to be the engagement and integration of the entire self. Yet, instead of serving nutritious hot lunches, adults on school boards are throwing hot messes at kids. Many kids do not have the resources to bring their lunches to avoid these unhealthy meals because they depend on the free/reduced lunch program to satisfy their hunger. It would be nice if the meals also provided the nutrition to help the children stay prepared for the rest of the school day. Nutrition should be a part of the school report card, daily lesson plan and learning goals. Aren't schools supposed to help prepare students for life? What is more fundamental to life than food and how it is grown?

How can the institution of school, that is supposed to be about opening minds and helping children learn, not listen to its other stakeholders: the cafeteria workers, the parents, the children, the community? Schools are supposed to be focusing on No Child Left Behind instead they do the opposite and make a decision about food that indicates their judgment is based on No Child In Mind.

School boards that make these kinds of decisions are not dedicated to the children or to common sense – only to politics, power, prestige and profits.

Related article: ”Healthy Food Tastes Like Fresh Outdoors”