Nutrition 101
by Molly Thacker on Aug 13 2009 Posted in Class notes
This is the kind of healthy, and yummy, school lunch many students don't have access to.
Milton Friedman said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Well, in Philadelphia schools, many students are able to get a lunch that is free, but not necessarily one that is healthy. The poor state of nutrition in school cafeterias should not only be alarming for advocates of health, but for advocates of quality, equitable education as well.
Without wholesome, nutritious food, our students are not able to perform to their academic potential. The lack of quality food in our schools has a direct impact on how well (or poorly) our youth can focus, study, learn, socialize, grow, and develop.
The issue of inadequate nutrition in schools has garnered national attention just recently, but I have seen the negative consequences for students more than once over the years.
One day, in sixth period, a student became agitated while working on a group project and began arguing with another student. By the time I crossed the room to address the situation, the student had grown increasingly more frustrated and flipped his desk on its side.
He was not trying to harm the other student, and didn’t, but it was still very atypical behavior for this particular student to be violent or confrontational in any way. I immediately took him to the side to speak to him about his behavior. After the mere inquiry of “what is going on with you?” his face lowered as he calmed himself down with a deep exhale and answered, “Miss, I’m sorry. I’m just really hungry.”
A situation like this could have been avoided if this particular student had the option of eating a healthy breakfast and lunch that day. Because there are so few healthy choices for students to eat at school–as well as a stigma associated with taking “freebies” –many students, like the one in my class that day, take the option of simply not eating at all. (Free lunch is available to all students at many schools through Philadelphia's universal feeding program, so individuals are not singled out as eligible. But some still feel stigmatized and are inclined not to partake, especially given the limited menu.)
Although the USDA does hold nutritional standards for the School Lunch Program, hamburgers and chicken nuggets are the only two offerings day in and day out at some schools. This lack of variety, as well as a need for more healtful choices, such as salads, has been voiced by many of my students.
Another barrier to adequate nutrition while at school is that many students do not make it to school early enough in the morning to take advantage of the free breakfast offered. This means that students are going eight hours, potentially, without putting something into their stomach.
After school, many students head directly to sports practice, an after-school program, or work. They may have stopped at the corner store beforehand, picking up a soda and some chips (unfortunately school isn’t the only place that offers subpar nutrition in the community), but that certainly does not provide adequate sustenance for the average teenager.
The American Heart Association recommends that after the age of two, children adopt a “heart-healthy” diet, swapping foods that are high in fat for a balanced, varied diet rich in nutrients which “supports natural growth and development”. We are doing a disservice to students’ personal growth and academic potential by not ensuring health as a critical part of their education.
In addition to the lack of healthful options, students’ religious beliefs and dietary preferences are often not honored by the meals that are offered in schools. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher, or halal options are scarce. It is the policy of some schools that students are not allowed to bring in food from home, which means that students with dietary restrictions may not have a choice to eat at all. In the best case scenario, not eating could lead to fatigue and lack of focus and worst, not eating could lead to agitation and violence or becoming physically harmed while participating in sports.
Clearly, Philadelphia has a long way to go in securing healthy choices available to all students. One place to look for guidance, however, is California. The chef Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse Foundation are doing amazing work at The Edible Schoolyard. There, students not only eat healthy food that is readily available in their community, but they also grow, prepare, and learn about the food that is going into their bodies.
Also in the San Francisco area, De Marillac Academy has embraced a similar hands-on approach to offering nutrition education for their students. This kind of relevant curriculum that brings to life the issue of health and wellness is exactly what we need in Philadelphia public schools.
The good news is that there are a number of resources available to us here; we just need to tap into them and be creative in finding ways of connecting them to the students and schools that need them.
Mayor Nutter has established a sustainability office, which has local food production as one of its targets. The upcoming Joan Kroc Corps Community Center will have a one acre urban farm available for community services, among other amazing plans. The Urban Nutrition Initiative and Greensgrow Farms are doing their part to offer nutrition education and make healthy foods available to community members. The Food Trust in Philadelphia has a number of school-based programs.
And there are probably other initiatives in the area that I just don’t know about that are working tirelessly to ensure the young people in Philadelphia have an adequate quality and quantity of food to eat. However, if we are going to be earnest in the task of ensuring a quality education for every student in Philadelphia, we must consider not only what we are doing to nourish students’ minds, but their bodies as well.
I personally am interested and invested in working to find ways for healthy food to make its way into school cafeterias and am excited about the possibilities that exist for this opportunity in Philadelphia.
Comments (12)
Submitted by Erika Owens on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 12:15.
This issue is also getting national attention due to an ad campaign by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The ad features a young girl asking "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?" The girl in the ad isn't just an ad model either, she's a young activist who chimed in and lameneted the lack of healthy, vegetarian, and vegan options at her school when her mom was speaking to Congress about childhood obesity.
Though the ad campaign is getting criticized for mentioning Obama's daughters, I was heartened to read that this 8-year-old girl is speaking out about her access to food at school. And, as this post mentions, Philly has other ways for students to become empowered in their food choices, and cultivation. Weaver's Way Co-op runs a CSA with Saul High School and has a farm on King High School's campus. Lists on the Food Trust's and Farm to City's sites tell you about farmers' markets in the area where you can pick up food grown by Philly students. Weaver's Way is at the Headhouse market and I've seen students (maybe from King?) at the City Hall market. These programs don't deal with the issue of access to healthy food during the school day, but at least they expand options outside of school.
Oh, also, that photo has a laptop lunchbox. I got into the laptop lunchbox from this site, vegan lunchbox. Just something about bright, happy looking food that makes me hungry, even if it never contains any cheese!
Submitted by Free lunch (not verified) on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 12:27.
A lunch that is free to children and familes at the point of delivery (i.e. the school cafeteria) is not free at all to taxpayers. That's the point of Milton Friedman's comment. There is no such thing as a free lunch because someone has to pay for the food to be shipped, stored, prepared and served. In this case it is taxpayers who bear this cost. If you want more healthly food in schools then you could either beg the school board or state legislature to mandate healthy eating (which seems a bit draconian) or the school board could contract with privately run restaurants to provide healthly food in the cafeteria. Just a thought.
Submitted by Paul Socolar on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 13:21.
The Notebook has been following advocacy efforts to increase participation in school feeding by groups Including Community Legal Services and Public Citizens for Children and Youth. They've found vast variations in participation from one school to the next and point out that we know it is possible for schools to achieve high rates of participation in feeding programs. They're currently tackling the issue of lack of free meals in charter schools.
Submitted by Dina Portnoy (not verified) on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 14:17.
And I, for one, have no problem paying for the "free" lunch for children in school, especially for poor children. As a teacher in the public schools I remember a time when there was NO lunch for high school students. I used to keep crackers, peanut butter, and some fruit in my classroom so that students could eat. It was, in fact, one of the best things that I did in terms of helping classroom management and preparing students to learn. In any case, I think Molly makes some important points and every day we see something in the news about the ways in which diet can make and keep us healthy. As a society, we seem to be willing to let some people be unhealthy.
Dina Portnoy
Submitted by Sam Reed (not verified) on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 14:45.
Molly thank you for this timely blog.
I think if more adults at schools ate the limited cafeteria options, there would be a quicker push to improve the menu options.
I often play chess and eat in the cafeteria with my middle school students. Some times I will eat my packed lunch or purchase a healthy option if it is available. I try to limit the nuggets and fries, but I wont say I have not been press to buy those options when nothing else is available. At times, I observe that even when the healthier options are available students will still select the nuggets and fries over salads, and fruits. Some students will ask why I always eat fruit? Most of the time I don't answer them , but I think its good that they ask the questions.
When I play chess and eat with my students they get to see an adult attempt to eat healthy, and I get to learn more about my students outside of classroom.
I agree the school menus need lots of improvement. I also think adults at schools need to model healthy eating and incorporate some lessons related to health and nutrition across the curriculum.
Submitted by Erika Owens on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 14:56.
Bringing up fruit in particular reminds me of why quality of the food is so important. Those apples from my school lunches were the grossest, most tasteless apples I have ever encountered in my life. And then they got a steaming helping of boiled to oblivion green beans plopped down next to them, and it was a recipe for a kid to never want to eat fruits or veggies ever again.
That's what's so great about these programs that bring fresh food to the schools, or have kids engaged in farming. Fresh, local strawberries? It tastes like a completely different food than those gargantuan things at the grocery store.
This isn't just a schools issue, as it does get back to the stuff available in neighborhoods--mm bruised bananas and plastic looking oranges, yum! But school lunches present an opportunity to not just get kids nutrients, but get them healthy food, and, if done right, get them excited about food.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 20:49.
Some schools don't even allow kids to bring food from home? That's ridiculous!
Two years ago at my school, we had a chef's training program going. The kids were learning to be restaurant cooks, and they made all the meals. An average meal would be something like baked halibut with honey glazed carrot and risotto, or grilled lamb chops with roasted winter vegetables and duchesse potatoes. Balanced, healthy meals for only about $4 a meal. There were two meal options a day, plus soup, baked goods, and and fresh sandwiches. The cafeteria always had a big line up, and it was super popular. Most kids bring their own lunches, but they would still get lots of people coming to buy lunch. I did so about once a week or so.
Then, last year, the teacher in charge left, and not enough students signed up. So, instead of decent food, we get a few volunteers dishing out hamburgers, fries, processed meat filled sandwiches, pizza, and macaroni and cheese. Crappy nutritionally void food, and about the same prices.
And, you know what? The cafeteria is maybe a quarter as popular at it was.
People claim kids won't eat healthy food made with fresh, delicious ingredients, but my school is proof that, if the option is there, kids prefer it.
Submitted by Terry (not verified) on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 09:35.
Sam, behavioral economics has a lot to say about lunch line choices. They have found that rearranging the order of foods offered can nudge people towards choosing a healthier option. http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Features/LunchLine.htm
I had a friend who ran the cafeterias at a large boy scout camp in Minnesota. Most of the food was bought almost-ready-to-serve. Even though the food cost more, it was cheaper than hiring people who actually knew how to cook. Instead, they could just drop a tray of "boiled to oblivion green beans" in an oven for a set amount of time. Applying this to a school in which students cannot bring their own food in is totally unacceptable.
One of the great benefits that Philadelphia has with its older school buildings is that they contain full service kitchens (predating the types of food mentioned in the above paragraph). These kitchens are equipped to provide freshly prepared foods and should be used to a much greater extent than they are today. I, for one, would be happy to have a greater share of my income go to schools if healthy food was the result.
Moreover, this could be a great selling point for Philadelphia schools. Advertising that we have healthy, freshly prepared foods available might draw more people to the city. Decisions should be made to benefit the students, not large institutional food providers like Sodexo-Marriot.
Submitted by Sam Reed (not verified) on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 15:35.
Molly & Terry
There was in article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today related to this topic.
Check it out http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/53205567.html
Oh Terry, at Beeber we do have a full scale kitchen, and some of the menu offerings are decent. I called the district and asked if they could place nutritional information on the dialy menus and if they could offer employees a meal plan, pre-tax savings for meals purchase at school. Basically, said, there was not enough demand for such requests to be viable.
Submitted by Tre (not verified) on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:45.
There's an excellent article in the Atlantic Monthly a few months back about the efforts of an educator in the Baltimore public school system who has worked hard to address, and get, this very thing.
Check it out: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200907/lunch
Submitted by Tim Renoyld (not verified) on Sat, 01/05/2013 - 19:54.
Not to mention their ability to perform after graduation since many of them will be obese, bad nutrition Is what determine if our children will be obese or underweight it will determine if they will search for how to gain weight fast (http://www.mengainweight.com/how-to-gain-weight/) after school because they didn’t learn how our body works and how it metabolize food, or they will look for how to lose weight since our junk food packed school cafeteria is serving them the way to gain unhealthy weight for life.
Submitted by physical therapist salary (not verified) on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 00:22.
yeah that's right. i guess i knew something about it and for sure things will get easier.. it's really going to be so fine and I like it then.
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