It's time for lunch -- school lunch, that is

Thirty million children eat school lunch every day. A pretty big captive audience, and plenty of healthy-food advocates want to see some changes in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

So what do food people do when they want to make a statement? They do it with food, naturally. Slow Food USA has organized "Time for Lunch," a campaign to draw attention to school food. Around the country, almost 270 pot luck "eat-ins" are planned on Sept. 7, in schools, community gardens, parks, homes and other spots. One goal is to get 20,000 people to sign a petition to the federal government asking for changes in the school food programs.

“We want to tell the story of America coming together to demand food that’s good for their kids,” said Slow Food’s president, Josh Viertel.

For Viertel and others, that means more fresh fruits and vegetables and more federal money for schools to buy food -- many child nutrition advocates would like to see $1 a day per child more -- reimbursements are now less than $3 for each free lunch a cafeteria serves.

One of the Los Angeles events will be at 4 p.m. at Fancifull Fine Food and Baskets, on Melrose Avenue near Larchmont. Computers will be available for people to sign the Slow Food petition, and there will be cooking demonstrations for children by Homegirl Cafe. People are asked to bring a dish to share.

Other eat-ins are planned in Elysian Park, Culver City, Highland Park and elsewhere around L.A.

Many educators now see the cafeteria as a part of a child’s learning, and food services officials are listening to students’ opinions about food they’re served, said Matt Sharp of California Food Policy Advocates. And decision-makers are tying what kids eat at school to their long-term health and to the costs of treating conditions associated with obesity, including high blood pressure and diabetes.

“The huge increase in obesity got attention, scared policymakers, government health officials, nutritionists and budget people and understandably, and correctly, the quality of what kids were eating became a huge issue over the last seven years,” said Jim Weill, president of the Washington-based Food Research and Action Center.

“The deal is pay now or pay later,” said Susan Rubin, founder of the advocacy group Better School Food.

Expanding the school breakfast program is a priority for many. Starting the school day hungry, experts say, affects children’s ability to behave and to learn. About 15% of schools that offer lunch don’t offer breakfast (1,200 schools in California, according to California Food Policy Advocates), but even in schools that have breakfast, many children would rather play or don’t get to school early enough to eat.

School food comes under the Child Nutrition Act, which is up for reauthorization every five years, and this is one of them. The legislation also covers summer and after-school food programs; food served at many day care facilities for children and adults; and WIC, the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children, which provided food to more than 8 million people in 2007.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Daniel Pankau]

I hope those white trays are not expanded polystyrene!

[Yes, Seriously.]

Okay, "Seriously," even if your point of view is "don't have kids if you can't afford to feed them," what do you propose the state do with the children who come to school hungry? Whether you consider the parents irresponsible or just down on their luck, those children are not at fault and should not go hungry, especially in a place like California, which is bountiful in resources.

Additionally, there's nothing wrong (and in my opinion, everything right) with providing healthier alternatives to the sickening options currently dolled out at most public lunch programs. When was the last time you sat down after hours of work and running around to a Smucker's Uncrustable (a fist-sized piece of white bread injected with super sweet "peanut butter and jelly") with mushy mac 'n cheese, and washed it down with purple juice? Would you feel good? Would you feel full? Doubtful.

Furthermore, young children's tastes continue to change, and they learn to enjoy certain foods. Wouldn't it be better for everyone if children grew up learning to love healthy foods, rather than pure junk? It would sure cost less in the long run...

[Priya]

Time and time again I am tired of articles like this. What is the big intention ? What is the role of the parents here? Why are not the kids taking lunch from home ?

Do not have kids if you do not intend to take care of them. Good nutrition education and effort starts at home.

[Seriously?]

Yikes! This movement wants $1 MORE spent per child. According to the National School Lunch Program Fact Sheet, the program provides meals for 30.5 million children each school day. How can the taxpayer support an additional $30.5 MILLION PER DAY? If I've done my math correctly, in a school year that lasts 180 days, that's an ADDITIONAL $5,490,000,000 PER YEAR!!!!!

Bottom line, don't have kids if you can't afford to feed them.

[Michele Coakley]

It's a trickle down effect; if kids are taught healthy eating habits at home they will choose healthy meals if the schools offer them. I don't see this as a watchdog program at all but rather finally someone taking some initiative to make changes that should have been made long ago. There doesn't have to be a smorgasbord of garbage to choose from - what is wrong with offering more fruit, vegetables and whole food items and one junk item? When did teaching moderation get thrown out the window!

[Camille Lily]

If every student is supposed to be eating a healthy diet, then what, exactly, constitutes a healthy lunch? How does the school handle students differing ideas about what tastes good and what they want to eat that day?
How is the school lunch watchdog going to get the reluctant student to eat that healthy meal? Will there be a grade at the end of school? What happens if the student flunks healthy eating?
Will the schools be allowed to chose their own menus or will every student in every school eat the same lunch each day?
Is this all just experimentation for the day in which all students are raised in school-homes like medical homes?
Is the parent, often so lauded as primary parent by legislators, really only the first "parent?" Is the school system to become the second parent and if so what happens to the first parent. Do they surrender their child to the authority of the school because that's what it seems like. The school will provide health care, nutrition care, dental and eye care, psychological and mental health testing and counseling, even future fields of employment and workforce training for students. What's left for parents to do except pay taxes and work for othe good of the community as a whole, but not as individuals with children.

[Jennie Cook]

Thanks for helping us spread the word. Here's a link with more information to the Elysian Park Eat - In.
http://partytips.wordpress.com/eat-in-the-potluck/
Come, Eat, build community and be a part of the delicious revolution!
Jennie Cook