legislationwatch
School Lunch

Pro

gram
A prime opportunity
to serve up improvements
by Aimee witteman
T
he United States deserves an F on
Admittedly, school lunch programs
any national report card on chil-
are just one of several areas that need
dren’s nutritional health. One out
to be addressed to reverse the current
of three of our children are overweight.
unhealthy trend, but many experts think
During the past 30 years, the rate of
that it’s one of the most critical.
obesity has quadrupled for children
Studies have shown that the
ages 6 to 11 and tripled for those ages
nutritional quality of lunches is lack-
12 to 19. As a result, it is now predicted
ing in many schools, as they mirror the
that one in three children will develop
national trend toward overly processed
diabetes in their lifetime.
foods that are low in fiber and high
Our education system has tra-
in fat and salt. The Department of
ditionally held that reading, math,
Agriculture’s School Nutrition Dietary
science and English classes form basic
Assessment, which collected data from
Farm to school programs con-
building blocks for success. But what
130 school districts across the country,
nect schools (K-12) with local
lessons are our children learning daily
determined that only 6 to 7 percent met
farms. Goals include serv-
in their school cafeteria?
all nutrition standards in the federal
government’s Dietary Guidelines for
ing healthy meals in school
Why School Lunch is Vital
Americans. Most of the meals had
cafeterias, improving child
too much fat or saturated fat or too
For many of America’s children, a school
nutrition, supporting local
few calories.
lunch is the most important meal of their and regional farmers and
day, constituting a third to half of their
nutritional intake. As childhood obesity
Lobbying for Change
educating the public about
and Type 2 diabetes skyrocket, Congress This year, Congress plans to reconsider
the links between agriculture,
is re-examining what shows up in school the Child Nutrition Act—federal legisla- health and nutrition.
lunches and exploring ways to get tion that authorizes the school lunch
healthier, locally grown foods served up program—and a grassroots effort is
to our nation’s kids. underway to improve the state of affairs
0
Westchester/Putnam Counties
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