Thanks for the link to the website.

But that was nothing compared to public school lunches. I was thrilled the cost was half of what I’d paid at the private school and bought up a year’s worth. Until I found out they served ice cream and cookies daily. I was able to manipulate the lunch card so that my daughter was denied these goodies, much to her dismay.

Nothing wrong with the occasional sweet but I don’t want it at school where I cannot control it. There is simply no place for junk food at school. Why is this SO hard for school officials to understand? There was a campaign going to eliminate them but last I heard, ice cream is still on the menu. Why?

Dessert at our house is fruit, and ice cream and pastries are rare delights. I tend not to buy much of that stuff, we save those treats for our house of worship receptions and parties. Then, I just look the other way, no cookie limit, go, indulge.

But here was the rub at school. While volunteering one day, I happened to notice the kids in line got served ice cream first. I could hardly believe my eyes. Children have smaller tummies to begin with so when confronted with string beans or melting ice cream, just which food group are they going to dig into first? I watched children hungrily scarf down mushy ice cream and cream filled cookies, with entire platters of chicken nuggets and salad shoved right into the trash. The amount of daily waste was staggering.

Never mind that the “nutritious” part of the lunch wasn’t much to write home about either. And in high school, there are vending machines with unhealthy snacks. At many schools, kids can also get soft drinks out of those machines and several buy advertising from companies such as Pepsi.

At least they don’t sell coffee at our school but that the teens bring from home. In copious amounts. At high schools where kids can leave campus for lunch, they stoke up on more coffee to stay awake and down yet additional caffeine between school and sports. Schools don’t address the coffee issue at all so kids think it’s okay, but as an education professional pointed out to me, coffee is a gateway drug. We know that Starbucks heavily markets to teens, despite their denial, but that’s another topic.

We are always talking about childhood obesity, yet many schools have eliminated recess. Alfie Kohn is right on target on that one. And recess is but a blurred memory by the time kids hit middle school. I say scrap the useless health units in middle and high, they eat up WAY too much time, and fling open the doors for recess. Outdoor play, sleep and wound nutrition will do far more to promote healthy habit, both mental and physical, in our children than all those time wasting “health” classes where the kids are circling worksheets, taking tests and sitting sedentary while watching videos.

I know that individual schools are taking action on this issue and I would love to hear more about the organizing in the school, district, and state wide (?)level that you are involved in.

Another issue around cafeteria food is the amount of waste that is created. Those brown box trays (in Oakland) are required to be thrown away whether they have been tainted with food or not. The food itself is regularly thrown away by students because, as your students have stated in the past, it’s nasty.

Just saw the film, Food Inc. (www.foodincmovie.com) – excellent documentary that breaks down how the food industry really works… which affects the health and future of our youth.