Healthy Schools Campaign

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. 

Tour de Champagne Guests to Raise a Glass for Healthy Schools Campaign

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

Thanks to the folks at the Tour de Champagne, HSC will benefit from the silent auction at their annual Chicago event, where some of the city's most talented chefs will pair foods with a variety of vintages of champagne. It's a night of good food, good drinks and good cheer, and we're proud to be one of the beneficiaries this year.

True champagne comes exclusively from France, where we've seen that wine and food are really taken seriously -- at home and at school. 

A few years ago, HSC’s Director of School Wellness participated in a delegation that traveled to France to learn about their school food programs through the International Exchange Forum on Children, Obesity, Food Choice and the Environment. She found that school meals in France feature wholesome food served on real dishes in comfortable environments, with ample time for students to enjoy their food.  Click here to read about her trip and her findings.

 

If you love great food and wine, think about joining us on October 23 for Tour de Champagne at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.  Enjoy some bubbly and good food, and bid in the silent auction to support Healthy Schools Campaign!

Frozen Fruits & Veggies Provide Healthy Options for School Meals

By Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

New research reported in the International Supermarket News says that frozen food can be nutritionally equal – or even superior – to fresh produce:

The search for new and improved school meals has revealed that a mix of fresh and frozen foods creates the optimum result in terms of healthy eating and production.

Fresh produce can deteriorate along the supply chain, as the journey from the field to the shelf can seriously compromise the nutritional value and quality of fresh produce due to exposure. But frozen food's freshness is maintained by the temperature at which it is kept. There are also benefits in that frozen products are cheaper, create less waste and are more accessible to institutions such as schools.

Our experience in Chicago certainly confirms that. Last year the Chicago Public Schools and its partner Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality launched a frozen local program to take regionally produced fruits and vegetables and, within 24 hours of harvest, flash freeze them for serving all year in CPS school meals.

In an article at FamilyFarmed.org, Chartwells Thompson Regional Vice President Bob Bloomer says: "This is a great way to lock in the nutrients of these fruits and vegetables... We will be purchasing thousands of pounds of these products this school year. The kids love it."

Vilsack Connects Healthy Eating and Reduced Health Care Costs

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

Good news for fruits and veggies!

The day after President Obama’s message to Congress and the nation, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in a speech to United Fresh Produce Association, made the connection between health care reform and healthy eating. Vilsack talked about the administration’s recognition that eating more fruits and vegetables will dramatically cut America’s health care costs and that health care reform will include encouraging Americans to eat healthier -- in particular, by eating more fruits and vegetables.

As part of this effort, Vilsack said the USDA is focused on improving USDA-subsidized school meals, which he said, “for far too many of our children,” may provide “the only complete meal that they have during the day.”

We are very excited to see that the Obama administration understands the connection between health and proper eating and is looking at reforming the health care system more broadly than insurance reform alone.  (You might never know that from listening to the public debate about health care reform, but there is a whole section of the bill devoted to health promotion. More here and here.)

But in order to truly improve student access to healthier school meals (and make the ideals that Vilsack describes into a reality) schools need more money for better food. The Child Nutrition Act offers an opportunity to ensure that schools receive the funding they need for this purpose. Take action now by joining us to call for a strong, well-funded Child Nutrition Act. 

The Washington Post Supports Increased Funding for School Food

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

I could not agree more with the recent editorial in The Washington Post in which the Post comes out in support of increased funding for our nation’s federal school food program.  The Post’s editorial board correctly links the issue of school food to Michelle Obama’s efforts to highlight the importance of healthy eating, and correctly links the issue of school food to the long term costs of our already strained health care systems.  

And most importantly, they repeat (though do not quite endorse) Ann Cooper’s call for Congress to increase school food funding an additional dollar per day per student. Currently, schools receive around $2.68 for each free lunch they serve.  According to the School Nutrition Association, school districts spend, on average, about 35 cents more than that.  In large urban areas, school districts are subsidizing school meals at a rate of around 70 cents per meal.  These are the communities in which healthy school food is most essential, where healthy food choices are not as readily available.  Research shows that children living in low-income minority communities -- many in large urban school districts -- have much higher rates of obesity.

Of course more money, while essential, is not the complete answer. The Post is also correct in identifying the need for updated nutrition standards and the need to allow the USDA to set standards for other food available in schools.  Other important steps include improvements to the commodity program, helping school districts improve kitchen facilities and supporting training for food service staff.

We applaud The Washington Post for their support of this important issue at such a key moment in the movement for healthy school food.

To take action in support of increased funding for better school food, visit HSC’s Child Nutrition Act action center.

How The White House Garden Grows

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

We at HSC have been very excited to have First Lady Michelle Obama make the food we eat, and how it is grown, part of the national dialogue. Much has been said about the new White House garden. Now, the White House has released a video about the garden. 

As Michelle says at the end of the video, “I hope the garden will be an introduction to a new way for our country to think about food.”   We look forward to her leadership as Congress begins to consider the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the bill that determine the funding and other guidelines for the federal school food programs.

Collaborative for High Performing Schools Releases Guidelines for Safer, Healthier Portable Classrooms

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

When one thinks of healthy, high performing schools, the last thing that comes to mind are the portable classrooms that so many schools use to address school overcrowding. Health problems that emerged for individuals who were housed in portable housing units after Hurricane Katrina highlighted the dangers -- not just for the portable housing units but also for the portable classrooms. 

That is why I was so pleased to see the Collaborative for High Performing Schools (CHPS) release guidelines for these temporary classrooms.

These guidelines [PDF] include enhanced daylighting, energy-efficient lighting, energy-efficient, low-noise HVAC systems, an efficient building envelope and interior material with low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC). And, they provide a database of product manufacturers that meet their guidelines. 

So, if your school needs to resort to these portable classrooms, be sure to following CHPS’ recommendations.

Food Service Workers Lend their Support for a Strong Child Nutrition Act

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

Last month, food service workers lent their support for a strong Child Nutrition Act when they visited Capitol Hill to speak up for school food. Their priorities, which closely mirror those of Healthy Schools Campaign, include:

• Increasing federal reimbursement rates for meals to enable schools to cover the rising costs of meeting dietary guidelines and to purchase fresh, healthy foods.

• Reaching more struggling families by relaxing eligibility requirements, streamlining application processes, and allowing for regional variations in cost of living in determining eligibility.

• Improving food safety, nutrition, health and wellness, and customer service through additional training and good jobs with health care for food service employees.

SEIU and UNITE, labor unions that often represent food service workers in schools, have joined together to launch the Campaign for Quality Services. The Campaign for Quality Services has identified a number of priorities, including improving the federal school food program through a strong Child Nutrition Act.

You can make your voice heard on this issue by contacting your legislator today. Click here to learn about the importance of a strong federal school food program.

 

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.

National Attention for Green School Buildings

By Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Tarkington School

We recently had the opportunity to tour Tarkington School of Excellence with Peter Grevatt, head of the U.S. EPA Office of Children’s Health; Kate Tomford, Director of Sustainability for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn; and Suzanne Carlson, Director of Environmental Affairs for Chicago Public Schools. Tarkington is the first green school in Chicago to be certified by the US Green Building Council under their LEED program. (You can check out photos of the tour here.)

After hearing from Tarkington principal and HSC board member Vincent Iturralde and our student docents, it became even more clear what a positive impact a green school can have on student performance and the environment. 

Unfortunately, most children do not have an opportunity to learn in such a healthy environment. 

That is why I was so pleased to see both the U.S. House and Senate take action to provide school districts with funds to support green, energy efficient schools, focusing on schools that serve under-resourced communities.

On the Senate side, Senator Harkin (D-IA) has introduced the School Buildings Fairness Act of 2009 (S1121), which would provide $6 billion in grants for renovation, repair, and construction of schools in 2010, and additional funds, as needed, through 2014. These grants focus specifically on high-need schools and aim to encourage the use of green, energy efficient practices.  On the House side, Rep. Miller (D-Ca) introduced a bill which would make $4.1 billion in grants available over two years for school modernization, renovation, and repair.  This bill also establishes an Advisory Council on Green, High-Performing Schools. 

Both of these bills would commit federal dollars to the repair, renovation and maintenance of our nation’s existing school buildings as well as to the construction of the next generation of healthy, high-performing schools. In addition, the funds would be tied to the use of proven strategies for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability – providing a healthier environment for our students and teachers, as well as their wider communities.

This legislation is a vital next step for healthier school environments, and HSC urges our legislators to sign on as cosponsors of these bills.

You can be part of the national movement for green, healthy with Through Your Lens, HSC's effort with our partners to show Congress why safe, healthy school buildings are so important. You can submit a photo or story about your school (winners will be exhibited in Washington, DC during the policy debate) or use the Through Your Lens Action Center to contact your elected officials and to the media.

Tarkington School