A Healthy School Lunch Program... for a Change!                          

by Mary DeBonis-Soccio (September 2005)

As we look around at our nation’s children—at the park, school and mall, we can’t ignore a disturbing trend: Many of them are overweight and a growing number are obese. In fact, the percentage of overweight young people has more than tripled since 1980. Among children and teens aged 6–19 years, 16 percent (over 9 million young people) are considered overweight.

Aside from being a social stigma, being overweight increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including: hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and cancer (endometrial, breast, and colon).

There are numerous causes for our children’s weight epidemic—among them are lack of physical exercise and genetic predisposition. The most obvious, though, is U.S. children’s excessive consumption of high calorie, nutritionally-lacking, processed foods. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "51 percent of children and adolescents eat less than one serving a day of fruit, and 29 percent eat less than one serving a day of vegetables that are not fried." Today’s children also drink 16 percent more carbonated soft drinks than in the late 1970’s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ironically, the school lunch program is at the “heart” of the matter for many children.

Today, more than half of all children in the U.S. consume public school lunches provided by federal programs. That equates to nearly 27 million lunches each day, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Since the program’s introduction in 1946, the NSLP has served 187 billion lunches. This federally-assisted meal program operates in nearly 100,000 public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions. School districts and independent schools voluntarily participate in the NSLP.

How do you prevent and treat weight problems and obesity in children? Here is what the American Heart Association recommends:

• Reach and maintain an appropriate body weight. It’s important to focus on small, but permanent changes in eating rather than a series of short-term changes that can't be sustained.

• Reduce caloric intake. Highly restrictive diets that forbid favorite foods are likely to fail. They should be limited to rare patients with severe complications.

• Become more active. Increased activity is common in all studies of successful weight reduction. Create an environment that fosters physical activity.

• Become involved in modifying overweight children's behavior. Parents who model healthy eating and activity can positively influence their children's health.

Healthy eating should come naturally, but unfortunately, for many children, it’s completely foreign to them. Here are some specific goals for a healthier school lunch program, as excerpted from a Charter School Program in Appleton, Wisconsin:

• Encourage students (and their parents as role models) to eat 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day. A fresh fruit and salad bar during lunchtime is a great way to encourage children to eat a variety of healthy foods.

• Provide whole grain foods, like breads, granola bars, muffins, bagels and baked snacks.

• Improve the nutritional quality of school meals by eliminating artificial coloring, flavoring and sweeteners and reducing/eliminating foods with hydrogenated fat, saturated fat, sugar and caffeine.

• Serve roasted, not fried foods.

• Encourage water drinking: add water coolers, sell bottled water and ask children to bring in water bottles to drink during class and meals.

Incorporating nutrition concepts into the students’ curriculum is also extremely important in driving the message home. Health and nutritional information needs to be brought into the classrooms. Teachers can make nutritional education fun through games and activities; assemblies can be hosted (many schools host a “movie” day for children and show them Super Size Me); and/or students can create an organic garden on the school grounds and eat the fruits of their labor. Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, CA created a one-acre garden and kitchen classroom, naming it The Edible Schoolyard. The program involves the students in every aspect of planting and harvesting the garden and preparing the fresh food.

There are many positive outcomes that came about as a result of the healthy school lunch program at Appleton, WI. These include: Increased ability for students to concentrate; increased cognitive development; ability to think more clearly, objectively and rationally; far fewer health complaints: headaches, stomach aches, malaise; reduction in hunger in mid-morning and afternoon; increased practice of good nutrition outside of school; less moodiness and more calmness in school and outside; and healthier, happier students, which equates to happier teachers and parents!

“We noticed a change in behavior from the get-go,” raved teacher Mary Bruyette, one of the catalysts for the Appleton Central program. “All teachers reported that students were able to concentrate for longer periods in class.”

You, as a parent, can make a difference. If you are interested in enhancing your child’s school lunch program, here are some basic steps you can take:

1. Talk to other parents, community leaders and teachers who share your passion. Identify a leader/spokesperson and invite others to build a support network/task force. I was lucky to find out that one of the parents at school is a nutritionist and had some great new menu ideas.

2. Next, choose a name for the program, i.e.: Healthy School Lunch Program or The School Lunch Initiative. Having a name makes the process seem more official and people will take you more seriously.

3. Set a timeframe (goal) for implementing the entire program or decide upon an initial pilot program.

4. Meet with the school’s principal or superintendent to see how agreeable he/she is to change. When I approached my daughter’s elementary school principal on the school lunch program, she begged me to help her improve it! Others may not be that enthusiastic, but parents can be a powerful catalyst for change.

5. Review the current lunch menu, research options and make recommendations. Remember to focus on the needs and limitations of the school’s foodservice system.

6. Inform and educate everyone who will be affected by the changes: students, parents, teachers, etc. Encourage everyone to try new healthy foods at home, too.

7. Publicize your efforts by getting the press involved! Send press releases to the local paper once you’ve developed your healthy new plan. Your new program should be very newsworthy!

The following resources may be helpful in your quest for a healthier school lunch program: You can visit: www.naturalovens.com and click “schools” or go to: www.supersizeme.com to download detailed “whole food” guidelines for the school lunch program.  Additionally, nutrition should be an important component in our children's education and can have a positive and lasting effect on children's attitudes and behaviors towards healthy eating.

FoodPlay, an Emmy Award-winning program, combines nutrition education and lively entertainment. Established by nutritionist Barbara Storper, MS RD, in conjunction with the NYC Board of Education, this MA-based group travels the Northeast, educating elementary, middle and high school aged children.
For details, visit: www.foodplay.com.

Additional resources include:
The Organic Consumers Association: www.organicconsumers.org;
Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine: www.healthyschoollunches.org;
The School Lunch Initiative: www.schoollunchinitiative.org;
Farm to School program: www.farmtoschool.org;
and, www.nojunkfood.org (click Products for a list of healthy snacks and drinks or Activism for action ideas).

And be sure to network with other HMN members at meetings, the national conference and/or through email for additional creative ideas and success stories. Together, we can create healthier school lunch programs for our children…for a change.

(c) Copyright Holistic Moms Network, Inc., 2005.

(Note added by Dumari:  Another resource is www.schoollunchangels.org, which offers a complete kit of information, charts, and facts that you can present to your local school board).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary DeBonis-Soccio is a stay-at-home mom, partner of Get2Creative, a small marketing company, and member of HMN. Mary and her husband, Joe, live in West Caldwell, New Jersey with their two children: Jennie (6 yrs.) and Michael (3 yrs.). Her passions include educating others on breastfeeding, vaccination choices, and health concerns, like fluoride.