If you've been in a school cafeteria or university eatery in the past couple of years, you've probably picked up on a few menu item staples: pizza, fish nuggets, nachos, breaded chicken patty sandwiches, and mac and cheese, to name just a few. Processed foods like these with few nutrients but many calories play a sizable role (no pun intended) in contributing to the national childhood obesity epidemic, which has resulted in one-third of all kids in the U.S. qualifying as overweight, obese or even morbidly obese.
Now for the good news: Two new "trends" are helping to make over school lunches in many schools across the nation--nutritional awareness and the local foods movement. As a kid, you don't make meal choices yourself and unfortunately, not all adults care to prepare healthy snacks and lunches for their children, or have the means necessary to do so. Thankfully, there are men and women out there who are encouraging your children to make healthy foods choices at lunch time: food service workers.
Though often 'invisible', food service workers play a crucial role in encouraging those they serve the importance of eating a balanced diet that emphasizes fresh, local fruits and vegetables, while minimizing processed foods.
Food service worker Larry Bryant knows firsthand what a big role food preparation and service often play in influencing food safety and students' healthy eating--he's witnessed it during his four years as a cook at Towson University, which he writes about in an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun:
"Food service workers often make close to poverty wages, and many of us don't have affordable healthcare or paid sick days. Especially with flu season back in full force, workers who serve our kids food should not be forced to choose between coming to work sick and putting food on the table for their own children.
"There is a bill in Congress right now, the Child Nutrition Act, that can help address these issues by increasing the nutritional quality of the food and ensuring the cafeteria workers who prepare these meals receive decent wages, health care and paid sick leave."
Some of the most hands-on advocates for the well-being of our nation's children don't receive anywhere close to the care they provide in return--but Congress has the power to do something about that. Changes to the Child Nutrition Act present our best chance to put healthier foods than pizza and burgers on school lunch trays, as well as increase wages and health care benefits to a level that can sustain families.
Tell Congress why a real Child Nutrition Act is important to you.
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