Why I Care About School Lunch

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

Claire Stanford at Civil Eats wrote about why 20-somethings should care about school lunch reform, but in the process wrote a piece that should compel us all:

I care about school lunch because five years from now (or five years from then), I may be sending my kids to school, and I want to be confident they’re getting a lunch that is both tasty and nutritious. I care because my taxes will be paying for the health care costs of diabetes (which one in three children born after the year 2000 will have). I care because better school lunch can help stimulate local economies, by giving workers skills and investing in local farms. I care because school lunch is a holistic problem, with wide-ranging implications...

I care about school lunch because I want my son to succeed. I care about school lunch because I want my son to outlive me. I care about school lunch because all children deserve a fighting chance for a quality education. I care because children are the consumers of tomorrow who are forming lifelong habits in school today.

I care about school lunch because we can do something about it. 

What about you?

Comments

[Michele Hays]

I care about school lunch because I believe the program, as it stands, contributes to food-related disease in our nation's most vulnerable populations by teaching them that foods like nachos, pancakes and syrup, and popcorn chicken are appropriate starting points for a diet.

Poor diet is second only to smoking as the cause of preventable deaths in the US, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2009-releases/smoking-high-blood-pressure-overweight-preventable-causes-death-us.html
and health care costs for obesity surpass those for smoking http://www.karlloren.com/diet/p69.htm - the bottom line being that we all pay if kids don't learn to eat well.

School lunch should be a tool to teach children to make appropriate food choices so they can differentiate between occasional treats and a healthy daily diet.

[Lisa Penninga]

After teaching in the high school setting for six years now, I am disturbed by teens' food selection choices. Dorritos for breakfast with an energy drink, fries and a coke at lunch, and they crash between each meal. I care about school lunches because it affects their ability to perform in the classroom and truly learn at a deeper level. I wish that schools, parents, and students could collaborate and communicate to create healthier eating opportunities in educational environments.