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School may be out this summer but school food is definitely in. Right now national dialogue about school meals is exceptionally loud, amplified by the fact that this Fall Congress will review and reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act—a federal law that comes up for review every 4 to 5 years and which governs the National School Lunch Program. As a result, numerous health advocates, government officials, school workers and parents are crossing their fingers while working hard to promote healthier food in the school system.
Some of the glowing items up for debate include eliminating school sold junk food and fast food all together; assessing current loopholes in the National Lunch Program that actually advance unhealthy eating; increasing school food reimbursements; updating kitchen equipment for healthier preparation; and updating a 30 year old USDA nutrition standard for foods sold in cafeterias, vending machines, school stores, and elsewhere.
Center for Science in the Public Interest nutrition policy director Margo G. Woota reports that "current nutrition standards keep some junk food out of our schools but let other junk food in through the back door. Today, doughnuts are allowed but lollipops are not. Cookies are fine, but breath mints are banned."
Many groups advocating for these changes are also encouraging healthy school food that is better for our environment and community. One group I've found at the forefront of sustainable school food policy is The Time for Lunch Campaign, a project of Slow Food USA.
They report that the current National School Lunch Program provides a meal to more than 30 million children every school day, a generation where one in four children is overweight or obese, and one in three will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime.
By advocating for "real" school food, Slow Food is requesting schools supply minimally processed food good for kids’ health, easy on the environment and purchased from nearby farmers. With the Child Nutrition Act soon approaching, their platform includes a request that Congress establish financial incentives encouraging schools to buy food from local farms. This will not only help stimulate the local economy and create jobs but also shorten the distance the food is transported, ensuring freshness and consequently more nutrient-rich food as well as less fuel.
Want to Help? Stage a Public Eat-In
The Time for Lunch campaign is encouraging individuals and groups to stage public potluck gatherings on Labor Day, Sept. 7th. If the eat-ins gain critical mass and attention, food advocates nationwide hope they will send a message to Congress that people really care about healthy sustainable food in schools.
Eat-Ins.org and Slow Food USA provide toolkits on their websites with extensive details on how to establish a successful public potluck. Some of my favorites suggestions include:
- Invite the entire community friends of friends, neighbors, local teachers and school administrators, students, local restaurants, storeowners, grocers, media companies, state and city representatives.
- Choose an accessible, public location to draw attention like outside a public school or playground.
- Register your Eat-In with Eat-In.org and Slow Food so they can help bring attention to your potluck.
- Tell everyone to bring whatever they can and any food they believe in, along with utensils and a blanket to sit on.
- Keep it fun—While you should always stay on message, you should also be careful not to get too preachy.
- Create a poster or handout materials that clearly communicate the event.
- Take interesting photos or video, and post on sites like Facebook, YouTube or Flickr.
- Make sure everyone leaves your Eat-In with a next step or a pledge.
Read more about healthy foods:
How to Go Green: Eating
Quiz: Are You An Eco-Friendly Eater?
What's the Footprint of Your Food?
How to Pack an Eco-Friendly School Lunch
Planning to organize an eat-in? Let us know by sending a comment below or emailing pgtips [at] treehugger {dot} com.
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