|
Schools
could offer better meals
Nov. 13, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
I
dream of a model school lunch program.
In it, schools are a safe haven where
– like cigarettes – junk foods
are banished from the premises. Teachers
and school administrators talk up the
importance of eating well as a part of a
message to kids to respect and care for
their bodies.
School meals are a model for kids to
emulate. The education extends from the
cafeteria to the classroom, where
nutrition education is part of the
curriculum.
The kids are smiling. Colorful, fresh
foods are prepared with care and
presented with flair. School gardens
provide seasonal variety. And kids go
home and tell their parents about it.
A pipe dream?
Not in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside
Washington, D.C.
That’s where Penny McConnell,
award-winning director of the school
system’s food and nutrition services
department, heads a program –
serving 85,000 lunches per day –
that views the school cafeteria as a
“nutrition laboratory” and has
as its goal providing students food and
nutrition knowledge, skills and values
they will need in life.
What makes the Fairfax County program
special? Several things.
* Meals meet or exceed government
nutrition guidelines. “Our
philosophy is to be on the cutting
edge,” said McConnell. She has begun
collecting information from suppliers
about the trans fat content of the foods
she serves, even though federal
guidelines don’t yet require schools
to limit the trans fat content of meals.
The nutrient contents of the most popular
food items are posted in the cafeteria.
“You can’t give students too
much information,” said McConnell.
* Junk foods don’t compete with
nutritious foods. Fairfax County
regulations state “nothing can be
sold in competition with the school food
service program during the entire school
day.” That means vending machines
don’t operate during school hours.
Period. Soft drinks and candy are
available in high schools after school,
however. (Ideally, schools would be a
junk-free zone.)
* Kids have a say. In Fairfax County,
kids have input into school menus at
monthly taste parties, where they sample
new products and recipes and provide
feedback.
* Nutrition is taught in the classroom.
“We’ve developed our own lesson
plans,” said McConnell. “My
supervisors spend hours in the
classroom.” Her K-6 nutrition
education program emphasizes fruits and
vegetables. The curriculum includes Give
Me Five! Bingo – a takeoff on the
national 5 A Day program that promotes
consumption of more fruits and vegetables
– and cooking classes where kids go
into the cafeteria and prepare pizza and
fresh-fruit kabobs. Then there’s the
Fruit and Vegetable Derby in which kids
build and compete with race cars made out
of fresh fruits and veggies.
* Meals respect and celebrate diversity.
Fairfax County schools offer vegetarian
menu options. And foods containing pork
are flagged with a pig icon that appears
both on menus and on the serving lines to
inform students with cultural or
religious restrictions. Orange juice
fortified with calcium is available for
students who are lactose intolerant.
(Ideally, soymilk would also be offered
as an alternative to cow’s milk.)
What else would I like to see?
* School gardens. Planting and tending
fruits, vegetables, and herbs helps
instill in kids an appreciation for
wholesome foods in their natural state
and teaches a life skill.
* Menus without mock junk foods. Chicken
nuggets and sausage made to
specifications unavailable outside the
school environment just reinforces
consumption of the real artery-cloggers
in restaurants and at home.
* Federal support for the good stuff. As
it stands now, the federal government
subsidizes and distributes to schools
surplus meats and cheeses – foods
high in saturated fat. Instead, funding
should be shifted to locally grown fresh
produce.
|
