Healthy School Food: Pay Now, Save Later

Posted by Kari Hamerschlag in Food, Pesticides on January 25, 2011 | 83 responses

New school food standards proposed last week by the Obama administration could nearly double the amount of fruits and vegetables that more than 32 million kids eat every day.

WOW!

If these standards come into force, they could set American children on a healthier eating track that could last a lifetime.  The proposed rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the newly-passed Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, could also save billions of dollars in future health care costs.

Putting this plan into action seems like a no-brainer, but its expense, which USDA estimates at  almost $7 billion over five years, is a major stumbling block.   Nearly half of that cost would go to put more fresh produce on school breakfast and lunch menus.

As we see it, $7 billion is a bargain when you consider the price of doing nothing.

The high hidden costs of the status quo

A report by the Produce for Better Health Foundation calculates that diet-related medical costs of four serious illnesses — diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke — amount to $38 billion a year. Obesity pushes the figure past the $100 billion mark.

There is substantial evidence that people whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables are far less likely to suffer from these health problems.  Yet children eat shockingly little fresh produce. According to a 2009 study by scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 1 percent of adolescents ate as many servings of fruit and vegetables as recommended by USDA dietary guidelines.

How can we pay for healthier school food?

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act has authorized increased federal spending of six cents per meal.  That would cover part of the nearly $7 billion price tag. But the USDA projects that the administration’s school food plan would cost 15 cents more per lunch and 51 cents more per breakfast, when you add up all food and labor costs.  Elementary school math tells us that we will still be short by about $6.5 billion over 5 years.

Schools can make up some of the difference by rearranging menus and increasing efficiency.  But at least half the $700 million needed annually to pay for additional fruits and vegetables should come out of the $5 billion USDA doles out yearly in direct payments to large and profitable farming operations that produce many of the commodities formulated into livestock feed and over-processed, nutrient-poor foods.

Congress will debate the wisdom of subsidies for the largest growers of corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat and rice as it considers the upcoming budget and the 2012 farm bill.  Advocates for a more rational food policy (like EWG) will press for shifting resources to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables and level the farming field for producers of sustainably-grown healthy foods.

Finding the money in California

Let’s do the numbers for one state: California. Its schools — which serve about 11 percent of school lunches nationwide — would need roughly $150 million a year to meet the proposed standards.  Just buying more fruits and vegetables would cost about $75 million. That’s equal to the subsidies that went to 200 California farming operations, mostly producing cotton, dairy and rice.  Each collected an average of about $375,000 a year –- a jaw-dropping sum.

Tough budget times call for serious fat-trimming.  Why give scarce public funds to the state’s largest farm operators when a fraction of that subsidy money could improve our kids’ diets and help fruit and vegetable growers who provide jobs and $15 billion in annual economic value?

California’s upland cotton growers raked in  $139 million in subsidies in 2008, yet generated slightly more than $100 million in sales that same year.  No investor in her right mind would take that deal.  Why do taxpayers put up with this kind of lose-lose proposition?

Short term fix: USDA should give schools more, fresher produce

The federal government can help schools in other ways.  For example, USDA should significantly increase procurement of fresh fruits and vegetables under the Section 32 program, established during the Depression to funnel cash to producers of commodities that did not qualify for agricultural subsidies — fruits, nuts, vegetables, meat and seafood.  This program provides a little more than $1 billion a year for federal food purchases to be donated to school systems, day care centers and other nutrition services.

The 2002 and 2008 farm bills required USDA to spend at least $400 million of its Section 32 funding on fruit, vegetable and nuts.  Under President Obama’s direction, the department could buy even more produce — and cut back on seafood and meat, particularly heavily processed, fatty items like chicken nuggets and fish sticks. The administration can do this without Congressional action.

The USDA should also improve the quality of fruits and vegetables purchased with Section 32 funds.  Obviously, the best way to persuade kids – and adults – to eat healthier is by offering greater choice and fresher food. Yet USDA’s Section 32 procurements are mostly frozen and canned vegetables and fruit. Soggy canned carrots just don’t compare to the fresh kind offered in salad bars that are beginning to sprout up in schools nationwide.

The 2012 farm bill can help make salad bars a reality for more school children if its authors  require the USDA Section 32 program to buy considerably more fresh produce for hard-pressed school systems.   Doing so could also provide new financial incentives to local produce farmers who receive very little direct federal support.

We’re hearing a lot about the need to cut, cut, cut.  Everyone agrees that wasteful spending must stop. But we must also make smarter investments—in programs like healthy school food that promise significant benefits and cost savings. Let’s not squander this opportunity or our children’s chances for a healthy start.

  • Ed Bruske

    Yes, it sounds all well and good. But if you’ve been reading my coverage of school food from inside the cafeteria the last year you’d know that serving more vegetables is one thing, getting kids to eat it is another. School kitchens really don’t know how to prepare palatable vegetables very well. Consequently, they mostly get thrown in the trash. Adults should not be under any illusions that this is an easy fix.

  • Jamie Rauscher

    Great post on the importance of healthy school food. But its important to keep in mind that schools don’t need to wait for legislators to pass the 2012 farm bill to make changes. Visit the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation to read in detail how three schools in New England are successfully making changes to their school food programs: Dishing Out Healthy School Meals, available at http://www.harvardpilgrim.org/foundation.

  • Laura Brooks

    While every state and county school system has differing abilities/powers to make menu decisions, this is a very strong and high-profile step in the right direction. No administration heretofore has taken such a strong stance. I am encouraged by this.
    Now if Obama will move onto addressing the issue of the Bureau of Land management’s genocide of America’s Wild Mustangs… then I might become an Obama supporter.
    Regardless – 10 fruits and vegetables a day, people! Less than 30 grams of fat, and meat isn’t your only (or best) protein source!
    Lastly, let’s all cut the fast Food. The preservatives alone are enough to argue this.

    Eat local – Eat Fresh – Eat Healthy!

  • James Stork

    Good point about the kids not eating veggies. Same thing with the adults. My wife is Philippino and she can make veggies taste good. Genuine Asian foods typically contain more vegetables and have few additives. Much more healthy than a nitricsicle.

  • Lauren Maples

    In response to Ed’s post, you’d be surprised what kids will eat when they grow it themselves. I had all 40 of the Gardening Club students try kale soup. 35/40 said they liked it and would eat it again.

    That might be a way to get more veggies into the cafeterias and get the students excited about eating them. There is so much curriculum rich learning that can happen in the garden that it is really a win, win, win situation.

  • Lizzy

    I am completely in favor of children having access to healthier food that they actually eat. I also am in favor of reassessing how we support agricultural producers in this country, and think we ought to question whether price and production supports are the right leverage point to securing the food supply. However, I do want to raise a couple of questions with respect to this article.

    Is there analysis that shows the effects of subsidy redistribution on protein and grain production? I am a huge supporter of small- and mid-sized farms (www.plovgh.com), but I recognize that part of the reason we have the subsidy structure that we do is that an entire generation of Americans experienced an era of grain and protein shortages. As much as I want all of us to get enough fruits and vegetables, I think we need to make sure we’re not picking the wrong lever yet again.

    Do we know what a shift in subsidies would do to agricultural export markets? Part of the reason the government wants corn, soy, cotton, and rice producers to stay in business is that they participate in a global market. If we weaken our export market, are there strong enough markets for other crops that could support those producers? Again, I am a wholehearted advocate of a diversified producer group in this country, but I think we need to consider the ramifications of destabilizing our commodity producers. Much though some would like to deny it, they are an integral part of our agricultural economy and oversee a huge amount of production that keeps a lot of people (over)fed.

  • Kirsten

    Oops. If my previous comment went through, I included the wrong link. Looking for a good one, but it also seems Ed has written specifically about DC schools for Grist. :)

  • Ed Bruske

    Lauren, I would not be surprised at all by what kids will eat. I’ve built a school garden, maintained an after-school garden program and I’ve been teaching kids to cook for years. I know they will try things in special situations. And that is precisely my point. Kids don’t get special attention in the cafeteria. They just get food dropped onto their tray. The adults involved can’t pat themselves on the back for improving the meal guidelines then walk away. There’s much more involved, but so far the teaching aspect of food is just not part of the norm in U.S. schools.

  • Vicki B

    I’m all for making better foods available at school but good choices start at home and parents need to model better eating habits at home before kids are going to want to choose them at school. Let’s put responsibility back on the parents to influence their children and have it supported by the schools.

  • Fiona

    Ofcourse, kids won’t eat vegetables if all you give them are raw vegetables. Look to Asian, Indian and Mediterannean cuisines to find out how to make them taste good.

  • Bari

    Valid points, all. We didn’t get into these conditions over night. These changes have already been initiated in small ways through the farm-to-school movement. Which begins with education. We have children that have never been introduced to a raw vegetable or fruit. Yes, NEVER. Of course they can’t be expected to get excited and “dive right in” to those mashed sweet potatoes on their tray! Nor can the Nutrition Services staff be expected to channel their Grandmothers and know how to prepare fresh foods from scratch when the protocol has been to “open a can, pull from the freezer, heat, serve and smile”. This will take time. Yet shorter than we realize if we get involved, support our schools and children which will ultimately support our communities! Cheers!

  • Kari Hamerschlag

    Thanks to all for your great comments. Improving school lunch is complicated– Parents have a big role, so do schools. And so do our policies. We need to begin to invest NOW so we can see improvements in the future. In response to Ed’s point about kids throwing away unappetizing vegetables, we need to make it FRESH so that it tastes better. Less than 5% of USDA procurement is FRESH. We dont need to wait for the Farm Bill to change USDA. We just need to ask our schools to ask USDA to give them more FRESH produce. Lets make it easier for schools to serve salad bars. Kids will eat fresh carrots, tasty apples,and juicy oranges. In response to Lizzy, farmers who are exporting their products dont need our subsidies. Those subsidies just drive down the prices and undercut local small farmers in developing countries. It’s not the way EWG wants to see tax payer money used. We want to support local, small-scale farmers, here and abroad. Don’t worry about US ag exports’ suffering if they cut subsidies. They are booming and will continue to do so, with or without our money.

  • Ed Bruske

    Kari, it’s not just a question of “fresh” vegetables. Here in D.C., kids this year are getting lots of wonderful, freshly cooked vegetables. They still don’t eat them. Being a parent of an 11-year-old in addition to my daily visits to the cafeteria, I can see that you don’t fully grasp the lengths that many kids will go to avoid vegetables. One worthwhile innovation might be to install salad bars in every cafeteria where kids would see vegetables closer to their raw state (maybe) and be engaged in making their own meals. But that is a big expense. It’s just not good enough to say vegetables need to be “fresh.”

  • Bettina at The Lunch Tray

    Jumping in a little late here but I have to agree with fellow school food blogger Ed Bruske. Here in Houston ISD, significant strides are being made to improve the elementary school menus, but children, particularly our 80% on free/reduced lunch, may be unfamiliar with the new, improved foods (including new vegetable side dishes like baked acorn squash or bok choy) and/or their execution (cooked in a central kitchen, reheated on site) may leave something to be desired. Accordingly, a LOT ends up in the trash. I agree with Ed that we’re going to need large-scale nutrition education in conjunction with any changes to school menus. Sigh.

  • Mona

    I agree with the first person to answer. I have eaten at school with my grandkids and have seen so much good food thrown away. It would be nice if they would eat it but most won’t. I hated school lunches and would throw all my food away and wait until I got home to eat. That was in the 50′s and 60′s and they had vegetables, etc. My children didn’t eat good when little and are grown and healthy and eat good now. Wonder what the Obama’s are getting to promote this?

  • Margaret Gomes

    This is a great move towards improving not only the health of our children but of the entire US population, as we all know that children have quite an influence on their parents … I am a raw food chef and my expertise is preparing fruits and vegetables to taste amazing … would be very happy to work with schools and teach children how important fruits and vegetables are and how to prepare them to be the highlight of the meal, not just the side dish. Please contact me if you would like me to work with you on this … Thanks!

  • Lisa Cain

    OMG! Finally, some real legislation to DO something for our children. The next generation that has been ‘labeled’ the first generation who will not outlive their parents.
    What a travesty that company’s like Monsanto and the other agricultural moguls are doing to play ‘God’ with food in spite of the scientific research that shows that genetically ‘modified’, chemicalized, processed foods are slowly killing our children…while the ‘treatment’ for their chronic problems from eating they way they do, is to pump them with ‘drugs’to then ‘treat’ the side effects from these toxic ingredients. And, to add insult to injury the Board members (from these mogul company’s along with the governmental agencies that are supposed to forewarn the public) are ‘in bed’ with one another as shareholders and committee members; while our children become obese, learning disabled and mentally disordered. So, yes please give them real whole ‘foods’ to eat!
    Finally, let the children ‘grow’ the food they are ‘now’ going to be eating, in gardens on school grounds and field trips to Community Supportive Agriculture markets and cooking in their homes for assignments in science, biology, geography etc…
    I know this is better and can be done, because I am a teacher and have seen the excitement in the eyes of students who are allowed to discover what they eat is who their bodies are.

  • Connie Williams

    Just another example of government getting involved with our personal lives. More added cost and excuse for the school systems to increase the school taxes on the already over burdened public. This is causing people on fixed incomes to loose their homes and eventually end up on welfare, but isn’t that the goal of this administration? Break down the system. WE can think for ourselves. The goal should be to entice people off of the dole, not make more forced onto it. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Education is the important factor here. In a school, that is the place to present it, but in the classroom, not the cafeteria. The way to fix this is to impress parents, and how many of these kids have them? I am talking hands on, not latch key children. Break down of the social system. Morals!!!!!!!

  • Jane Twitmyer

    Take a look at Tax Expenditures … those corporate deductions that reduce the taxes that the government collects through specific preferences.Tax Expenditures are not direct subsidies and are harder to calculate, or even know their extent as IRS info is not published.

    In the Energy Debate The Cennter for American Progress has estimated tax expenditures of $16Billion going to the fossil fuel industry.

    Might be another place to look to pay for the excellent school food changes.

  • Joan Slezak Fritz

    Sounds great. The top 1-2% of the people in this country that got the big tax break should dip into the millions that were stolen from the people during 2008-now and pay for it.

  • Joan Slezak Fritz

    I have another comment. Where do you think the American people are going to get $100 to go to your conference?

  • Janis B. Nuckolls

    I am very troubled by kids not wanting to eat vegetables even when they are prepared well. One factor that could be contributing to this is that many schools, including the one my girls go to, have no restrictions on candy in classrooms. It is well known that sweets dull the taste buds, and prevent one from being able to appreciate the subtler flavors of veggies. When we lived in New Zealand for 5 months, I was so happy about their no-candy-in-the-schools-policy. Personally, I get my kids to eat their veggies only at home, via freshly juiced fruits and veggies, including greens like kale and collards, blended and strained, and then ‘doctored’ with a fruit juice, and then at night, I just insist that they have at least 3 bites of cooked veggies, or no dessert. I really believe that when there are too many sweets, there is little hope for veggies to be appreciated.

  • Lola Vanslette

    I think its a great idea that should be implemented through the school system themselves. Getting the government involved, although unpleasant, may be necessary in order to force schools to comply. Fruits and Vegetables should be on the menu, and fresh fruit and vegetables are more likely to be chosen by the students over the canned garbage they are eating now. I have one son who refuses to eat vegetables cooked with the exception of baked potatoes, but he will eat fresh vegetables and fruits. And, with the health reform Obama is suggesting, this may be the best answer to all our health issues and our medical expenses.

  • LInda Illingworth, RD

    As a Registered Dietitian, I can assure you, children will eat vegetables. It is a process of palate training that may or may not happen at home, but can happen anywhere. It is a process or skill that can get better over time, like learning to cut with scizzors, subtraction, grammar…good nutrition does not happen overnight. We cannot give up and say “they won’t eat them”. Likewise, the current state of our school lunches and child obesity didn’t happen overnight. It was created and so can be reversed; but by attention, perseverance and a healthy attitude toward food and how it defines the future health of each child. In answer to “what the Obama’s get out of it”…ridiculous. Our healthy children will all get to pay less in health care costs for the unhealthy children who grow up to be unhealthy adults. This is not partisan rhetoric, it is science, physiology, health, and economics. Well educated children in the cafeteria will have more opportunity to “impress parents” than educators who may rarely see them. Thank you EWG for continuing to do the right thing.

  • Ignatius J Riley

    As a country our life expectancy is now going backwards. The majority of people in my state are obese. Something has to be done. Something other than more of the same. Should we just continue serving garbage food to children because some of the actual nutritious food would be wasted? I don’t see the logic in that. I certainly don’t want my tax dollars spent on Coke and Taco Bell for school lunches, nor do I want to pay for the costs of the upcoming generation who will be pre-diabetic or worse before they are 20 because they don’t know what a vegetable is.

  • Vivian Lesher

    Our children desperately need more fruits
    and veggies for their health. Why not start ASAP with removing ALL sodas, candy, and processed bags of junk like chips, from ALL schools nationwide. Then
    start offering fruit smoothies made with
    fresh fruits at the local school cafeteria, with some veggies added into
    the smoothies. They will all be clamoring for more! I have yet to find a kid that doesn’t love JAMBA juice!

  • Bozena

    If this means fruit and veggies with tons of pesticedes, .etc I do not think it will help a lot.

  • Mary B.

    What a load of nonsense. My mother was a R.N. and fed us well. But couldn’t force us kids to eat our veggies. As adults we do now eat our veggies and my siblings and myself are all healthy! Not eating a lot of veggies growing up did not affect our health in the least. I strongly believe that teaching your kids proper diet does begin at home. Teach better nutrition at school and more importantly bring back P.E. classes. Kids these days do not get enough exercise and sit in front of T.V.’s and computers way to much. They are not active and they are eating more fast food. That is why our kids have obesity problems. We do not need more government intervention and regulations! People, America CANNOT AFFORD THIS. Go back to taking responsibility for you and your childrens weight!!!

  • Karen

    Lots of helpful comments here. The subsidies stabilized our food supply years ago but for several years have been a deplorable waste of our scarce tax dollars. If courageous senators and representatives will stand strong against lobbyists and stand up for taxpayers to eliminate unneeded and absurd subsidies and tax loopholes , we would save billions. If you want better school lunches without increasing our burgeoning debt, write your Congressmen and demand they eliminate unnecessary subsidies and tax loopholes.
    As for Monsanto, their research in genetic modification of food is expressly for the purpose of eliminating the need to treat crops with chemical pesticides, making our food healthier, and also to help farmers produce not only enough food but high quality food to feed our increasing population, most of whom don’t grow their own. Without their research and work, farmers could not begin to grow enough to feed us all. Helping students grow their own vegetables and fruits at school encourages kids to eat healthier – we have started work on a community garden in our town. Starting school gardens is an even better idea. We must address childhood obesity, and getting kids to grow and eat their own veggies is a great start to solving the problem.

  • Kirk

    The problem is that the whole system is corrupted and full of conflicts of interests. The government and watchdog agencies, which are suppossed to be promoting the public´s welfare, are actually promoting their corporate paymaster´s agendas. For instance, the USDA does not care about nuitrition. It cares about making sure that agrobusiness sells a many food products as possible to schools promoting addiction and obeisity. One reason there is so much junk in school lunches is because the USDA subsidizes toxic processed food and makes it very cheap for schools. Fresh quality food, which is not subsidized, is more expensive. The “nuitritional” requirements of the USDA are also a big part of the problem since they make little sense and actually encourage poor nuitition much of the time in school lunches. Finally we need to do more than just have more fruits and vegetables. We need to get the MSG, hormones, and other toxic garbage out of the food supply. It is criminal that we are condeming a generation of innocent children to disease and death because argobuisness and the medical mafia want to increase their businesses.

  • Patty

    I am a cafeteria cook/manager. Today we had Homemade pizza. I make the dough with 20% whole wheat flour. We also offered salad, fresh cucumber slices, homemade minestrone soup (loaded with vegetables and legumes)fresh sliced oranges and bananas. The food looks great and taste great. The kids love it. Out of 400 kids, about 250 chose the fruit, 100 chose the soup and 300 chose the cucumbers. We offer some type of fresh fruit or vegetable every day plus salad every day. It does not have to cost a fortune. All it takes is someone (like me) interested in changing the program and doing some work to make it happen. I have been doing this for three years without another expensive government spending bill.

  • Patty

    ALSO, we do NOT sell chips, soda,cookies, etc.

  • Patty

    Me again, after reading some comments. Ed..I have a program..I go into the Elementary classrooms to do a 20 minute show and taste of a variety of fruits and vegetables. I said above, I am the cook/manager of a school cafeteria. We care about what the kids eat..we don’t just “drop it on their plates”.

  • Vivian Lesher

    Pesticides are definitely another important issue. Let’s get the fruits and veggies going and work on the pesticide issue separately. It would be
    great if we could have a law passed that
    all fruits and veggies served to kids in schools had to be pesticide free. However, fighting the big food interests,
    growers and chemical companies, in order to pass that sort of law, will be close to insurmountable. They only care about their bottom line, not our or our children’s health. Maybe we could stick to smoothies with ingredients from the clean 15 list!

  • Vivian Lesher

    I think we should have Patty start a nationwide school lunch program. She has the right idea! Sounds great Patty.

  • Vivian Lesher

    Also: We can’t even get the sodas out of the schools here in FL! If I’m not mistaken, I just read last week or so that the new governor has put a hold on removing sodas from the public schools here.
    (I wonder if any bottlers here supported his campaign or donated to his inaugural shindig.)

  • Karen

    This is just another socialistic “take control” of America action by this White House. i just watched a video of Jesse Jackson admitting to it. everything they do has a hidden agenda.
    in the 510 so-called food safety bill just singed, there is restrictions on growing your own fruit and vegetables…. as God forbid anyone should grow their own food and not pay a store for it. the government has the right to make you stop or arrest you for homegrown food as that might “interfere with interstate food commerce” and off course the lack of taxes paid …. i wonder what will happen to Michelle’s little White House vegetable patch? Hypocrisy anyone?

  • Laura

    I love the idea of more wholesome foods in our schools. I do have some problems though. First is that while fruits are not bad, they are not truly good either. You talk about rising obesity rate and fruit is really just sugar in a nice package. More veggies is great though. I also think frozen foods are great! Not only are most flash frozen, which helps them retain their vitamins and such, but it would allow more variety. I also hate that you are talking about lowering the meat served. While I defiantly agree….no processed foods, real meat with no fillers and additives and organic is great and there is not enough of that served. Most of the meals at our cafeteria are very high carb. What would really be a great thing for schools is to go organic. Get rid of the GMO and the nasty soy. I also think that a education in exactly what are good fruits and veggies. The ones pictured above are full of sugar. Kids pumped up on sugar usually don’t have a easy time learning.

  • Dan

    Concerning parents getting kids to eat veggies, etc. Years ago my wife learned the concept of “no thank you bites.” Our kids were required to at least take a “no thank you bite.” They became very good at eating a variety of healthy foods. Parents who say schools should take the lead on nutrition are passing the buck.
    In response to Karen’s defense of Monsanto, ie: genetic engineering research focused on reducing pesticides. One of Monsanto’s big research efforts, and profit makers, was developing Roundup resistant crops so that Roundup could be applied right over crops to kill weeds. The end result is higher Roundup sales, not less pesticide use.
    Lastly, in response to the accusations that USDA doesn’t care about kids; that they only care about ag and food industry profits. Do you forget that most of the people in USDA are parents with children? They also care about what their kids eat, but they also struggle with being squeezed between the right thing to do versus congress legislating what they can do because of lobbyists, and voters yelling we don’t want government telling us what we can or should do!

  • Laraine C Abbey

    Yes, kids do change the way they eat when they are involved in the process of growing, cooking, and the tasting what they have helped to create and have been educated to appreciate. Tasteless boiled veggies won’t cut. We can all learn from Alice Waters and the http://www.chezpanissefoundation.org how to do it. Its already been done. Food/agriculture must be integrated into the curriculum and when it does––magic happens!
    http://www.BetterFoodForBetterKids.org

  • Pat

    I agree that this is a complex problem. I taught for 40 years in New York and Mass. elementary schools. I’m glad to support the Environmental Working Group with this legislation as a start to making school food healthier.
    Connie Williams, as to sticking to education, I couldn’t teach kids falling asleep on their desks, unfocused, distracted because they hadn’t taken in the nutrition necessary for their brain cells to work properly. You can’t have well educated kids without proper nutrition.
    Mary,I am happy for you that you have the education and means to do right by your children, but you can’t speak for the parents of all children. Way too many kids have a parent, grandparent or parents who can’t or won’t give them a healthy lifestyle. Without some government intervention your way of thinking would leave too many kids with unhealthy eating habits and lifelong poor health that we all pay for.
    Mona, Your last line was mean spirited and uncalled for. It does nothing to promote your point of view. We need less of this type of speech in our country now.
    Linda Illingworth, I agree with you but don’t have the facts, as you do, to support what I think. Thanks for your input.
    Finally, I agree with Bozena, Kirk and Vivian. We need to be mindful of who is producing the food for our students and how it is produced to avoid different health problems from pesticide laden food.

  • Pat

    I also wanted to say that some school cafeterias sell the soda, candy, daily pizza and chips because the school budgets are cut so much, the cafeteria has to be a money maker for the district.
    For a while, ketchup was considered a vegetable in our district. There are people who don’t want to spend money on public education, but that is so shortsighted. Prices for everything go up for schools as well as every other part of society. If education was funded (including food) as if it was important to the future of our country, cafeterias would not have to sell junk food in order to keep from raising meal prices that would then affect all our households more.

  • Dragonfly

    That is a wonderful idea! Now can we trust the FDA and Monsanto not to turn all organic produce into toxic poison and make that the only thing available? I honestly doubt it now. Here is a new article speaking about just that: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now? @ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm

  • Charlene

    Yes, it is true that some kids will not eat their fruits or veggies, but come on people we cannot just leave it up to the government to do all of the work. Start teaching your kids at a young age to eat better, not at fast food chains for dinner. Teaching starts in the home not left up to the school or government. The one thing that I just can’t get over is that it costs more money to eat healthy than not.

  • Bruce

    Kirk is absolutely right.
    King corn.

  • Mary Snider

    Mr Stork had a great point about the veggies in other cuisines/cultures. Perhaps we could teach the school cooks how to prepare tasty foods with more vegetables in them so they are not thrown away. Re Monsanto: NEVER TRUST MONSANTO!!

  • Laura

    That’s all fine and dandy, but are the people who are growing the food the same ones that make the crap that goes on to the shelves into the packaged foods now??? Nothing is stated about raising the ORGANIC food supply, so we are right back to feeding our children poison. If the same pesticides and already contaminated soil are used by the same big business farms who have gentically altered the seeds that are being planted now, what real good are you doing? I think you are just fooling yourselves that the goverenment and big business really care about your health. What they really care about is the cheapest and most profitable way to get things done.

  • D. Binder

    Not sure anyone has mentioned this, but the farm subsidy program has always been renewed to the mega crops farms (ie corn,wheat), not the fruit and veggies farmers. Soooo, the cost of purchasing fresh vegetables and fruit has always been a barrier for low income people as well as feeding groups such as our school lunch crowds. The time has come to offer everyone the opportunity to reasonably purchase and eat US grown fruit and vegetables.

  • isa mays

    Most of the kids that I know love salad bar and fresh bread. That seems so easy. My kids say it is a No Brainer.

  • will

    Filipino dishes would suit that advocacy. Here, dishes are fvreshy prepared; both nutritious and palatable.

  • C.A. Human

    My childs school has built an organic garden about 150 feet away from the cafeteria that still severes the most processed packaged junk on this side of the planet.

    So my question is, where is this organic vegetable gardens produce going… no answer. (Run around!) Second question, are the kids eating there bounty? (More run around!) My conclusion is that we need to take charge as parents to educate our own children about the differences between processed foods and organic veggies and fruits.

  • julianna

    I am a third grade ” practical arts” teacher. We grow our own veggies, visit CSAs, and prepare food, besides other skills that have been lost over the decades. I can only echo the fact that when kids grow it, they eat it. One of my most successful recipes was ” Clean Out the Garden Soup” where we harvested what was left in the garden: kale, potatoes, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, a miscellaneous combination. No haute cuisine awards here, yet the third graders devoured it! And on the topic of salads–just yesterday we were working in a production greenhouse as guests. My students were invited to taste one of the leaves of arugula, leaf lettuce, spinach, etc. Minutes later they had to be limited to three leaves because they kept snacking. Many of them have been eating homemade soup and bread weekly since kindergarten. They are accustomed to healthy food and now choose it.

  • P.Harris-Swenson, MA, NU, IBCLC

    Laura stated “while fruits are not bad, they are not truly good either” “fruit is really just sugar in a nice package”

    Fruits are loaded with fiber (decreases constipation & slows the speed of glucose dumped into the system) and nutrients: The potassium (K)in fruits can naturally lower high blood pressure when the K Factor is higher than 4. (4 times more (K) than sodium (Na). Antioxidants from fruits can help lower the risk of cancer. The agri-businesses want us to think high fructose corn sugar(hfcs) is identical to sugar in fruit. (HFCS) has a pathway in cells that increases uric acid, resulting in more risk for gout. Without folic acid (B vitamin) in fruit we would see many more cases of spinal bifida.

    The fact that you are for lowering the processed meats (high in sodium) is smart but the “real meats” you want to retain are never fed green grass, but hormones & antibiotics & some type of cow feed, farm raised fish food, chicken food, & hog food, that don’t help make the proper ratio of omega 3 fatty acids. Would you believe that the HFCS industry is fattening us up just like the meat we eat?

    So why don’t we subsidize small organic farms (and not agri-business corn?)

  • Janet Cook

    FINALLY!!!

    This is all I can say.

    NYC Healthy Chick

  • Marian Codescu

    “If you eat an apple a day
    Keep the doctor away” !

  • TJ George

    While there is still much that is not holistic in the proposed nutritional changes, it is a start. Introducing fresh produce and fish/lean meats will only be effective if they are certified organic and wild caught/free range & grass fed. Though, I am hopeful that the acceptance of these new rules will be an opening for influencing even broader changes in eradicating our overall toxic food supply.

  • Dottie Nazarian

    Why do we have to wait for “government” to make the demands for better eating and making better choices? Where are the parents and “grown-ups” in all this……the one thing i would like government to do is take less “from” us and proceed to give it “back” to us…….less money, less regulations(which cost the farmer more), less roadblocks for our “freedom to choose.”
    Thank you from a healthy grandma of 4 and 12+ grandchildren who know how important our small farmers are!

  • Invisi Goth

    No GMO’s… because I’m sure that’s where the produce will come from….very sad and will lead to even more health problems like organ failure, fertility problems and cancer.

    If this program is to be adopted, then we miust DEMAND NON-GMO PRODUCE!

    Not Monsanto’s Frankenfoods!

  • WeeGillis

    More GMO’s, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. Is this the route to good health? Government needs to butt out. Everytime they get involved in something it ends up a mess. This is just one more attempt to exert more control over our lives.
    Anyway, does not the White House have a full-length hmirror?

  • Ann Pounds

    I totally agree with Invisi Goth!

    We need to educate everyone about GMO’s and demand “Truth in Labeling” on all our food packages.

    Stop Monsanto!!! They are going to further ruin our health while they profit.

  • Chrissie S

    Healthy food in schools doesn’t have to be so expensive. If organic gardening can be incorporated into the curriculum and schools can grow their own food, students can feed themselves, and their teachers. Most school yards are big enough to put aside a place for a garden. Then organics can be harvested and prepared as part of a class experience, and served in the cafeteria.
    If you grow it they will eat…

  • eatswellinCT

    OK folks, first it’s the idiots in our government that FORCE FED the kids all the CHEAP junk they could haul into the schools (then charged a heaping pile of taxation on us for it) and not only fattened them up for the slaughter but then force fed a curriculum to dumb em down! DO YOU REALLY FEEL the PUFFY and STUFFY Politico’s should be the ones telling us what to eat and how??? PUHLEASE lazy people take charge of feeding, cleaning and teaching your own kid! It’s the ONLY way to GET R DONE! I DON’T TRUST ANY subsidy or mandate from a politician! Can you say, “bullsh*t!”

  • Lucina

    Healthy food in schools? GREAT!awesome!marvelous!

  • Leslie Martin

    First of all, Patty for President! Or a Cabinet position dealing with national nutrition. Do the schools have herbs and spices to make the veggies (and other dishes) tasty for the kids? Kudos to any school that doesn’t serve chips, candy or pop.

  • Mompackstheirlunch

    More organic, local, CSAs are terrific! I would love to let my child eat at school and not worry about what they are eating. Next, if they would provide clean, filtered water that would be even better! I say bring it on, but only if the right people benefit, like our children and organic farmers. Hey, everyone has to have a dream. This is mine.

  • Janet Leger

    Kids who eat healthy at home will accept all these beautiful fruit and vegetables. But kids who are not familiar with this type of food will throw it away. The home needs to start requiring that the children eat well at home first.

  • zeena alrazzaz

    how can establish a small farm in amman jordan though there is a water lack

  • Ashley

    Sooo needed!!! But families need to jump on board too and not just leave it up to the goverment. It is our responsiblity to teach our kids about eating healthy food and help them make better choices.

  • Sandie Hardman

    Dittie I want to say I agree with you 100% and I think people can take more responsibility for what goes into their mouths and what comes into their kitchen.
    Grandmothers Unit!

  • fred

    we mst remember these changes do not occur in a vaccumm- monsanto’s recent win in being able to sell gmo alfalfa buts organic in danger – even though increasing fruits and veggies is great, making them nutrient dense foods is better, the studies and real life behavior change examples pile up. A fresh nutrient dense local tomato has 70% more lyposene, 30% more vitamin c and amino acids than a similar store bought tomato. more importantly the children that have a chance to eat these type of products show remarkable changes in attitudes, behavoirs and educatability.

  • lbalachander

    Every school should have this as an requirement having their own kitchen garden and our next generation will stay healthy and at the same time in the name of organic vegetables private school shouldn’t start making money in increasing the school fees etc.

  • Green Goddess

    Every step, even small ones, in the right direction needs support.

    However…
    the response-ability for making certain that our own children are fed healthy meals in school rests squarely on our shoulders. The gov has far too much interest in our lives already, and as a few of you stated, needs to give back and take less from us altogether.

    There are local programs all over the place like Farmshare that offer locally grown produce to schools. It’s a win/win for everyone, and a lot less expensive than a 7 billion dollar gov’t scheme. Ideally, if the gov wants to spend that kind of money, they ought to give it to each school and let them have the freedom to choose where the food comes from. Not only would that change the way our kids eat at school, but it would also support local businesses and farms.

    Ultimately though, it’s up to us. They’re our children. We discuss every day what’s for lunch, and if it’s completely unhealthy choices, they take a lunch from home. And now that they’re old enough to learn where their food comes from, and how it’s produced, they’re making the better choices all by themselves.

    Peace

  • Trisha

    My children were raised on fresh produce (much of it home-grown) and whole grain. My high schooler refuses to eat the garbage served in school because it has a high salt content, he can taste the chemicals, and it is made with “mystery meat.” He claims that the chicken isn’t really. College child is tickled that he is served healthy offerings and no longer requests junk food when he is home. He had picked up dreadful eating habits from the high school cafeteria.

  • Andrea

    I couldn’t agree more! Would be a miracle if this proposal gets through considering meat & dairy lobbyists but I hope we embrace such changes

  • Nancy and Mike

    We certainly agree with the purpose of the proposed changes and the sentiments expressed above; however, our personal observations reveal that a very large % of parents themselves are not eating wisely. They would not be the best role models, so help in the form of healthy school meal options is definitely needed. The school garden is a wonderful idea, but doesn’t produce much in MN or WI, etc. in the winter! Perhaps some geothermally heated greenhouses, with some backup heat sources could provide educational experiences as well as fresh, organic produce for the school menus through the colder seasons. Just some thoughts….

  • Leila Kumar

    Wonderful news! It’s about time we see some leadership on this topic. Small farms may actually thrive and help us avoid a massive food crisis (if we continue to rely on imported food and commodities). The work has just begun really. Now we need more parents to be vigilant, participate food production, home cooking, oh yeah, and make sure they aren’t serving fruit loops in the school salad bars, like I have seen in Pasadena Unified recently.

  • Joanna

    What ever happened to parent’s packing a good nutricious meal for their children? It seems to me that we have abdicated our role as parents and the government is helping us become drones instead of individuals. We are not making decisions that give up control of our lives and that of our children.

  • Kaitlyn

    Here’s one way to pay for healthy food in schools: Stop giving kids twice the amount of food that they should actually be eating!

    Another Idea: Cut out the junk food!

    Bam!! Now you have money to put healthy foods on their plates.

  • Gordon Clark

    I agree, in some respects, that the government should be taking less from us, and that we have to develop more local solutions. At the same time, I think of the untold billions that the U.S. government wastes on weapons, war and other corporate welfare, and wonder why just a little of that can’t be reallocated to feeding healthy food to our kids….

  • Leslie Kalvass

    The comment posts are thought-provoking, especially the point regarding reallocation of funds intended to destroy lives in one form or another. We need to educate society, in deed and action, that instant gratification is not the best philosophy for food consumption. The majority of us, me included at times, give up and serve a McMeal because it is acceptable after a long day (or long night). The few minutes of extra time it takes to secure healthy, nourishing food is worth the wait!

  • Terry N.

    We have school gardens in every one of our schools in the county- for that I am thankful. I just wanted to give everyone a reality check here about how much produce is grown in a school garden – only enough for the students to eat it as it is growing! There is never enough to put into the cafeteria on a regular basis. Sometimes you might get a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes or peas, but they really do eat it all in the garden. You need a farm to grow food for school food services and most schools do not have the resources or people to grow a farm. If we had more parents volunteering to help out in the garden, we might be able to grow more food or have more gardens in schools. It really does take a village, not just a school….

  • http://www.esarp.co.cc Fern Urch

    Anyway, Great post again indeed. kudos

  • Karen

    I would love to serve organic food at all of the meals I serve to 9 schools. I’d like to see you serve and organic lunch for $3.00. Don’t forget you have to pay your $20 an hour cook, who has minimal cooking skills in an oven that hasn’t been replaced in 25 years.