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Schools Can’t Afford Healthy Lunches
May 19, 2008 08:54 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Spiking prices of milk, grain, produce and meat are forcing schools to consider rolling back healthy-food initiatives in favor of less expensive, high-calorie alternatives.
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Studies have shown that childhood obesity can be curbed when kids eat a healthy school lunch.
But with food prices rising, schools must often choose between economics and nutrition. Low-fat foods generally cost more than less healthy alternatives.
One school official said, “We do not want to serve our students highly refined sugar and flour products, which are more affordable, but we are continually being pushed down this path.”
Schools are similar to restaurants in that they use the profits from meals and snacks they sell to buy additional food and pay workers. If they increase lunch prices to offset costs, though, middle class families who do not qualify for price breaks may feel the strain.
To help fight obesity in other ways, schools are becoming more creative with nutritional education.
In Philadelphia, educators spent two years integrating nutritional education into their lesson plans and healthy foods into their lunchrooms and snack machines. They found that kids in grades 4–6 were half as likely to become overweight because of their efforts.
Many schools are still trying to keep up with food prices while still offering healthy food, but there are concerns. “We’re having to be creative, but we’re worried it’s not sustainable,” said Eric Goldstein, chief executive for school support services in New York.
But with food prices rising, schools must often choose between economics and nutrition. Low-fat foods generally cost more than less healthy alternatives.
One school official said, “We do not want to serve our students highly refined sugar and flour products, which are more affordable, but we are continually being pushed down this path.”
Schools are similar to restaurants in that they use the profits from meals and snacks they sell to buy additional food and pay workers. If they increase lunch prices to offset costs, though, middle class families who do not qualify for price breaks may feel the strain.
To help fight obesity in other ways, schools are becoming more creative with nutritional education.
In Philadelphia, educators spent two years integrating nutritional education into their lesson plans and healthy foods into their lunchrooms and snack machines. They found that kids in grades 4–6 were half as likely to become overweight because of their efforts.
Many schools are still trying to keep up with food prices while still offering healthy food, but there are concerns. “We’re having to be creative, but we’re worried it’s not sustainable,” said Eric Goldstein, chief executive for school support services in New York.
Headline Link: Schools get a lesson in lunch-line economics
Each year, the federal government offers financial assistance to schools in order to help needy children get healthy meals. Lately, however, the federal contribution isn’t offsetting enough of the costs. For example, some school systems are paying thousands or even millions of dollars more a year in milk costs.
Source: The Washington Post
Background: Nutritional education
An experiment in Philadelphia has shown that schools can play a large role in preventing childhood obesity. During a two-year study, lunchrooms and vending machines were stocked with healthy foods and teachers integrated nutritional education into their lesson plans. In the end, they found that kids in grades 4–6 were half as likely to become overweight when the school helped out.
Source: WebMD
At the University of Miami, preschoolers took part in an experiment to learn whether nutritional education could prevent healthy children from packing on extra pounds. Children in the program stopped eating chips, cut their cookie consumption by half and increased the amount of vegetables they ate at home.
Source: cbs4.com
Historical Context: Ketchup as a vegetable
In 1981, the Reagan administration attempted to reduce the cost of child nutrition programs by $1 billion. Because Congress never stipulated how the cuts should happen, the Department of Agriculture suggested that pickle relish and ketchup would satisfy the requirement that school lunch programs offer two servings of fruits or vegetables to kids. The “ketchup as vegetable plan” was rejected and the money was returned to the program.
Source: The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace
Related: Childhood obesity, global food prices
Approximately 10 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds and more than 15 percent of children ages 6–19 are overweight. KidsHealth explains how to tell whether your child is overweight, and how to prevent or correct the condition.
Source: KidsHealth
“The methods for maintaining weight or losing weight are the same: Your child needs to eat a healthy diet and increase his or her physical activity.” Mayo Clinic offers suggestions for getting children away from the television and enjoying healthy activity.
Source: Mayo Clinic
Eating junk food truly is cheaper than eating healthy, according to the New York Times. Researchers from the University of Washington compared food prices at Seattle area supermarkets and found that high-calorie junk foods cost an average of $1.76 per 1,000 calories, while more nutritious, low-calorie foods cost $18.16 per 1,000 calories.
Source: The New York Times
As global food prices rise and nations around the world face shortages and riots, biofuels are getting most of the blame but may not be entirely at fault.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Children’s health, National School Lunch Program
In 2006, the National School Lunch Program provided low-cost or free lunches to more than 30 million children. Schools that participate in the program receive cash subsidies and other donated commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for each meal served. The lunches must meet federal nutrition requirements, and the school must offer free or reduced lunches to qualified children.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture
FindingDulcinea offers an obesity guide with overviews of the condition, descriptions of its causes and effects on the body, and explanations of how it can be prevented and treated. The guide includes resources specific to obesity in children.
Source: findingDulcinea
FindingDulcinea also has a guide to children’s fitness with advice on how to keep kids active and physically fit.
Source: findingDulcinea
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