Saving School Lunch

Students who attended a public school that provided meals might have a vivid memory of their school's cafeteria at lunch time. Along with meeting friends, sharing gossip and doing the homework due next period, food was the back drop. For some, the lunch tray included tater tots, buffalo wings and chocolate milk.

But with 17% (12.5 million) of children in America suffering from obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, school systems across the nation have tried to reduce that percentage with extracurricular activities, physical education programs and menu changes.

In Washington, DC, the Healthy Schools Act of 2010 is doing just that.

On Wednesday, GW's Urban Food Task Force, an organization of GW faculty, students, staff and volunteers that promotes healthy eating, sustainable food production and food policy, held the first of three University Seminars on Food. Jill Sankey hosted a panel, including Council Member and GW law professor, Mary Cheh, Director of Food Services of DC Public Schools, Jeffrey Mills, and Assistant Research Professor of Health Policy at GW, Janet Phoenix, to discuss the components of the Healthy Schools Act, how much has been implemented and what changes have been made.

Mary Cheh explained why she wrote and passed this piece of legislation.

"Half of the children in DC are either overweight or obese," said Cheh. "Unless we get obesity under control, we may face the first generation that lives a shorter time than the previous generation."

She discussed how this Act does not only focus on changing the food schools serve, but also seeks to educate children on healthy lifestyles.

"When a child comes into a school system we are responsible for the whole child," Cheh said. "They learn about what good food is, they learn where good food comes from, its an education in itself."

To illustrate this, Cheh told a story of how some schools now have gardens where students help harvest fruits and vegetables. One particular school introduced a class to squash soup by displaying a whole squash to the students, some for the first time, and teaching how the soup is prepared.

Jeffrey Mills, who was a top chef in New York City before taking the director position two years ago, described the process of adapting the act and the issues with the transition.

To create the new menu, Mills and his team had to try a lot of different food from many vendors.

"We tried many different chicken and were clucking exhausted afterwards," he joked.

According to Mills, the transition was difficult at first due to product shortages and lack of employee training.

"They couldn't explain what hummus was and why they should eat it," he said, "so what was on the menu wasn't being served."

Thanks to the Act and Mills, DCPS serves three meals a day to its students. Breakfast in the classroom has prepared students to learn and reduced tardiness. They also created the Breakfast Helper Program, where students volunteer to help prepare and serve breakfast. In 2010 DCPS was voted as the country's largest after-school dinner program, which has increased after school enrollment, according to Mills.

Mills said there is still much to do. This year DCPS will host four international food days to "promote children to learn about food and culture," he said. "It's critical to help children adapt healthy habits."

Janet Phoenix gave a presentation for the implementation analysis of the Healthy Schools Act. She discussed what it would take for this Act to succeed, such as inter-agency cooperation.

The audience of approximately fifty people comprised largely of GW graduate students.

"I really thought it was informative," said Ashley Cheung, Public Policy graduate student at GW. "It is good to see people talk about these challenges in school."

Public Policy graduate student Alicia Mazzara agreed. "I thought it was really well put together," she said. "It's really good GW is focusing on this issue because we don't get much of this in class."

Find out more about the University Seminar on Food here. And click here to learn about GW's Urban Food Task Force.