What will it take to get healthy lunches in school?

JULY 06, 2011

Reading this story by our colleague Tom Marshall on a taste test by kids of some new lunch room recipes makes me wonder: What will it take to wean kids off junk food?

The kids were offered a Hot Pocket-style breakfast offering that they loved. The story says it's healthy but I'm skeptical. The fish tacos? Not so much. The teryaki? Teri-yukky.

I haven't had a chance to catch Jamie Oliver's show about revolutionizing dinner and school lunch offerings but my take is we are very resistant to giving up the processed and deep fried foods we love so much. The other problem is fresh food is more expensive that processed junk. How deeply do we care about this issue?

Remarkably, the school lunch program came about because of the U.S. Army. During World War II, military leaders found that many recruits were rejected because of stunted growth and inadequate nutrition. After the war, military leaders pushed Congress to establish the national school lunch program so children would grow up healthier.

Just last year, the military made the opposite plea. Military leaders urged Congress last April to eliminate junk food and high-calorie beverages from schools, and to put more money into the school lunch program and develop new strategies that help children develop healthier habits. They said school lunches are a national security threat.

--Sharon Kennedy Wynne

Posted by Sharon Wynne at 7:00:00 am on July 06, 2011 in

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Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.

E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
wynne@tampabay.com

After six long years of trying to have a baby, Kate Brassfield was finally able to have one. And then, two minutes later, another one. Suddenly the lady who had never been around babies before was juggling two! Just as Kate felt she was getting pretty good with babies, the girls became toddlers, and now Kate is back to Square One, learning about the care and feeding of these strange, wonderful creatures. She spends her days working part-time from home and trying to keep up with the Twinosaurus Wrecks.

E-mail Kate Brassfield:
katedaphne17@gmail.com

Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at courtneyblogs@gmail.com.

Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, ZannaLand.com , and she's a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel in addition to being addicted to Twitter, iced coffee, and watching way too much Yo, Gabba Gabba.

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