School Lunch Literacy

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By Melinda Hemmelgarn m. s . | r .d. | food sleuth, llc

School Lunch

Literacy

bbbbbb Question: How do we get kids to care

about the quality of their food?

Answer: “Let them taste it.”

– Wendell Berry

DID YOU KNOW? ?

School food is powerful. Beyond nourishing the student body, school food dollars can support local farm families, sustainable agriculture, and a community’s economic development by purchasing food locally when feasible and participating in farm to school programs.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

– Frederick Douglass

bbbbbbb why S c hool l unc h m atters Children's Health and the Future

L

e t's agree: no matter what we look

What is “good” food?

like, where we live, or our cultural, politi-

cal, or religious background, we all want the

It’s healthy – nutrient-rich, minimallyprocessed, safe and delicious;

very best for our children.

green – regional, seasonal, fresh, and

By feeding our children well, we help them reach their full potential. Look at “good” food as an investment in their future. For

produced without harm to the environment; fair – produced humanely; and,

optimal physical growth, mental health,

accessible – available to all, because every

school and sports performance, children need

child deserves “good” food.

“good” food at every meal.

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bbbbbbb T he Question of Co $ t Budgets are tight, but lower-priced, poor-quality foods don’t reflect the true high cost of related chronic disease. For example: childhood obesity rates tripled over the past 30 years, with an annual financial burden of $3 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.1

R

ather than asking if we can

Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper sticker that says:

afford to serve “good” food in our “If you think education’s expensive, try ignorance.”

school cafeterias, we should be asking: how

Now apply that thinking to food: “If you think

can we afford not to?

good food’s expensive, try obesity, diabetes, poor test scores, and low self-esteem.”

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buil ding the student body Children might look like little adults, but they’re really still under construction from birth through puberty. Until fully mature, their bodies are more sensitive and vulnerable to the harmful effects of toxins in air, water and food.

O

ur important job: keep children

needs omega-3 fatty acids for optimal nerve

safe. The safest foods are free from both

development, while growing bones and

bacterial and environmental contaminants,

muscles need calcium and protein. Candy,

and produced without synthetic pesticides,

soft drinks, and sweet and salty snacks are

hormones, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and

heavily marketed to our students. Yet these

genetically engineered ingredients.2

cheap products don’t contribute to fit bodies and sound minds; the empty calories create

Children and teens also have unique nutrient

overfed and undernourished youth.

needs as they grow.3 For example, the brain

“We need to protect our children at critical times of their development.”

– Linda Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

DID YOU KNOW? ?

Fruits and vegetables are protective against obesity.

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Only 21% of youth ages 6-19 eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.4

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Nearly 40% of kids’ diets come from added sugars and unhealthy fats.4

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“A d - uc ation ” Advertising and Marketing in Schools

Children learn less by what we say, and more by what we do. They look up to parents, teachers and school staff as role models, and want us to set a good example.

C

ommercial media has become a

Media both reflects and creates cultural norms

forceful “third” parent at home, and for-

about values and behaviors, including which

midable teacher in the classroom and cafeteria.

foods are socially desirable.

“If we’re not modeling what we teach, we’re teaching something else.”

– Posted on a guidance counselor’s door, Kansas City Central High School

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DID YOU KNOW? ?

Children, like adults, think advertising does not affect them, but the Institute of Medicine says it influences food choices and contributes to obesity.5,6

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The food and beverage industry spends $2 billion per year marketing to children and teens; $186 million goes to in-school marketing.4

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Nearly all food ads viewed by children are for products high in fat, sugar or sodium (beverages, fast food, snacks, candy and cereal).4,6

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Marketing in schools comes in the form of sponsored activities, curriculum, incentive programs, fundraising, advertising on education channels, and contracts with fast food companies to provide meals.5,6

From the food industry’s perspective:

From a student’s perspective:

“ The school system is where you build brand loyalty.”

“ …it sends a clear message that soda is good for your health – why else would they have it AT SCHOOL? Seriously, who’s in charge here?”

– John Alm, President & CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises, AJC 4/6/03

– anonymous

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Media Litera c y to the R es c ue Reading, Writing, and ’Rithmetic aren’t enough to educate our children in today’s media-saturated world. Children (parents and teachers, too) need lessons in “media literacy” so they can better navigate the thousands of junk food ads they see each year.

M

edia

liter ac y

includes the

ability to analyze, evaluate and create

media. It helps students think critically about the media messages that surround them.

5 ? ? ?

Who owns or paid for the message?

What is the purpose of the message?

Who is the intended audience and how do you know?

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What information is given and what is missing?

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What techniques are used to grab my attention?

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T hinking Critic a l ly to E at W e l l Get to know your school food, and involve your students in seeking answers with these 10+ questions: 1. Where did my food come from?

Where was it grown or produced?

2. How far did my food travel to get to my plate?

Did it travel by rail, ship, plane or truck?

3. Who produced and prepared my food?

Do you know their names? Why are these people important?

4. Under what conditions did my food grow?

Under what conditions did the farmers and cooks work?

Were conditions safe? Were wages fair?

5. What’s in or on my food?

Food dyes, preservatives, pesticide residues, or added salt, sugar and fat?

6. How might my food choices affect the environment?

Are my food dollars supporting organic agriculture and clean water?

7. What’s missing from my plate?

What would you prefer to eat at school; why; and what is getting in the way?

8. What kinds of messages do I receive about food at school?

From teachers; from fundraisers or incentive programs?

9. What kinds of food advertising do I see at school?

Why is it there?

10. Why and how do these questions matter? ...to my health? ...to my environment? ...to my community? ...to my planet?

©Food Slueth, LLC

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bbbbbb Parents , T ea c hers , S tudents and S ta f f Become United School Lunch Citizens

PARENTS ?

Review the school lunch menu with your child.

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Get to know your child’s school cafeteria and staff.

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Eat lunch with your child and observe the lunch room environment.

- Is the room pleasant and inviting?

- Is the food appealing?

- Is there a fresh salad bar?

- How much time does your child have to eat?

- Do students have time to wash their hands before eating?

- A re there any commercial intrusions (soft drink machines, competing branded junk foods, advertisements, TV screens, etc.)?

- Are water fountains working and accessible? Has water been tested for safety?

- Is there waste recycling and composting?

- What are most of the children eating?

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Say thank-you to lunch room staff and cooks – they’re our school lunch heroes.

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“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

STUDENTS ?

Organize a group of people who care about food and conduct a school lunch assessment.

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What’s good about your school lunch and what would you like to change?

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Address your PTA and School Board with a list of requests and ideas for solutions/ improvements to your school food; take photos and use images to make your story come alive.

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Create media to help show and tell your school lunch story.

- Submit an article to your school or community newspaper; interview and write a feature story about food service staff; - Produce videos about school food or gardens.

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Talk to school and community organizations to see if they will help support – with physical labor, time or fund-raising – a school garden and related cooking classes.

Add your own creative ideas to this list!

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bbbbbbb PARENTS, STUDENTS AND STAFF ?

Get to know each other!

- Host school-community pot-lucks. Build allegiances with local businesses and legislators. Share your stories.

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Assess your school property; is there space for a garden or raised beds?

- Don’t mow, grow! Calculate money saved by not mowing and supplementing school food service with freshly harvested greens from a school garden or greenhouse.

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Raise awareness.

- Host a guest speaker to discuss child health, school and community food policy issues.

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Assess fund-raising opportunities: - Can you bring a CSA (community supported agriculture) to your PTA? - Sell garden seeds and supplies instead of candy.

- Seek grant dollars to support school gardens.

- Seek support from your PTA and new local business friends.

- Put on a play, host a band contest, have a poetry slam...all to support better school food projects.

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Learn from other advocates: - Use the internet to find out what other communities are doing across the country, then network and borrow ideas and strategies.

- Check out the “School Food Resources for Change” (page 13)

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“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats (feeds) its children.”

– Nelson Mandela

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bbbbbbb RESOURCES Advocacy - Ten Tips for Child Advocates: American Academy of Pediatrics. www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/state-advocacy/Pages/Ten-Tips-for-Child-Advocates.aspx

Commercialism and Predatory Junk Food Marketing - Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. www.commercialexploitation.org/ - C enter for Science in the Public Interest: Marketing to Kids: www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/DecreaseMarketingToChildren.html - New American Dream; Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture: www.newdream.org/kids/brochure.php Media Literacy - Common Sense Media: www.commonsensemedia.org/ - “Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!” After-school program for ages 11-13. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/ Nutrition - American Academy of Pediatrics. “Clinical Report – Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?” http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/6/1182.full.pdf - “Beyond the Plate:” Straight Talk on Food and Family, by Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D. www.organicvalley.coop/farm-friends/moo/beyond-the-plate/archives0/ - C enter for Science in the Public Interest: effects of food dyes: www.cspinet.org/fooddyes/; and additives: www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm -F ood Sleuth Radio: http://kopn.org/ (Click on Food Sleuth): Helps listeners connect the dots between the food we love, the health we treasure, and the agriculture which influences both.

Pesticides: How to Protect Our Children - B eyond Pesticides. http://www.beyondpesticides.org/; For information about protecting children from pesticides used at school, see: www.beyondpesticides.org/report/Schooling2010.pdf - “ Organic Diets Significantly Lower Childrens’ Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides,” Environmental Health Perspectives, February 2006. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2005/8418/8418.html - Pesticide Action Network of North America: www.panna.org/your-health/children

School Food Resources for Change -C enter for Science in the Public Interest, Improving School Food: www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/ ImproveSchoolFoods.html Constructive classroom rewards: http://cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/constructive_rewards.pdf - Th e Lunch Box: Healthy Tools to Help All Schools: www.thelunchbox.org; www.saladbars2schools.org; www.thelunchbox.org/community/lunchbox/2011/8/10/top-ten-things-parents-and-caregivers-can-do-improveschool-lunch - Healthy Schools Campaign, Healthy school lunch cooking contests: http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/event/cookingupchange/2011/flagship/ -C enter for Ecoliteracy, Rethinking School Lunch publications: http://www.ecoliteracy.org/downloads/rethinking-school-lunch-guide Farm to School - The National Farm to School Network: http://www.farmtoschool.org/ - The USDA Farm to School Project: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/faqs_implementation.htm

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“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”

– John W. Whitehead, founder, Rutherford Institute

REFERENCES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/data.html Childhood Obesity Epidemic: www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/archives/2010/06-June.htm

[1]

President’s Cancer Panel Report on Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf

[2]

Institute of Medicine, Dietary Reference Intakes for age and sex. www.iom.edu/Activities/Nutrition/ SummaryDRIs/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Nutrition/DRIs/New%20Material/5DRI%20Values%20 SummaryTables%2014.pdf

[3]

The Prevention Institute: “We’re Not Buying It:” Protecting children from junk food marketing. http://preventioninstitute.org/

[4]

National Education Policy Center. “Effectively Embedded: Schools and the Machinery of Modern Marketing.” http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/Schoolhouse-commercialism-2010

[5]

Berkeley Media Studies Group: “Food and Beverage Marketing to Children and Adolescents: An environment at odds with good health.” www.bmsg.org/

[6]

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A B OU T T HE A U T HOR :

Melinda Hemmelgarn, m.s., r.d. is a registered dietitian, investigative nutritionist, and award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in clinical, academic and public health nutrition. Known nationally as the “Food Sleuth,” she connects the dots between food, health and agriculture, and helps consumers “think beyond their plates.”

She is a tireless advocate and strong voice for organic food and farming, social and environmental justice and food system literacy.

R e a d h e r c ol u m n s A T : www.organicvalley.coop/community/ beyond-the-plate

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