2009 Approaches... The Child Nutrition Battle is ON!

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 29, 2008 at 19:27:18 PM PST

Nowadays we have another problem to deal with as well: obesity. This is a harder sell, politically. For one thing, telling kids to eat less of anything - or making sure that they actually DO eat less - will cut into somebody's profits and most of those somebodies are rich and powerful (i.e. Coca Cola, Grocery Manufacturers of America, McDonalds, National Cattleman's Beef Assocation). Second of all, healthy food costs more than junk, and that means using taxpayer dollars to fund child nutrition programs with more than the absolute bare minimum amount to keep kids from starving. Add to that the issue that schools are already cash-strapped and usually the lunch program is a lower budgetary priority for them than teaching reading and math... in fact, sometimes the lunchroom is seen as an area to make money for the school. It's a difficult argument to make that schools should put more money into food if it means taking it out of education.

I've got a few ideas on specific things we can ask our legislators for when they write the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, listed below.  

There is already a major hunger lobby in Washington who will be focused on this legislation, and there's a newer and growing sustainable food lobby that is less entrenched but still active and very interested in the future of this bill. Progressives can and should work together with these two lobbies as well as with parents, educators, and doctors to make their voices heard. Here are several things we can ask for specifically:

• Increase funds for school lunch. The reimbursement rate is $2.55/kid/meal right now. Schools already spend $2.88 on average. Cheap food is junk food. For a budget breakdown of a school meal, read "Many Barriers Keep Fresh, Organic Food Out of School Lunches."

• Expand the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program. This is a program that gives $20 per year to some WIC participants to buy fruits and veggies at farmers' markets. It's been very popular and successful, and WIC recipients would benefit from either increased benefits or expanded participation (or both).
• Make WIC an entitlement. Currently, WIC is not an entitlement like food stamps. That means that it has a certain budget and if the need for WIC exceeds the budget then some eligible people cannot participate. Making WIC an entitlement will save us from having to argue time and time again for adequate funding for the program and it will ensure that everyone who qualifies for WIC will benefit from it.
• Expand the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program. This is a program that provides fresh fruits and veggies at a handful of select schools in each of the 50 states. Right now it's a pilot programs and the schools that are chosen are typically ones in which a high percent of kids qualify for free or subsidized school lunches.
• Reduce barriers or encourage schools to feed students locally produced foods. This is a no-brainer and the farm-to-school programs that exist currently seem to be very popular. However, a number of barriers keep many interested schools and districts from being able to bring fresh, local food into their schools (i.e. schools have no kitchens, the bidding process for vendors is complex, the lunch budget is so small they can't afford local food).
• End pouring rights agreements. These are agreements in which schools sign contracts with soda companies to receive kickbacks for selling soda. Typically once a contract is signed, the schools place vending machines in more locations and sell more soda - some even go so far as to give the kids "soda breaks" during class or encourage faculty to each do their part and drink more soda.
• Get competitive foods out of schools. A "competitive food" is any food outside the federally reimbursed school lunch. The USDA has nutrition standards for the school lunch but it is NOT ALLOWED to have nutrition standards on other foods, called competitive foods. Competitive foods are typically junk, like stuff in vending machines.
• Keep rBGH milk out of schools. This is a longshot since the FDA approved rBGH and thinks there's no difference between rBGH and rBGH-free milk BUT there are links to cancer in humans and the American public overwhelmingly DOES NOT want rBGH in their milk.
• Provide funds for schools to build and equip kitchens. A major barrier to healthy food is schools' lack of ability to prepare food on site. When budgets got tight, they stripped out their kitchens or built new schools without kitchens. Nowadays, schools are often unequipped to do simple tasks like cutting veggies, and that means any food served must be ready to eat and the only prep the school can handle is heating it up.
• Either ensure commodities provided to schools are healthy foods or give the schools more money for lunches in lieu of commodities. Schools are forced to take free government commodities that are often processed into unhealthy junk... the commodities provided flip the food pyramid on its head, giving schools a lot of the things you should eat sparingly (high fat meat and cheese) and little of stuff you should eat a lot of (fruits and veggies).
• Increase regulation of and inspection of slaughterhouses. Right now the fast food companies have the clout and buying power to insist on high standards for food safety and humane slaughter practices. The government does not have the political will to insist on these things and as a result a lot of the worst quality crap goes to the schools.
• Get artificial food dyes that cause hyperactivity in kids out of schools. There is research all over the world showing that artificial food dyes cause behavioral problems in some children. I think it's important to look at the Appleton, WI school system - when they went to an all natural food program, then ended up increasing costs of lunch but saving overall because they needed less money for security, narcs, cleaning up graffiti, discipline, etc - the kids all started behaving better.

The biggest point we need to make is that the money we spend on our kids' nutrition is an investment, not an expense, and that all children should have a right to safe and healthy food.