Tag Archives: school food

Los Angeles the Worst Jamie Oliver’s Seen in Food Revolution’s Season 2 Premier

The premier of season two of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution was better than I had hoped. It had everyone in my house shocked and engaged. I couldn’t keep up with the discussion on twitter because #foodrevolution was a trending topic with hundreds of tweets every minute. If you missed it this week, I will catch you up. Hopefully you can join the conversation tweeting live with us next week.

This season Jamie is in Los Angeles, but he has been banned from the LAUSD school system. Even after going before the school board, not like a celebrity but like any other citizen in a three minute slot, Jamie was dismissed unceremoniously. At one point, Jamie stated that his welcome in Huntington, WV, reportedly the unhealthiest city in the U.S., was warm compared to the cold shoulder he was receiving in L.A. Because he was not allowed in the schools, he asked school children and their parents to bring him food items from the school. Jamie stated that it was the worst school menu he had seen anywhere (and twitter seemed to agree). It was revealed that to save money, food is only prepared in one kitchen for all the schools in L.A. – the meals were only warmed in house.

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Posted on April 13, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

Mexico Schools Offer Healthier Snack Options to Children

The beginning of the year marked a turning point for schools in Mexico. In order to fight childhood obesity, a soda ban and new food guidelines were put into place. Unfortunately, the new food rules are proving to be too relaxed for the taste of some officials.

Mexico is among the most obese countries in the world and children are far from exempt in these statistics. To put it into numbers, one out of every three children in Mexico is overweight.

Schools in Mexico do not provide school lunches, but food and snacks are sold at recess. After long and painful negotiations with junk food moguls, officials stepped in to mandate what type of foods are allowed to be sold. Although considerable improvements were made, there is still a great need for change. Chips, candy and cookies continue to be readily available for children to purchase during school hours. After school, the situation worsens beyond the reach of the newly-set standards. Vendors eagerly wait outside for the throng of students to come pouring out. Nachos, ice cream and various confections tempt the children after a long day in class.

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Posted on April 7, 2024 by Theresa

Obama’s Speech Addresses Little of Our Unhealthy Union

President Obama’s State of the Union address came at a politically fortunate time in his presidency. On the heels of the Arizona tragedy that took the lives of six people and injured 13 others, including congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who is still bravely fighting through her ordeal, the president has political capital to espouse some of his most prized initiatives to Congress and the rest of the country.

This tragedy has in some small way helped unify the country around President Obama after his well-received speech in Arizona… at least for the 53 percent or so who approve of the work he is doing as president, a dramatic turn from the low forties he was in just a few months ago.

The central themes to Obama’s 2024 State of the Union address were education, moving the country forward in the technologies of the future, and how we need to prepare the workforce for the 21st century economic realities. (more…)

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Jason

Healthier School Lunch Guidelines on the Way

The USDA announced new guidelines for school lunches on January 13, 2024. These are the first changes to the guidelines in over 15 years and have been made in part to help stop the rapidly increasing rates of childhood obesity.

“The more we can reinforce the right set of choices and encourage the right set of choices, the greater the chances are that we will get a handle on obesity,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told Good Morning America. “This doesn’t mean that we are going to eliminate treats, not at all. But it is a circumstance, situation where treats have a special meaning, a special occasion, a special circumstance that we celebrate with a treat.”

The new guidelines set the first ever maximum cap on consumable calories in addition to the minimum already allowed. They set high standards: reduce saturated fat, sugar and sodium, increase whole grains and serve both fruits and vegetables daily. Children consume up to half of their calories at school, and these guidelines help to make sure that they are meeting their dietary needs.

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Posted on January 14, 2024 by Carmen

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Act Passed

Five years after the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act was first introduced in the U.S. Congress, the bill (more commonly called FAAMA) has finally passed. Part of an overall food safety bill,  it is expected that President Obama will sign it into law.

The bill was introduced in 2005 as part of the Food Allergy Awareness Network’s inaugural Kids’ Congress. It was approved on December 19 by the Senate and then by The House on December 21.

The bill creates a much needed set of regulations to help deal with food allergies in schools. The guidelines are not mandatory for schools; however, they will give schools without food allergy management policies a place to begin to create one. The new policies will give educate school officials about the severity of food allergies and implement plans for severe reactions, including anaphylaxis, should they occur while on school property. The guidelines are also helpful for those parents who are aware of their child’s food allergies and gives them a set of guidelines for reinforcement in the school setting.

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Posted on December 23, 2023 by Carmen

What the Passing of the Child Nutrition Bill Means for Your Child

One of Michelle Obama’s greatest passions is helping our children grow up healthy and reversing the alarming childhood obesity trend. Seeing President Obama sign the the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act last week was particularly meaningful for her.

“We can all agree that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, all children should have the basic nutrition they need to learn and grow and to pursue their dreams, because in the end, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children.  Nothing.  And our hopes for their future should drive every single decision that we make,” said Mrs. Obama.

This new bill, backed with bipartisan support, was further explained by President Obama. “We need to make sure our kids have the energy and the capacity to go toe to toe with any of their peers, anywhere in the world.  And we need to make sure that they’re all reaching their potential.”

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Posted on December 17, 2023 by Carmen

Vegetarian Meals Called for to Save School Lunches

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) wants to give every child access to healthy vegetarian meals for school lunch. Their goal?  To help slash the fat and calories and reduce rates of childhood obesity.

The committee is pushing to pass H.R. 5504, the House of Representatives’ version of the Child Nutrition Act, which supports meatless meals and dairy alternatives. The House has set that bill aside to pass the less elaborate Senate legislation, which does not stipulate any meatless alternatives.

“One in three kids is now overweight, but many schools are still struggling to serve healthy lunches,” Neal Barnard, M.D., PCRM’s president said in a news release. “Schools should offer low-fat vegetarian options every day, and Congress and the president should take additional steps to give schools the resources to make that feasible.”

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Posted on December 7, 2023 by Carmen

USDA Teams With Author Brian Wansink to Improve Lunches in Wichita Schools

Brian Wansink, author of the bestselling book “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think,” has been hired to help improve school lunches. Wansink, former director of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and director of the food and brand lab at Cornell University, has long been successful at getting people to make healthier choices. His book focuses on how people make hundreds of decisions each day about food. His belief that people make different food choices based upon their environment has recently been put to trial in Wichita cafeterias and will be slowly moving nationwide. (more…)

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Carmen

Richard Simmons Still a Force in Fitness

Richard Simmons celebrated his 62nd birthday this year. Most people are ready to retire by that age, and Richard Simmons is one of the few who could easily afford to. What keeps him working is his flamboyant energy and love for his fans. I realize why he’s the butt of so many jokes, but let’s be realistic. A man of that caliber deserves a little bit of respect. I personally find his enthusiasm to be over the top, but for the millions of people he has inspired to lose weight, he is the perfect motivator. Although he’s not often seen in the spotlight anymore, he’s still a big presence in the industry today running his empire behind the scenes.

On our journey to fitness, we all must take slightly different paths. Personality type, age, lifestyle and genetics will inevitably affect which path you take. Not everyone responds well to the kick-ass persona of fitness gurus like Jillian Michaels. Some people just want to be told that they are beautiful and that they can do it. Lots of smiling and positive reinforcement works wonders for motivating the masses. (more…)

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Theresa

Flavored Milk Better for Children Than Nothing

Kids prefer flavored milk. It’s pretty obvious, right? When given the choice, not many kids choose regular milk over chocolate. This, no doubt, raises the concern of increased sugar in the diet of school-age kids. The National Dairy Council has recently published news that negates this concern. Studies show that kids who aren’t offered flavored milk at school simply choose not to drink milk at all.

The impact of this study is larger than it seems at first glance. Reportedly, 58 schools were included and each one exhibited dramatic drops in milk consumption when flavored milk was taken off the breakfast and lunch menus. Some schools boasted a 50 percent drop, although the average was 35 percent. It occurred to me that perhaps the kids just needed to get used to their new options. Strangely, the study didn’t see any rise in the percentage of milk-drinkers even after a year or more of partaking in the study.

If kids refuse to drink regular milk, we could always supplement their diets with other food that contains the same nutrients, right? Although this is a decent and well-thought out solution, it doesn’t really work. In trying to do this, their diet would incorporate more fat and calories, which actually increases the risk of obesity. Furthermore, it could cost up to $4,600 more a year to feed every 100 students. (more…)

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Theresa

The Great American Salad Bar Project to Improve School Lunches

We’ve made no secret of the fact that the National School Lunch Program needs improvement. From processed chicken patties to tator tots served as a vegetable, many schools offer lunches that are well below the acceptable nutrition level. With more than 2/3 of all schools serving meals that exceed an entire days allowance of fat, greater numbers of children are afflicted with obesity and deteriorating health.

Whole Foods, the upscale grocery chain, has announced a partnership with Ann Cooper, “The Renegade Lunch Lady”, to help make a change across America. Chef Ann has already changed hundreds of lunch programs across America by helping schools switch from processed foods to fresh, natural ingredients, and this newest partnership promises a bigger payoff than ever. (more…)

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Carmen