School Lunch News That You Could Use
We’re always keeping up with news stories and articles surrounding school lunches. Every couple of weeks we’ll do the heavy reading and round up our favorite stories for you to get quick information about school lunch news. Here are this week’s stories that we find especially interesting and think you will too.
School lunch deemed the healthiest meal of the day
After analyzing the diets of over 21,000 children and 40,000 adults between 2003 and 2018, researchers found that “the percentage of poor nutritional quality food consumed from schools declined from 55% to 24% over the 15-year period” according to JAMA Network Open. Even with this good news, it was found that only 9% of the calories children consume come from schools, the rest comes from grocery stores.
A New York school cook gets creative with fresh foods during the pandemic
This pandemic has changed pretty much everything, including the way school cooks imagine recipes with fresh ingredients. Meet Jocelyn Lopez, a cook at Keene Central School New York, who wanted to make sure school lunch was something her students could look forward to despite the rapid pivots in supply and packaging. Lopez worked with the sparse fresh offerings she was given to make something special for her students like using chickpeas to create an oat bar that she knows her students will enjoy.
What your kids eat for lunch has a huge impact in the classroom
After school meal programs had been proven to contribute to childhood obesity rates, congress began the journey of improving nutritional standards for the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program about ten years ago. These changes have made a big impact on the educational performance of lower-income students, with a jump in participation leading to improved test scores by 40 percent.
New Mexico’s public schools want kids to rate school lunches
New Mexico is asking for children’s opinions on school lunch quality in a survey last May. Children of all ages were encouraged to take the online survey so that the Public Education Department can work to improve meals. Fliers were even sent home for parents to help their little ones share their opinions.
Biden proposes lunch plan to benefit 29 million children
A part of Biden’s economic recovery plan expands school lunch programs for children so that they can continue to get nutrition from schools all summer long, even after the pandemic! Additionally, each family will receive $114 per child on top of other nutritional programs they already use.
