"The processing of our food is profoundly disgusting, and the accumulation of packaging fills a giant barrel at my school every day."
That's a quote from 5th-grader Aden Kahr of Olympia, Washington. Yes, 5th-grade - quite well-spoken for such a young man! Aden has diabetes, and he has some opinions on his school lunches...
In yesterday's Seattle PI article, we read how Aden takes a turkey sandwich, fruit and carrots to school every day, unlike his friends at a south Seattle elementary school who don't have that choice. For them, the free lunch program offers burritos, pizza, and other processed foods.
Seattle is currently evaluating a bill to get more local food into school cafeterias and connect local farms with schools. It's sponsored by unlikely bedfellows: the environmental community and the conservative Washington Farm Bureau.The bill would connect local farmers with schools and help fund better foods in low-income schools - foods like fresh, local fruits and vegetables.
This is similar to the issues that farmers are raising in New York - see the article from October: Local Carrots with a Side of Red Tape.
It's also a good reminder to be on the lookout for bills and issues like this in our own local communities; what is the food like in the schools near you?
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Luckily, local farmers' produce are more and more welcomed into local schools, and Farm-to-School initiatives seem to be catching on! In general, many districts have been making a noticeable effort to improve quality of the food they make available. Still, at least a couple of the schools I've seen in the past year have had pop and junk food machines, and the schools that are struggling financially are trying to find a middle ground between affordable fresh and healthy food, and the cheap, frozen, processed stuff. It's a tricky time to be a district nutriotionist!
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