After reading this article on Slow Cook, the problem of children and nutrition rears its ugly head and stomach. If our education institutes can't get a handle on reform of food programs, how can a family promote healthy eating. When a child prefers to eat two meals a day in the school cafeteria, where are the Moms to deliberate on those menus. Since the school staff at many schools have little time or training to deliberate on what type of muffins are healthier, I belive this is a spot for Moms to step in as volunteers to craft and produce a menu for food services to follow. After all, we know how to stretch a food budget, I think a volunteer team to pick out the food choices could be possible.
So with this notion of responsible eating habits for our children, we've compiled a list of nutrition and cooking books to deal with the issue and inspire. The list appears at the end of the article from Slow Cook:
Posted: 19 Apr 2011 03:00 AM PDT
- D.C. schools food services chief Jeffrey Mills
D.C. Publice Schools food services chief Jeffrey Mills is deeply disappointed with the district’s contract with cafeteria giant Chartwells, The Slow Cook has learned, calling the agreement “crap” and outlining plans to establish nine satellite production kitchens the schools can use to make their own food sometime in the future.
Two new pilot food programs–one with D.C. Central Kitchen, another with Revolution Foods–have revealed the cost of lunch they provide to be $1 cheaper than what DCPS pays Chartwells. The pilot contractors are paid a flat rate to provide meals, while Chartwells receives an annual management fee, a fee for each meal served, plus reimbursement for all of its expenses.
What’s more, Mills says he has to “police everything they [Chartwells] do,” and still finds Tyson chicken products, high-fructose syrup and other objectionable items showing up on kids’ cafeteria trays even after he has specifically rejected them.
Mills is said to be convinced that he could “save $10 million” if D.C. Central Kitchen and Revolution Foods replaced Chartwells entirely, but those companies are not equipped to handle more than half the district’s 123 schools. Mills envisions serving food cooked from scratch in all of the district’s elementary schools, for instance. But that, he has said privately, is not likely to happen in the coming year.
Former schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee hired Chartwells in 2008 after declaring the schools unable to manage their own food service. At the time, according to former Chief Operating Officer Anthony Tata, the schools were losing between $11 million and $14 million annually on their cafeteria operations, buying pre-made “re-heat” meals trucked in from a suburban factory.
The initial contract with Chartwells called for a $28 million food services budget, under which Chartwells would reduce the flow of red ink to no more than $6 million annually. But Mills now says that “only $1 million of the reduction was guaranteed.”
Chartwells also caused the schools a good deal of embarrassment. In January of last year, after spending a week in the kitchen of my daughter’s elementary school, I published a series of blog posts detailing the highly-processed frozen convenience foods Chartwells routinely served at lunch–chicken nuggets, tater tots, “beef crumbles” and grilled cheese sandwiches made in Los Angeles and re-heated in their plastic wrappers. Breakfast was even worse. Along with frozen scrambled eggs and “french toast sticks” with high-fructose corn syrup, kids were eating Apple Jacks cereals doused with strawberry-flavored milk, Pop-Tarts, Giant Goldfish Grahams and Otis Spunkmeyer muffins.
On some days, children as young as five consumed the equivalent of 15 teaspoons of sugar before classes even started.
Subsequently I learned from documents obtained through the Freedeom of Information Act that Chartwells had turned over to the schools more than $1 million in rebates it had collected from large food manufacturers such as Kellogg, Pepperidge Farm and Otis Spunkmeyer. An assistant attorney general for New York State who is investigatin school food contracting has said the rebating practice creates “an inherent conflict of interest” in the choice of foods served to children. Food service companies operating under a “cost reimbursable” contract, as is the case in D.C., are required to credit the schools for all rebates or discounts they receive.
The rebates Chartwells reported to D.C. schools represented five percent of total purchases, compared to the 10 to 15 percent that New York Assistant Atty. Gen. John F. Carroll says is the industry average he has encountered in his investigation of rebating practices there. It took D.C. school officials nine months to get an accounting of food rebates from Chartwells, and Mills is said to be suspcious still that the schools are not receiving their due.
Chartwells is a subsidiary of Compass Group, a British-based international food service corporation that reported $23.5 billion in sales last year.
In December 2009, Tata tapped Mills, a restaurant developer from New York City, to be food services director, filling a position that had been vacant for more than a year. Within months after my expose of the food Chartwells was serving, Mills decided to remove all flavored milk from D.C. Public Schools and undertook an item-by-item overhaul of the Chartwells menu.
Around that same time, the D.C. Council approved a “Healthy Schools Act” that provided more money for school meals–10 cents for breakfast, 10 cents for lunch, and 5 cents for every lunch containing a locally-grown component. Consequently, meals look substantially different in D.C. schools today. Kids can choose from organic yogurt and home-baked muffins for breakfast. Lunches range from a scratch-cooked spinach lasagna to roasted bone-in chicken to a Cajunp-seasoned tilapia filet.
This year schools have saved $1 million on food, even while serving breakfast in the classrooms of most elementary schools for the first time and implementing a supper program in 99 schools. Breakfast in the classroom boosts participation and brings in federal susbsidy dollars that can be used to improve food quality. The supper program also is a money maker. Meals cost $1.40, but are reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agiculture to the tune of $2.92 each through the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program.
With the addition of these two programs, the schools expect to serve 2 million more meals this year. Still, participation in the lunch line is down 1.5 percent.
The trouble now is the kids frequently won’t eat the roasted local sweet potatoes or the lovingly prepared green bean salad. They need coaching, and schools need to reach out more to parents. Mills reportedly would like to see principals and teachers eating with the students. “Motivated principals make all the difference,” Mills is quoted as saying. But the schools face “huge challenges with internal staffing.”
Try these for more school lunch information and inspiration:
Fixing School Food in America
Janet Poppendieck
ISBN 9780520269880
University of California Press
School Lunch Politics:
The Surprising History of America's Favorite Welfare Program
Susan Levine
ISBN13: 978-0-691-14619-5Children's Books about Nutrition
Below are some recommended children's books on food and good nutrition.
The Amazing Milk Book
by Paulette Bourgeois, Catherine Ross and Susan Wallace
This book describe milk's chemistry, nutritional value, production and use as a component of cheese and other foods. It's enriched with anecdotes and humor.
by Paulette Bourgeois, Catherine Ross and Susan Wallace
This book describe milk's chemistry, nutritional value, production and use as a component of cheese and other foods. It's enriched with anecdotes and humor.
The Beastly Feast
by Bruce Goldstone
At the great animal feast, bears bring pears and mosquitoes bring burritos.
by Bruce Goldstone
At the great animal feast, bears bring pears and mosquitoes bring burritos.
A Book of Fruit
by Barbara Hirsch Lember
While most children recognize fruit in a bowl or in a supermarket, some have never seen fruit growing on a tree or a bush. This well-photographed book makes the connection between the fruit and where and how it grows before it arrives at the supermarket. Photos of single servings of fruit appear on pages opposite photos of where the fruit grows.
While most children recognize fruit in a bowl or in a supermarket, some have never seen fruit growing on a tree or a bush. This well-photographed book makes the connection between the fruit and where and how it grows before it arrives at the supermarket. Photos of single servings of fruit appear on pages opposite photos of where the fruit grows.
Bread, Bread, Bread
by Ann Morris
With large photographs, this book depicts the wide variety of breads from around the world. From India to Mexico, from Peru to Indonesia, from Ghana to Greece, international breads are shown.
by Ann Morris
With large photographs, this book depicts the wide variety of breads from around the world. From India to Mexico, from Peru to Indonesia, from Ghana to Greece, international breads are shown.
Cooking UP U.S. History: Recipes and Research to Share with Children
by Suzanne I. Barchers and Patricia C. Marden
This book supplies a word list, recipes and a bibliography for five historical periods of U.S. history and six regions of the U.S.
This book supplies a word list, recipes and a bibliography for five historical periods of U.S. history and six regions of the U.S.
D.W. the Picky Eater
by Marc Brown
Arthur the Aardvark's sister, D.W., is a picky eater. The family leaves her at home when they go out to eat until D.W. decides she might be missing something good by being so picky.
Arthur the Aardvark's sister, D.W., is a picky eater. The family leaves her at home when they go out to eat until D.W. decides she might be missing something good by being so picky.
Everybody Cooks Rice
by Norah Dooley
Anthony is late for dinner. So his sister goes from house to house looking for him. In each home, she finds families preparing rice in a different way. This multicultural dinner tale ends with several recipes for rice -- from Barbados, Puerto Rico, Vietnam, India, China, Haiti, and Italy.
by Norah Dooley
Anthony is late for dinner. So his sister goes from house to house looking for him. In each home, she finds families preparing rice in a different way. This multicultural dinner tale ends with several recipes for rice -- from Barbados, Puerto Rico, Vietnam, India, China, Haiti, and Italy.
Extra Cheese, Please!: Mozzarella's Journey from Cow to Pizza
by Cris Peterson
This well-photographed book describes how cheese is made, from a Wisconsin dairy farm until a cheese factory ships the final product across America.
by Cris Peterson
This well-photographed book describes how cheese is made, from a Wisconsin dairy farm until a cheese factory ships the final product across America.
Family Pictures: Cuadros de Familia
by Carmen Lomas Garza
The author describes, in bilingual text and illustrations, her experiences growing up in a Hispanic community in Texas. Several of the stories focus on food-picking, cactus, making tamales, eating tacos, picking oranges and eating watermelon.
by Carmen Lomas Garza
The author describes, in bilingual text and illustrations, her experiences growing up in a Hispanic community in Texas. Several of the stories focus on food-picking, cactus, making tamales, eating tacos, picking oranges and eating watermelon.
Foods: Feasts, Cooks, and Kitchens
by Richard Tames
This history of food discusses the types of foods and cooking method used by cultures from the hunters and gatherers of 18,000 B.C. to Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Middle Ages and all the way to futuristic farming. It's filled with interesting illustrations and fascinating facts.
by Richard Tames
This history of food discusses the types of foods and cooking method used by cultures from the hunters and gatherers of 18,000 B.C. to Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Middle Ages and all the way to futuristic farming. It's filled with interesting illustrations and fascinating facts.
Grandpa's Garden Lunch
by Judith Caseley
Take a trip down to the garden with Sarah and her Grandpa and learn the basics of gardening. Kids will learn about how various foods grow. They will also see why "patience is a virtue."
by Judith Caseley
Take a trip down to the garden with Sarah and her Grandpa and learn the basics of gardening. Kids will learn about how various foods grow. They will also see why "patience is a virtue."
How My Family Lives In America
by Susan Kuklin
by Susan Kuklin
This book tells the story of three children, each with an immigrant parent. For each family, the foods they eat, the names of different dishes, and their eating customs are discussed. The book includes three recipes -- one African, one Puerto Rican and one Taiwanese.
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato
by Lauren Child
by Lauren Child
Lola’s sister Charlie convinces her to eat fruits and vegetables. For example, Charlie calls mashed potatoes “cloud fluff from the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji.”
Munching: Poems about Eating
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
A collection of over 20 poems about food for children.
Never Take a Pig to Lunch and Other Poems about the Fun of Eating
Selected and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
A collection of 50 poems and traditional rhymes about food and eating.
Selected and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
A collection of 50 poems and traditional rhymes about food and eating.
The Race Against Junk Food
by Anthony Buono
Tommy and the Snak Posse (which includes vegetable-people) win a footrace against junk food.
Tommy and the Snak Posse (which includes vegetable-people) win a footrace against junk food.
A Spoon for Every Bite
by Joe Hayes
A poor Southwestern couple buys a third spoon so they can invite their baby’s godfather to dinner. Their rich guest brags about his numerous spoons, so the couple tells a story about someone who uses a new spoon for every bite. What they’re really referring to is a tortilla, but the rich man is fooled and buys spoons until he’s broke.
A poor Southwestern couple buys a third spoon so they can invite their baby’s godfather to dinner. Their rich guest brags about his numerous spoons, so the couple tells a story about someone who uses a new spoon for every bite. What they’re really referring to is a tortilla, but the rich man is fooled and buys spoons until he’s broke.
This Is The Way We Eat Our Lunch
by Edith Baer and Steve Björkman
Kids are taken around the world to learn about the various lunch preferences of children from different cultures. Colorful illustrations help make this adventure to various destinations extra special.
Kids are taken around the world to learn about the various lunch preferences of children from different cultures. Colorful illustrations help make this adventure to various destinations extra special.
The Vegetable Show by Laura Krasny Brown
Watch vegetables do a little vaudeville in their attempt to dance and sing their way onto the plates and into the hearts of kids. Kids will truly be tempted by the delightful characters including the Tip-Top Tomato Twins and Bud the Spud.
The Victory Garden Vegetable Alphabet Book
by Jerry Pallotta and Bob Thomson
This book depicts a vegetable for each letter of the alphabet. The art and text help students to make important associations between vegetables and other familiar things in the environment.
by Jerry Pallotta and Bob Thomson
This book depicts a vegetable for each letter of the alphabet. The art and text help students to make important associations between vegetables and other familiar things in the environment.
What Food is This?by Rosmarie Hausherr
Fish, sausage, carrots and many more foods are detailed in this tale of food origins. Kids can tune up their food trivia skills as they are quizzed with questions and pictures. This book is educational as well as fun for the whole family.
