When I stumbled upon this story about a “renegade” lunch lady in Berkeley who works to serve fresh, healthy meals to the students in her district, I thought, “Bingo!” What’s more preventive than helping young people make healthy nutrition choices?
The problem here, of course, is that this type of program is rare, and the fact that it’s happening in Berkeley is nothing to write home about. I doubt it’s very difficult convincing progressive middle class Californians that it’s worth spending some extra time and money so their kids can eat healthily.
What about low-income schools, or those where pro-health cheerleaders haven’t yet fought for change? According to this story from cnn.com,
Three out of four schools serve too much fat; many schools undercut healthy offerings by selling junk food; there aren’t enough vegetables and fruits; and not enough is done to teach good eating habits, according to government studies and nutrition experts.
And what’s more, you can offer all the fresh fruit you want in a school cafeteria, but if a kid has the option of buying a bag of chips, I’ll give you three guesses what he’s probably going to choose.
I think the key here is education. Teach kids early and often about how the food they eat affects their bodies. One of my strongest memories from childhood is of the time my sixth grade health teacher explained what a heart attack was and how it happened. At this point, I was probably the skinniest kid in my class, and I don’t think I even ate red meat, but the mental picture of an artery becoming clogged with fat sent shivers down my spine. I think I actually went for a run that night.
Something has to be done, though. With healthcare the way it is, and the numbers of people with diabetes and other serious, preventable disease on the rise, let’s hope there are more renegade lunch ladies out there.
Tags: education, nutrition, school lunches
