Healthy Schools Campaign

Senate Holds First Hearing on Child Nutrition Reauthorization as USDA Releases New Report Showing Dramatic Increase in Food Insecurity

By Amanda Chablani, HSC Policy Specialist

Recently, I was shocked to learn that almost 17 million children in the US are food insecure – meaning that essentially, they don’t know where their next meal will come from.

This startling information was in the recently released USDA report on food security which painted a bleak picture: more than one in every seven US households is struggling to put food on the table. Even more disturbing: the report reflects last year’s data, and many are speculating that, given the growth in unemployment (and underemployment), these numbers may have increased over the past 11 months.

At the same time, the Senate Committee has begun discussing the Child Nutrition Programs (currently set to be reauthorized in Sept. 2010) and held the first hearing this week. These programs provide a vital opportunity to make healthy, nutritious meals available to millions of children in schools across the country.

I found it gratifying to see that several committee members made a point of recognizing the importance of both increasing accessibility to school food (so that more children can receive these meals) while also supplying children with more nutritious food.

As we’ve discussed again and again on this blog, hunger and poor nutrition walk hand in hand and typically impact the same vulnerable populations. The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act provides a chance to address these interrelated issues.

And, just as importantly, kids who receive healthy meals learn more. President Obama recognized this when commenting on the USDA report. He said:

"Our children's ability to grow, learn, and meet their full potential - and therefore our future competitiveness as a nation - depends on regular access to healthy meals."

To learn more about Child Nutrition Reauthorization, click here.

Veggies, Hula Hoops and the Future of School Food: HSC at the White House Healthy Kids Fair

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

Yesterday I had the pleasure and privilege of participating in Healthy Kids Fair at the White House. It was a fun event with an important message and I was thrilled that Healthy Schools Campaign was able to be part of it.

Of course I've been following the First Lady's work promoting healthy food and fitness, especially around the White House Garden and the farmers market. But being able to actually participate in an event at the White House and hear first-hand her comments about promoting healthy eating at home and in schools, seeing her interact with children eating healthy food and engaging in physical activity was a real treat. And yes, she actually did the hula hoop (142 rotations, according to the AP) and jumped rope.  

Amidst her strong message about the need for healthy eating and physical activity, Mrs. Obama’s comments were humorous and filled with practical advice. The event included a policy announcement --  expanding the USDA’s existing Healthier Schools USA program -- that was great though not really game-changing in the movement for healthier school food.

But the First Lady's involvement clearly demonstrates a strong commitment by the Administration to improving school food.  In fact, Secretary of Agriculture Vlisack told the crowd at the fair that when President Obama asked him to become the Secretary of Agriculture, the President told him that improving school food needed to be his top priority.

As I left this event, I couldn't help but think of something that many of us who care about kids' wellness have been saying again and again lately: it really is a new day for school food and fitness.

Seeing this type of enthusiasm for veggies and hula hoops coming from the White House is more than just encouraging and fun: it changes the conversations we have about good food and physical activity by creating a climate in which these things are valued and applauded. 

Improving School Food with the Institute of Medicine's New Recommendations: It Still Comes Down To Money

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

Just the other day the Institute of Medicine published their new recommendations for school food. It's a comprehensive report and full of excellent practical policy recommendations. And as School Lunch Talk says, "The current nutrition standards for school meals are in sore need of an overhaul." In short:

...the committee recommends that the USDA adopt standards for menu planning, including:

• Increasing the amount and variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
• Setting a minimum and maximum level of calories
• Focusing more on reducing saturated fat and sodium

Healthy Schools Campaign fully supports these recommendations. From what we're hearing, it will take years to get these recommendations through a rule-making process, but we want to help see it through to implementation.I found three issues in the recommendations particularly interesting:

1. Maximum vs. minimum calories
2. Food-based vs. nutrient-standard-based menu planning
3. Cost

1. Maximum vs. minimum calories

I find this to be a really interesting issue. When the National School Lunch Program was established, the greatest health concern facing the country was undernourishment rather than obesity. So in the 1940s, setting a minimum calorie content made sense. Today the opposite is true. The ideas is simple but from a practical perspective, this represents a challenging change.

In 2005 HSC participated in a taskforce to review dietary guidelines for Illinois schools. One of the hot discussion items was maximum caloric counts for individual portions of food items. The point that repeatedly came up in these meetings was the idea that decreasing portion sizes to get caloric counts down just leads to students taking more items. To me this illustrates the challenges behind what seems like a logical change. In the end, our taskforce agreed that we should limit the portion sizes to reduce calorie counts, but it was not without much deliberation about the actual implementation challenges. Making this decision and addressing the implementation challenges are an important move forward.

2. Food-based vs. nutrient-standard based menu planning

The committee recommended that schools change their menu planning from an approach that focuses on nutrient standards to an approach based on foods. (Again, something that seems simple and intuitive: planning menus based on food rather than nutrients.)

Essentially they are saying that rather than telling schools to design menus that have X mg of vitamin A, X mg of Calcium and so on, schools should create menus that have at least two servings of dark green vegetables and one serving of whole grains.

The intent of this change is to simplify meal creation and focus on the preparation of healthy meals rather than focus on nutrients. It also shifts the focus to cooking with whole or minimally processed foods rather than reheating highly processed foods that have been fortified with specific nutrients. The benefit here is that it can prevent junk food that's been fortified with vitamins from being included in a menu.

It's a great and logical move that can also make things easier for schools. And it's a move that allows menus to be created in the same way that we think about food. I mean, I think about getting foods into my diet ("I should have spinach and some lean chicken tonight") rather than getting specific vitamins ("I need to make a dinner with lots of vitamin A"). 

3. Cost

The report mentions many times that it needs to look to a cost effective implementation.  And NPR reported:

Better nutrition would cost more, the report acknowledges, because fresh fruit and vegetables can be pricey. A shift to the new standards would probably add 4 percent to lunch costs and about 20 percent to breakfasts. If kids really take to the healthier options, the costs could rise even more.

I don't know if 4 percent is accurate or not. I actually called the press office to ask how they got this number, and was told that they are not trying use any specific dollar amounts. But they did say that there needs to be greater investment both in reimbursements as well as in capital investment. Put another way: we need more money for better food on a daily basis as well as funding for things like school kitchen equipment that can be used for scratch cooking rather than just reheating. As La Vida Localvore writes, "to adopt the IOM's recommendations... they WILL need Congress to raise the reimbursement rate."

I also asked if this additional cost was over and above the 35 cents per meal that most school districts are already losing. There was no clear answer. The reality is too complex - some schools are already doing a great job, large urban schools are loosing closer to 70 cents per meal, and many school food programs are losing money and not serving meals that would measure up to the IOM recommendations. But all in all, implementing improvements in school food will cost more.

In the end, the conclusion is something we've all heard before. To implement the IOM's recommendations in full, we need more money. Yes, we also need structural changes to food distribution, we need changes in the commodity programs at the USDA, we need to connect schools to locally sourced produce, we need improvements in school facilities -- but without more money for better food and better kitchens, it will always be an uphill battle.

And since the Child Nutrition Act's reauthorization has been extended through September 2010, we have until next fall to make sure we can make this type of change a reality.

Real Healthcare Reform Must Include Prevention (That Is, Don’t Forget Food & Fitness!)

By Amanda Chablani, HSC Policy Specialist

Healthcare reform policy is finally making some progress in Congress and, while it’s great to see movement, we’re worried that prevention efforts – the proven strategies such as food and fitness initiatives that are key in making our nation healthier – are getting sacrificed in the effort to cut costs.  

While both House and Senate healthcare bills have included provisions to fund community prevention programs, those provisions may well be cut over the next few days. Now, we need our elected leaders to know how important prevention efforts are to real healthcare reform

As we and others have noted, prevention is the most cost effective way to address our public health crises of asthma, obesity, and diabetes.  Slashing prevention at a time when an unprecedented number of children are afflicted by these epidemics will leave us with healthcare reform that does not address the root of our problems.  

If we seriously want to improve the health of millions of Americans, we need to provide adequate prevention services to children and families.  That’s why we will be contacting our legislators and urging them to protect the prevention initiatives in the healthcare bill; we’ll be asking them not to forget about food, fitness, and the other fundamental parts of being healthy.  We hope you will too.

Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization – Let’s Do it Right!

Over the past several months, we’ve been preparing for Congress to take up reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act this fall.  However, as you may have noticed, the healthcare debate has been all-consuming in Washington, delaying most everything else -- including Child Nutrition Act reauthorization.

Last week, the Agriculture Appropriations bill extended the current school food program through September 30, 2010 – and all it needs is a presidential signature. It makes some important new investments in health, including:

• $85 million to improve children’s access to meals during the summer 
• $25 million to help schools purchase cafeteria equipment to provide healthy school meals 
• $25 million to help states automatically enroll children in the School Lunch Program

However, it does not fundamentally shift the program or fund healthier school food. That battle will be taken up next fall.

This extension is not unexpected and it may not be a bad thing.  Updating the Child Nutrition Act could involve major policy shifts, and it deserves to be in the front and center of policy discussions  when it's taken up. As long as the health care debate continues, the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization and the school food issues it involves may get lost in the shuffle. 

So while we won’t see comprehensive reforms to school food this year, we have seen a great deal of exciting movement from the administration (some of which we’ve blogged about here and here).  All of this movement will affect the debate when Congress takes it up next year.

In the meantime, we will again bring our student chefs -- and the healthy school meals they design -- to Washington, we will continue working with policymakers on school nutrition, and we will work to raise the profile of the issues involved in Child Nutrition Act reauthorization, particularly the issue of making more nutritious school meals available to children throughout the US. 

Stay tuned – we’ll keep you updated.

Obamas and New Farm-to-School Dollars Help Bring Local Produce to Schools

By Amanda Chablani, HSC Policy Specialist

Although the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act has been postponed, we continue to see a good deal of activity in the school foods arena –- with input not only from legislators, but also from the Obama  administration.

Michelle Obama has been receiving the most attention lately with her appearance at a local farmer’s market. Her activities signify the movement of policy in the administration, extending their farming activities from working with students in the White House garden to broad support of local, sustainable agriculture –- and for making healthy, fresh food available to all Americans.

Also exciting is the recent announcement from Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan that, as part of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, the USDA will form Farm-to-School Tactical Teams to help school administrators buy fresh, local produce. To assist schools in buying local, the USDA will be making $50 million available to support school districts in making major changes in their food procurement processes.

There has been similar legislative action, too. Senator Blanche Lincoln, the new chair of the agriculture committee, has also made some moves in this area by sponsoring the Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act, which requires the Secretary of Agriculture to compile model food specifications and practices for schools and to research the quality of foods that schools receive as part of the commodities program.

All of these activities point to a new direction for school food. While we may have to wait a bit longer for a strong reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, we’re already seeing action in the right direction.

Through Your Lens Photo Exhibit Opens on Capitol Hill Next Week!

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

We're thrilled announce that photos and stories from our Through Your Lens contest (which we've been blogging about over the last few weeks) will be shown in a special exhibit on Capitol Hill next week! The Through Your Lens exhibit will be on display from Oct. 5-9 in the Russell Rotunda of the Senate office building on Capitol Hill.

The exhibit will open as Congress is considering legislation to fund the repair, renovation and construction of safe, healthy schools.

The photos and stories in the exhibit were submitted by students, teachers and community members across the country. The exhibit provides an honest window into our public school facilities: the parts that are inspiring and the parts we need to change.

Despite the importance of school buildings to teaching, learning, health, environment and community vibrancy, many of our nation’s public school buildings remain in poor condition. With legislation to provide federal support for school construction, modernization, and renovation moving through both the House and Senate, the time to act is now.

Help us by getting involved. There are three things you can do:

• Join us at the exhibit!  If you're in the DC area next week, come and see the exhibit. Or come to our exhibit opening event on Monday, Oct. 5 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm to meet some of the student photographers and hear from advocates for safe, healthy schools. (Click here to RSVP.) If you can't make it, you can always view the photos online.

• Invite your legislators to the exhibit! Send a message to your legislators telling them to stop by the rotunda and view the exhibit. We want to make sure they see the reality of our nation's school building conditions.

• Help spread the word about the exhibit! Click here for links or sample messages to share Through Your Lens with your friends.

We're excited for the opportunity to bring these images to DC -- and we hope to see you at the exhibit next week!

HSC Helps Kick Off Green Schools Coalition

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

On September 8, I attended the inaugural meeting for the U.S. Green Building Council's Green Schools Coalition. I'll give three reasons why it was a great meeting:

1. The participants were great;
2. The main speaker was great;
3. The office building was the coolest build-out I've ever been in.

1) The Participants

The Green Schools Coalition is an early effort to bring together education advocates around issues of greening our schools. It brought together leaders from groups representing school  administrators, unions, health advocates and environmentalists. It was such a diverse group -- and a group that can really make a statement. And even more exciting is that the individuals there were committed to moving a national agenda forward for healthier, more sustainable schools throughout the US.

2) The Speaker

Under Secretary of Education, Martha Kanter, spoke to introduce the group, and it seems to me that she said all the right things for school health. She spoke of the need for proper nutrition, healthy indoor environments and, of course, sustainable construction and maintenance.

But my favorite quote of hers was that we need to move "beyond the balance sheet of energy savings" in building green schools. We need to remember that building schools shouldn't only be measured by years for a payback in energy savings. Some things don't have measurable monetary benefits. Schools need to inspire creativity, facilitate learning and support health. None of which has a specific dollar amount attached to it, but all of which could spell financial disaster if we fail. 

It's nice to hear when our leaders seem to get it.

3) The Space

You'd expect the USGBC to have the mack-daddy green space -- and they didn't disappoint in their newly renovated office space. Occupancy sensors for individual cubicles, eco zones with curtains of air to reduce the need for heating and cooling, reclaimed wood paneling, use of colors to reflect light, waterless urinals... It was a building geek's dream to see all of this technology. But one of the things that struck me is that the use of the term "green" is expanding to mean ergonomics, mood, health, healthy food prep, comfort and building community -- all things that we hope to see in schools. Maybe we all need to expand the definition of "green," or we need to come up with a new word that is more encompassing. Either way, the space was awesome.

So thank you to the USGBC for starting the Green Schools Coalition. We're proud to be members and excited to get to work!

Through Your Lens Photos Open Window into Nation's School Buildings

What does a school look like?

Students from across the US have been answering that question with more clarity than we could have imagined when we launched the Through Your Lens Photo & Essay Contest several weeks ago.

With powerful images and vivid stories, students are giving us all a window into what our nation’s school buildings really look like. As the contest comes to a close, we’re working to bring many of these images to Congress, with an upcoming exhibit at the US Capitol and a book documenting the remarkable pictures and stories as our elected leaders debate legislation for school building maintenance and repair.

Here, we’ve excerpted a few of the many entries. You can find all of the photos and stories online at the Through Your Lens gallery.

Bullet Hole? by Kristen from Scotts Valley

Classroom Decor. by Caitlin from Aurora.

Fresh Fruit in a Land of Fast Food. by Susana from Los Angeles.

 

Art in the Bathroom. by Reid from Charlottesville.

If you would like to share any of these photos or stories with your Congressional leaders, be sure to visit the Through Your Lens action center to send a letter and link to the image!

President Obama Speaks Up for Healthy School Food, Farm to School Programs

By Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

 

President Obama spoke at an Organizing For America National Health Care Forum on Friday and made the following comments about school food and the upcoming debate on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act:

When it comes to food, one of the things that we are doing is working with school districts, and the child nutrition legislation is going to be coming up...Let's figure out how can we get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the mix, because sometimes you go into schools and you know what the menu is. You know, it's french fries, tater tots, hot dogs, pizza. Now...that's what kids want to eat anyway. So it's not just the school's fault....And so what we've got to do is to change how we think about, for example, getting local farmers connected to school districts, because that would benefit the farmers delivering fresh produce, but right now they just don't have the distribution mechanisms set up.

I was thrilled to see the president highlight the value of healthy school food and farm-to-school programs in the context of our national health care strategy. Healthy Schools Campaign has been championing the argument that properly funding school food is a good investment in terms of student health and education. 

With high rates of childhood obesity, particularly among the same group of children who participate in federal school food programs, and the struggle to control health care costs, providing school districts with the resources to serve students healthier meals make sense—dollars and cents. 

Congress must reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act by the end of September. In doing so, our elected leaders have the opportunity to make changes to the federal school food program: providing adequate funding, establishing better nutritional standards and making sure that all eligible students are able to participate. Click here to let your elected officials know that you want a strong and healthy federal school food program.

It is interesting to note that the president recognizes the value of farm-to-school programs and the need for establishing local and regional distribution systems. For years, Healthy Schools Campaign has been championing farm-to-school programs. 

We are so proud to be supporting the Chicago Public Schools' efforts to provide regionally grown vegetables to CPS students for lunch at school.  Kudos to CPS’ partner Chartwell-Thompson Hospitality for figuring out a way to provide these tasty, healthy vegetables to Chicago students all year round. Working with local farmers, Chartwells-Thompson has arranged for a local processor to flash-freezing regionally grown vegetables within 48 hours of harvesting.  The result is a higher quality, better tasting more nutritious vegetable all year long.I hope that soon, all children will have access to this type of tasty, healthy, regionally-grown produce at lunch. 

Check out the video below to see President Obama's full speech, including his comments on school food, or click here for the full text.