tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/school-lunches-42783/articlesSchool lunches – The Conversation2024-03-18T12:24:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232702024-03-18T12:24:52Z2024-03-18T12:24:52ZFree school meals for all may reduce childhood obesity, while easing financial and logistical burdens for families and schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580529/original/file-20240307-16-nylyj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1024%2C683&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School meal waivers that started with the COVID-19 pandemic stopped with the end of the public health emergency.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/plymouth-ma-a-student-at-plymouth-county-intermediate-news-photo/1242013592">Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>School meals are critical to child health. Research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9090924">school meals can be more nutritious</a> than meals from other sources, such as meals brought from home. </p>
<p>A recent study that one of us conducted found the quality of school meals has steadily improved, especially since the 2010 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.9517">Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act</a> strengthened nutrition standards for school meals. In fact, by 2017, another study found that school meals provided the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5262">best diet quality</a> of any major U.S. food source.</p>
<p>Many American families became familiar with universal free school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ease the financial and logistical burdens of the pandemic on families and schools, the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus">U.S. Department of Agriculture issued waivers</a> that allowed schools nationwide to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. However, these <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/offsite-monitoring-after-phe#">waivers expired</a> by the 2022-23 school year. </p>
<p>Since that time, there has been a substantial increase in schools participating in the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/community-eligibility-provision">Community Eligibility Provision</a>, a federal policy that allows schools in high poverty areas to provide free breakfast and lunch to all attending students. The policy became available as an option for low-income schools nationwide in 2014 and was part of the <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/Child_Nutrition_Fact_Sheet_12_10_10.pdf">Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act</a>. By the 2022-23 school year, <a href="https://frac.org/cep-report-2023">over 40,000 schools</a> had adopted the Community Eligibility Provision, an increase of more than 20% over the prior year.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wsFvSmkYbVU?wmode=transparent&start=30" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Many families felt stressed when a federal program providing free school meals during the pandemic came to an end.</span></figcaption>
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<p>We are <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ihU7JuoAAAAJ&hl=en">public health</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VkqyJPcAAAAJ&hl=en">researchers who</a> study the health effects of nutrition-related policies, particularly those that alleviate poverty. Our newly published research found that the Community Eligibility Provision was associated with a net <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063749">reduction in the prevalence of childhood obesity</a>.</p>
<h2>Improving the health of American children</h2>
<p>President Harry Truman <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/nslp-fact-sheet">established the National School Lunch Program</a> in 1946, with the stated goal of protecting the health and well-being of American children. The program established permanent federal funding for school lunches, and participating schools were required to provide free or reduced-price lunches to children from qualifying households. Eligibility is <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/fr-020923">determined by income</a> based on federal poverty levels, both of which are <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/17/2024-00796/annual-update-of-the-hhs-poverty-guidelines#">revised annually</a>.</p>
<p>In 1966, the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cna-amended-pl-111-296">Child Nutrition Act</a> piloted the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/sbp/program-history">School Breakfast Program</a>, which provides free, reduced-price and full-price breakfasts to students. This program was later made permanent through an amendment in 1975.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/community-eligibility-provision">Community Eligibility Provision</a> was piloted in several states beginning in 2011 and became an option for eligible schools nationwide beginning in 2014. It operates through the national school lunch and school breakfast programs and expands on these programs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Gloved hand placing cheese slices on bun slices" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580532/original/file-20240307-22-r2dnw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Various federal and state programs have sought to make food more accessible to children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cafeteria-worker-puts-together-sandwiches-for-free-meals-as-news-photo/1213018954">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The policy allows all students in a school to receive free breakfast and lunch, rather than determine eligibility by individual households. Entire schools or school districts are eligible for free lunches if at least 40% of their students are directly certified to receive free meals, meaning their household participated in a means-based safety net program, such as the <a href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/NSLPDirectCertification2016.pdf">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a>, or the child is identified as runaway, homeless, in foster care or enrolled in Head Start. Some states also <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/direct-certification-medicaid-demonstration-project">use Medicaid for direct certification</a>.</p>
<p>The Community Eligibility Provision increases school meal participation by <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300134">reducing the stigma</a> associated with receiving free meals, eliminating the need to complete and process applications and extending access to students in households with incomes above the eligibility threshold for free meals. As of 2023, the eligibility threshold for free meals is 130% of the federal poverty level, which amounts to US$39,000 for a family of four.</p>
<h2>Universal free meals and obesity</h2>
<p>We analyzed whether providing universal free meals at school through the Community Eligibility Provision was associated with lower childhood obesity before the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>To do this, we measured <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063749">changes in obesity prevalence</a> from 2013 to 2019 among 3,531 low-income California schools. We used over 3.5 million body mass index measurements of students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade that were taken annually and aggregated at the school level. To ensure rigorous results, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2020.12.001">accounted for differences</a> between schools that adopted the policy and eligible schools that did not. We also followed the same schools over time, comparing obesity prevalence before and after the policy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Child scooping food from salad bar onto a tray; other children lean against the wall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580530/original/file-20240307-24-swy6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Free school meals may help reduce health disparities among marginalized and low-income children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/westbrook-middle-school-fifth-grade-student-salem-bukasa-news-photo/469592304">Whitney Hayward/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>We found that schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision had a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063749">2.4% relative reduction</a> in obesity prevalence compared with eligible schools that did not participate in the provision. Although our findings are modest, even small improvements in obesity levels are notable because effective strategies to reduce obesity at a population level <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8">remain elusive</a>. Additionally, because obesity <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:106273">disproportionately affects</a> racially and ethnically marginalized and low-income children, this policy could contribute to reducing health disparities.</p>
<p>The Community Eligibility Provision likely reduces obesity prevalence by substituting up to half of a child’s weekly diet with healthier options and simultaneously <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102646">freeing up more disposable income</a> for low-to-middle-income families. Families receiving free breakfast and lunch save approximately $4.70 per day per child, or $850 per year. For low-income families, particularly those with multiple school-age children, this could result in meaningful savings that families can use for other health-promoting goods or services.</p>
<h2>Expanding access to school meals</h2>
<p>Childhood obesity <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-053708">has been</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.14590">increasing over</a> the past several decades. Obesity often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12334">continues into adulthood</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/obesity-in-children-is-rising-dramatically-and-it-comes-with-major-and-sometimes-lifelong-health-consequences-202595">and is linked</a> to a range of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2016.303326">chronic health conditions and premature death</a>. </p>
<p>Growing research is showing the benefits of universal free school meals for the health and well-being of children. Along with our study of California schools, other researchers have found an association between universal free school meals and reduced obesity in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/723824">Chile</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101072">South Korea</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubecp.2022.100016">England</a>, as well as among <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22175">New York City schools</a> and school districts in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00380">New York state</a>.</p>
<p>Studies have also linked the Community Eligibility Provision to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.57.3.0518-9509R3">improvements in academic performance</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312231222266">reductions in suspensions</a>.</p>
<p>While our research observed a reduction in the prevalence of obesity among schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision relative to schools that did not, obesity increased over time in both groups, with a greater increase among nonparticipating schools.</p>
<p>Universal free meals policies may slow the rise in childhood obesity rates, but they alone will not be sufficient to reverse these trends. Alongside universal free meals, identifying <a href="https://theconversation.com/fixing-the-global-childhood-obesity-epidemic-begins-with-making-healthy-choices-the-easier-choices-and-that-requires-new-laws-and-policies-207975">other population-level strategies</a> to reduce obesity among children is necessary to address this public health issue.</p>
<p>As of 2023, <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/5-states-addressing-child-hunger-and-food-insecurity-with-free-school-meals-for-all/">several states have implemented their own</a> universal free school meals policies. States such as California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota and New Mexico have pledged to cover the difference between school meal expenditures and federal reimbursements. As more states adopt their own universal free meals policies, understanding their effects on child health and well-being, as well as barriers and supports to successfully implementing these programs, will be critical.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Jones-Smith receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Localio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since nutrition standards were strengthened in 2010, eating at school provides many students with healthier food than is available cheaply elsewhere. Plus, reducing stigma increases the number of kids getting fed.Anna Localio, Ph.D. Candidate in Health Services, University of WashingtonJessica Jones-Smith, Associate Professor of Health Systems and Population Health, Epidemiology, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2233412024-02-13T02:26:14Z2024-02-13T02:26:14ZWhy ban ham from school canteens? And what are some healthier alternatives for kids’ lunches?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575144/original/file-20240212-18-jxuhh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C37%2C4100%2C2773&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toasted-sandwich-ham-cheese-176817788">Shutterstock/Joe Gough</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Western Australia has introduced a limit on ham in school canteens. Parents are reportedly <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/school-life/western-australia-introduces-new-limits-on-ham-at-school-canteens-banning-iconic-lunch/news-story/19b927b35e1122a01ab4539bc477a95d">confused and frustrated</a>. So what has changed and what evidence is it based on?</p>
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<h2>Reclassifying processed meats</h2>
<p>The WA Department of Health has reconfigured its system for classifying food and drink in public schools. It uses a traffic light approach, allocating green, amber or red colours to foods and drinks. </p>
<p>Ham and other processed red meats <a href="https://www.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Obesity-physical-activity-and-nutrition/WA-school-food-and-drink-criteria-FAQ.pdf">have been moved</a> from an “amber” label to a “red” label. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-we-still-need-to-cut-down-on-red-and-processed-meat-124486">Yes, we still need to cut down on red and processed meat</a>
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<p>Each colour is <a href="https://www.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Obesity-physical-activity-and-nutrition/WA-school-food-and-drink-criteria-FAQ.pdf">associated with restrictions</a> on how food and drinks can be sold:</p>
<ul>
<li>green items must account for at least 60% of items on a menu</li>
<li>amber items must account for less than 40% of items on a menu</li>
<li>red items cannot be on the menu.</li>
</ul>
<p>There’s one catch. The new guidelines allow ham to be sold as if it is an amber item, only two days per week, if ham was already on a canteen’s menu prior to the reconfiguration. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Kids sit in a lunchroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575145/original/file-20240212-22-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ham can still be sold two days a week if it’s already on the canteen’s menu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cute-schoolchildren-having-meal-canteen-452918419">Shutterstock/WBMUL</a></span>
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<h2>Why restrict ham?</h2>
<p>Singling out nutrients or foods as “good” or “bad” can lead to <a href="https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84907554121&partnerID=10&rel=R3.0.0">confusion and polarised views</a> on diet. Rather than focusing on individual foods, long-term health outcomes are more closely linked to overall <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7071223/">dietary patterns</a>.</p>
<p>Ham itself is not inherently considered junk food. It’s a source of protein and many other nutrients. </p>
<p>However, certain types of ham products – especially highly processed or cured hams – are less healthy options for several reasons:</p>
<p><strong>High sodium content</strong></p>
<p>Many commercially available hams, especially highly processed and cured varieties, can be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6267163/">high in sodium</a>, which is salt.</p>
<p>Excessive sodium intake is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32992705/">associated</a> with health issues such as high blood pressure and can increase the risk of heart disease and strokes. </p>
<p>On average, Australian children <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267218302569">consume more sodium</a> than the <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/salt">recommended upper limit</a>: 600 mg a day for children aged four to eight and 800 mg a day for those aged nine to 13. </p>
<p>The World Health Organization says reducing sodium is <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction#:%7E:text=Excess%20sodium%20is%20linked%20to,as%20milk%2C%20meat%20and%20shellfish.">one of the most cost-effective ways</a> nations can improve the health of their populations.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-much-salt-is-ok-to-eat-58594">Health Check: how much salt is OK to eat?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p><strong>Additives</strong></p>
<p>Some processed hams may contain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1051227621002120">additives</a>, preservatives and flavour-enhancers we should limit.</p>
<p><strong>Saturated fat</strong></p>
<p>While ham is a good source of protein, certain cuts can be higher in saturated fat. </p>
<p>Any ham sold in canteens under the new rules (where ham is treated as an “amber” food until the canteen menu changes) must have <a href="https://www.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Obesity-physical-activity-and-nutrition/Selected-RED-items">less than 3g of saturated fat per 100g</a>. </p>
<p>Diets high in saturated fat are <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/bundles/healthy-living-and-eating/fats-oils-and-heart-health#:%7E:text=Unhealthy%20saturated%20and%20trans%20fats%20can%20heighten%20your%20risk%20of,and%20mortality%20from%20heart%20disease.">linked to an increased risk of heart disease</a>. However, not all research <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2824152/#:%7E:text=Conclusions%3A%20A%20meta%2Danalysis%20of,risk%20of%20CHD%20or%20CVD.">supports this claim</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Processing methods</strong></p>
<p>The methods to process and cure ham may involve smoking, which can produce compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In large quantities, these <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8537007/">may cause health concerns</a>, including increasing the risk of bowel cancer.</p>
<h2>What are some ham alternatives?</h2>
<p>Lean, minimally processed ham, prepared without excessive sodium or additives, can potentially be a part of a healthy overall diet. And parents in WA can <a href="https://www.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Obesity-physical-activity-and-nutrition/WA-school-food-and-drink-criteria-FAQ.pdf">continue packing ham</a> in their child’s lunchbox. </p>
<p>When choosing ham, read the labels and select products with a lower sodium content, minimal additives and healthier preparation methods. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Girl picks up celery while shopping with her brother and dad" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575150/original/file-20240212-16-ey3jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Involve kids in preparing their lunchboxes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-shopping-son-daughter-supermarket-149629991">sirtravelalot/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When looking for low-salt alternatives to ham, there are several options to consider: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>turkey breast</strong>. Turkey is a lean meat and can be a good substitute for ham. Look for low-sodium or no-salt-added varieties</p></li>
<li><p><strong>chicken breast</strong>. Skinless, boneless chicken breast is a versatile and low-sodium option. Grilling, baking or roasting can add flavour without relying on salt</p></li>
<li><p><strong>smoked salmon</strong>. While salmon naturally contains some sodium, smoked salmon tends to be lower in sodium than cured ham. Choose varieties with little or no added salt</p></li>
<li><p><strong>roast beef</strong>. Choose lean cuts of roast beef and consider seasoning with herbs and spices instead of relying on salt for flavour</p></li>
<li><p><strong>homemade roasts</strong>. Prepare your own roasts using lean meats such as pork loin, beef sirloin or lamb. This way, you have more control over the ingredients and can minimise added salt</p></li>
<li><p><strong>grilled vegetables</strong>. These can be a tasty alternative to meat. Eggplant, zucchini, capsicum and portobello mushrooms have a satisfying texture and flavour</p></li>
<li><p><strong>beans and legumes</strong>. Beans, lentils and chickpeas can be used as alternatives in various dishes. They are naturally low in sodium and high in protein and fibre.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What are some other lunchbox tips?</h2>
<p>Packing lunchboxes can be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10107882/">challenging and frustrating</a> for parents. </p>
<p>Consider planning ahead, involving your kids, reducing pre-packaged foods, balancing cost and convenience, and giving your kids lunchbox accountability. </p>
<p>Many websites provide <a href="https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/budget/galleries/lunch-box-recipes-kids-31-back-school-lunches/vy6bf9xp">ideas for parents</a>, including websites focused on <a href="https://www.frugalandthriving.com.au/frugal-lunchbox-ideas/">low-cost foods</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sick-of-packing-school-lunches-already-heres-how-to-make-it-easier-179675">Sick of packing school lunches already? Here's how to make it easier</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Remember to keep portions appropriate for kids and to consider any allergies or school regulations when packing lunches. </p>
<p>Making the lunch experience interactive and enjoyable can encourage kids to <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0798-1">embrace healthier eating habits</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223341/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Mater Misericordia. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.</span></em></p>Western Australia has introduced a limit on ham in school canteens. Here’s what has changed and the evidence it’s based on.Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191192024-01-22T19:04:08Z2024-01-22T19:04:08ZGood lunchboxes are based on 4 things: here’s how parents can prepare healthy food and keep costs down<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568160/original/file-20240108-17-vx4wzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=116%2C107%2C5775%2C3790&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-teen-girl-eating-snack-in-box-5905684/">Katerina Holmes/Pexles </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heading back to school is a time of great anticipation for many families, but it is not without challenges. One of the big challenges is preparing healthy, easy, affordable and appealing lunchboxes.</p>
<p>Lunchboxes are vital for supporting children’s energy levels throughout the school day, which in turn helps maintain their <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/%20%20nu13030911%20https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12051297">concentration</a>. </p>
<p>What does a healthy lunchbox contain? How can you keep it fresh, while also keeping costs down? </p>
<h2>Making a healthy lunchbox</h2>
<p>A healthy well-balanced lunchbox should have four things: </p>
<p><strong>1. food for energy:</strong> these foods have carbohydrates for energy to learn and play. This could be sandwiches, wraps, pasta or rice dishes </p>
<p><strong>2. food for growth:</strong> these foods have protein to support growing bodies and minds. This could be lean meats, eggs, beans or dairy</p>
<p><strong>3. food for health:</strong> these foods have vitamins and minerals to support healthy immune systems and include fruits and vegetables in a variety of colours</p>
<p><strong>4. something to drink:</strong> water, milk or milk alternatives are the best choices. Do not give your children sugary drinks, including juice, cordial or energy drinks as they can lead to dental issues. If your child has trouble drinking plain water, try different bottles or cups. Some kids are more likely to drink from a strawed or spouted bottle. You can also try adding in a few drops of colourful fresh vegetable juice such as beetroot to make the water pink. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A lunch box with a peeled mandarin, grapes, dried apricots and a sandwich." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568163/original/file-20240108-15-ftzfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lunchboxes should contain a mix of foods for energy, growth and health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-sandwich-lunch-box-with-fruits-5852281/">Antoni Shkraba/ Pixels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Choose snacks wisely</h2>
<p>Most kids will eat a treat food over the core foods listed above (just like most adults!). These foods are fun and yummy but not the best choice for sustained energy and focus at school everyday. </p>
<p>So try and avoid snacks like fruit bars and straps, which are low in fibre, fluids, vitamins and minerals, and high in sugar. Also avoid dairy desserts such as custard pouches, biscuits, chocolate bars and muesli bars that are often high in fat and sugar and don’t need to be included in the lunchbox. </p>
<p>While homemade snacks like pikelets, scrolls or homemade dip are ideal and more cost effective, pre-packaged options can be a lifesaver for time-pressed parents.</p>
<p>When choosing packaged snacks, look for items under 600 kilojules per serving, low in saturated fat (less than 2 grams per serving) and containing fibre (more than 1 gram per serving). </p>
<p>Also look for nutrient-dense ingredients like low-fat dairy, wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, or beans to provide a more balanced snack selection. Good options include popcorn, dried fruit boxes, wholegrain crackers and cheese, mini rice cakes, tinned fruit cups and yoghurts without added sugars. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sick-of-packing-school-lunches-already-heres-how-to-make-it-easier-179675">Sick of packing school lunches already? Here's how to make it easier</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Keep lunch boxes easy</h2>
<p>Try to make school food easy to handle and eat. </p>
<p>For younger children, cut up large pieces of fruit and vegetables, quarter sandwiches and choose things with easy-to-open packaging.</p>
<p>Involve your children in preparing and packing the lunchbox or show them the final product so they know its contents. This means the child is not surprised by the contents. They are also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666314001573">more likely to eat</a> a meal they helped make.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young child chops tomato on a plate with chopped cucumbers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568164/original/file-20240108-21-c0myyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Encourage your your kids to help prepare and pack their lunchboxes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-little-boy-cutting-vegetables-on-red-plate-3984726/">Gustavo Fring/ Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-spend-less-on-food-following-the-dietary-guidelines-might-save-you-160-a-fortnight-216749">Trying to spend less on food? Following the dietary guidelines might save you $160 a fortnight</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Keep things fresh</h2>
<p>Food can sit in lunchboxes for hours, so it’s important to keep it fresh. To help keep it as cool you can: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>use an insulated lunchbox and ice pack. Pack the ice pack next to items prone to spoilage</p></li>
<li><p>if you are preparing the lunchbox the day before, store it in the fridge overnight</p></li>
<li><p>ask your kids to keep lunchboxes in their school bags, away from direct sunlight and heat</p></li>
<li><p>also consider freezing water bottles overnight to provide a cool and refreshing drink for hot days</p></li>
<li><p>if you know it’s going to be a particularly hot day or your child is going to be out and about with their lunch box, choose foods that don’t have to be kept cool. For example, baked beans, tetra pack milk, wholegrain crackers and diced fruit cups. Also consider uncut and whole raw fruit and vegetables such as an apple or orange, baby carrots, baby cucumbers or cherry tomatoes. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-schools-are-starting-to-provide-food-but-we-need-to-think-carefully-before-we-ditch-the-lunchbox-193536">Australian schools are starting to provide food, but we need to think carefully before we 'ditch the lunchbox'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Keep costs down</h2>
<p>There are several ways you can try to keep costs down when buying school lunch supplies: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>follow the <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/guidelines">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a>. A <a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-spend-less-on-food-following-the-dietary-guidelines-might-save-you-160-a-fortnight-216749">2023 study</a> suggests maintaining a healthy diet – along the lines of the guidelines – could save A$160 off a family of four’s fortnightly shopping bill</p></li>
<li><p>choose seasonal fruits and vegetables for the freshest items at lowest cost</p></li>
<li><p>take advantage of special deals or bulk purchases, especially for your child’s favourite snacks or things with a long shelf-life like canned or frozen foods </p></li>
<li><p>bake items such as scrolls or muesli bars and freeze in bulk when time allows. The <a href="https://onehandedcooks.com.au">One Handed Cooks</a> have healthy recipes for all ages that are wallet and freezer friendly</p></li>
<li><p>use dinner leftovers as next-day lunches</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pot full of noodles and vegetables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568165/original/file-20240108-16-issd9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Try to plan dinners that can double as lunches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/stir-fry-noodles-in-bowl-2347311/%20engin">Engin Akyurt/ Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li>keep an eye on your child’s lunchbox to see what they eat. They may eat less during lunchtime but need a snack later. Adjust the lunchbox contents based on their hunger level and have a post-school snack prepared to avoid unnecessary food waste.</li>
</ul>
<p>For more ideas on managing lunchboxes, check out the <a href="https://growandgotoolbox.com">Grow&Go Toolbox</a>. Nutrition Australia also has some <a href="https://www.healthylunchboxweek.org.au/lunchbox-ebook">great suggestions</a> for balancing your child’s lunchbox.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219119/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Dix receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stella Boyd-Ford receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Health.</span></em></p>Lunchboxes should have food for concentration, growth and health as well as something to drink.Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of QueenslandStella Boyd-Ford, Research Fellow with the Grow&Go Toolbox, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981242023-04-04T11:03:37Z2023-04-04T11:03:37ZA brief history of school meals in the UK: from free milk to Jamie Oliver’s campaign against Turkey Twizzlers<p>Mashed potato, gravy, custard. When British people hear the words “school dinners”, it’s not always great memories that come to mind. </p>
<p>That’s not the case for everyone. Indeed France is known for its gourmet school lunches cooked by <a href="https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/People/Interviews/French-chef-serving-Michelin-quality-cuisine-to-school-pupils-Nicolas-Lamstaes-has-created-France-s-first-100-organic-canteen">onsite chefs</a> – bon appétit!</p>
<p>But in the UK people have been complaining about <a href="https://archive.org/details/poorcitizensstat0000vinc">school meals</a> for a long time.
Celebrity chef <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/mar/06/schoolmeals">Jamie Oliver</a> campaigned against cheap processed foods like “<a href="https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/turkey-twizzlers-bernard-matthews-history-banned-schools-jamie-oliver-new-recipe-taste-test-581342">turkey twizzlers</a>” in the early 2000s. And Margaret Thatcher, the UK’s prime minister in the 1970s, was nicknamed the “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatcher-regretted-snatching-milk-from-school-children-for-two-decades-a7500171.html">milk snatcher</a>” when she was education secretary because she stopped free milk for children in schools.</p>
<p>Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more children than ever before have become eligible for free school meals. In fact, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2022">1.9 million children</a> (22.5% of all school-age children in England) were eligible for free school lunches in 2022 – up from 17.3% in 2020. </p>
<p><a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2020-0114/">Free school meals</a> have long been used as a measure of poverty. Children are eligible if they come from families with low incomes or who receive certain benefits. </p>
<p>The provision of <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/311/7008/818.1">free school meals</a> has become particularly significant as levels of child poverty in the UK have risen. And the pandemic highlighted the importance of ensuring that children from low-income families have access to nutritious meals. The government provided free meal vouchers to <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-10-21/debates/79C0CA8D-CADF-4562-9317-5A51810BB5DE/FreeSchoolMeals">eligible children</a> during school closures.</p>
<p>The issue of <a href="https://theconversation.com/free-school-meals-debate-shows-how-victorian-attitudes-about-undeserving-poor-persist-149130">free school meals</a> and school meals more broadly has also been the subject of controversy over recent years, with <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/kids-children-school-lunches-canteen-unhealthy-a9072816.html">concerns raised</a> about the adequacy of the meals provided and the nutritional quality of the food served. </p>
<h2>From rationing to revolution</h2>
<p>But problems with school meals <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6074399M/Social_history_of_the_school_meals_service.">goes back much further</a>. In fact they started when the government first began offering meals to schoolchildren <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1906/57/enacted">in 1906</a>. Back then, local education authorities decided whether or not to provide meals and they were only for children who showed evidence of actual malnutrition. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until the second world war that the number of pupils who got <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674026780">school meals</a> began to rise significantly. But even then, the meals weren’t great. Indeed, during this time, the government introduced rationing, which had a significant impact on school meals. As a result, meals were often limited to basic, low-cost ingredients such as vegetables, potatoes and bread.</p>
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<p>In the post-war years, school meals underwent significant changes. The introduction of new technologies such as electric ovens and refrigerators meant that schools could provide more varied and nutritious meals and menus began to include meat, fish and desserts.</p>
<p>The 1970s saw a renewed focus on healthy eating and the introduction of official guidelines for school meals. These guidelines aimed to provide a balanced diet that included plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains.</p>
<p>But in <a href="http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/acts/1980-educationhttp://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/acts/1980-education-act.htmlact.html#06">the 1980s</a>, things went downhill. The Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher introduced a policy of privatisation, which led to many schools <a href="https://weownit.org.uk/blog/profit-should-have-no-place-school-meal-provision">outsourcing their catering services</a> to private companies. </p>
<p>This move was criticised by many who felt that these companies were more interested in making a profit than providing healthy and nutritious meals to children.</p>
<h2>Feeding the future</h2>
<p>Since thenm, there have been several initiatives (including Jamie Oliver’s) to improve the quality of school meals in the UK, including the introduction of strict nutritional standards and the promotion of locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. But concerns about the quality of some meals still remain. Indeed many children continue to bring <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/packed-lunches-worse-for-kids-than-school-dinners-11908182">packed lunches</a> to school instead.</p>
<p>This is why as part of our <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/education/research/school-meals-service-past-present-and-future">new research project</a> we want to understand the problems with the school meals service and find ways to make it better. We’ll be looking at the experience of school feeding across generations and working with schools in the UK to study school meals today. The goal is to create a better school meals service that can meet the needs of the 21st century.</p>
<p>Overall, improving school meals in the UK will require a multi-faceted approach that addresses funding, food quality and sustainability. Most importantly, we need politicians to take a long-term, historically-informed approach to policymaking, so that past mistakes can be learned from and this knowledge used to inform decisions about school meals going forward. It’s our hope that this research will go some way towards achieving better nutritional standards for future generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198124/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gurpinder Singh Lalli has received funding from ESRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary McCulloch receives funding from the ESRC and has received funding from the Leverhulme Trust and the Society for Educational Studies. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Ellis receives funding from the ESRC and the AHRC and has received funding from the Society for Educational Studies.</span></em></p>From soup and semolina to Jamie’s school dinners: the changing face of school meals in the UK.Gurpinder Singh Lalli, Reader in Education for Social Justice and Inclusion, University of WolverhamptonGary McCulloch, Brian Simon Professor of History of Education, UCLHeather Ellis, Vice-Chancellor's Fellow, School of Education, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1935362022-11-06T19:04:19Z2022-11-06T19:04:19ZAustralian schools are starting to provide food, but we need to think carefully before we ‘ditch the lunchbox’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493413/original/file-20221104-11-c2g8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=933%2C75%2C4674%2C3505&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anton Murygin/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>State Liberal leader Matthew Guy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/30/victorian-public-schools-to-get-free-lunches-under-opposition-election-pledge">has promised</a> a trial to provide free lunches in Victorian public schools if elected on November 26. </p>
<p>The A$300 million election policy is aimed at helping families with cost-of-living pressures, through an opt-in system sourcing meals from local business and cafes. </p>
<p>This idea is part of a small but growing trend in Australia to provide meals at schools. There are lots of good reasons to move away from kids bringing their own food to school. </p>
<p>But before we ditch the lunchbox, we need to think carefully about how we replace it.</p>
<h2>Most Australian kids bring their lunch</h2>
<p>In theory, about 90% of <a href="http://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/publichealth.2018.4.394">Australian children</a> bring their own food to school, with 10% of children eating food bought from a school canteen or tuckshop, or via food relief programs. </p>
<p>We know the current system is failing to support children’s growth, health and development. </p>
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<img alt="Lunch box with a sandwich and fruit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493414/original/file-20221104-18-e3mlth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The vast majority of Australian students bring their own lunch to school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>More than one-third of the food students eat at school is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021003888">unhealthy</a> (such as sweet and savoury biscuits, sugary muesli bars and chips), with most lunchboxes not having any vegetables. </p>
<p>We also know 15% of children <a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-provide-food-for-many-hungry-children-this-needs-to-continue-when-classes-go-online-134384">arrive at school without lunch</a> or money to spend at the canteen, when families have limited budgets.</p>
<p>This is not just a question of children going hungry or eating too many meat pies. Good nutrition <a href="https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/nutrition-and-learning-in-the-australian-context">during school years</a> supports health, growth, concentration, brain development and academic achievement.</p>
<h2>Why don’t we have school lunches in Australia?</h2>
<p>One in two children around the world <a href="https://www.wfp.org/publications/2020-wfp-school-feeding-infographic#:%7E:text=At%20the%20beginning%20of%202020,this%20decade%20of%20global%20growth">are provided with a meal</a> at school.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Salad bar vegetables including beans, spinach, tomato and corn." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493418/original/file-20221104-19-d97uc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The US and UK are among the countries that feed children during the school day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Borba/Unsplash</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Most high-income countries offer school-provided meals, such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/changes-are-coming-to-school-meals-nationwide-an-expert-in-food-policy-explains-184365">United States</a>, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, France and Japan. <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/wellbeing-in-education/free-and-healthy-school-lunches/">New Zealand</a> is moving from a “lunchbox system” to school meals, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-pledges-a-canadian-school-food-program-but-recipe-requires-funding-112789">Canada</a> is also looking at the idea.</p>
<p>Apart from some breakfast programs – which target children from disadvantaged backgrounds – Australia hasn’t had a tradition of offering food at school. This is largely because we have had a lunchbox system for so long, it is simply the norm that parents are responsible for feeding their children.</p>
<p>But this is starting to change. There are now are several pilot projects aimed at providing food at the individual school level, exploring options within schools or with local businesses. </p>
<p>There are also pockets of schools trialling food programs around Australia, including in the Nothern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. This is either to address food access in remote areas or improve nutritious food at school. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org.au/school-lunch-project/">three-school pilot in Tasmania</a> has recently been expanded to 30 schools in 2022-23. Schools in the pilot provide students with a cooked meal, based on a set menu, certain days of the week. Where meals are prepared and served varies depending on the school. School staff are noticing increased attendance on school lunch days and a boost to social skills and school connection. </p>
<h2>Why are school lunches a good idea?</h2>
<p>Providing food at school has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">many benefits</a>. Not only does it save time-poor families time and energy (no more morning meal prep), but it makes sure all students have access to good food. </p>
<p>It can also <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/evaluation-school-nutrition-projects-northern-territory-final-report">create jobs</a> and other opportunities to teach students about food production and healthy eating. </p>
<p>From an environmental perspective, it can cut down on <a href="https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org.au/school-lunch-project/">packaging waste</a>.</p>
<h2>We know there is support</h2>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/7935">research</a>, we asked teachers, parents, canteen managers, food relief workers, and health promotion officers to come up with ideas for how school food could be done differently in Australia. </p>
<p>This group said a school-provided lunch prepared onsite was likely to be most achievable and have an impact. By repurposing existing canteen facilities, schools could provide a nutritious, sit-down meal. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/swap-shapes-for-rice-crackers-chips-for-popcorn-parents-can-improve-their-kids-diet-with-these-healthier-lunchbox-options-163646">Swap shapes for rice crackers, chips for popcorn… parents can improve their kids’ diet with these healthier lunchbox options</a>
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<p>We also know there is support from parents. Depending on how the question is it framed, surveys have found support ranging from <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/HE-09-2021-0131/full/html">53%</a> to <a href="https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2022/08/16/parents-back-introduction-of-school-meals-in-australia/">86%</a>.</p>
<p>Parents don’t necessarily expect lunches to be free, either. They are already spending on <a href="https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2022/08/16/parents-back-introduction-of-school-meals-in-australia/">average $4 per child per day</a>, and <a href="https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2022/08/16/parents-back-introduction-of-school-meals-in-australia/">some are willing to pay similar or more</a> for school-provided lunches.</p>
<h2>But we need to think about these issues</h2>
<p>But while we know there is a good level of support at the community level, swapping from from a predominantly lunchbox model to a school-provided meals system will take some work. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children eating lunch at a cafeteria table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493416/original/file-20221104-11-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Eating together provides an opportunity for students to develop their social skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are several things we need to consider – it’s not just a question of handing out cheese and ham sandwiches. If meals are going to be provided at school, they will need to accommodate different cultures, dietary needs and geographic areas.</p>
<p>It also needs to be sustainable. Funding needs to be ongoing, and food supply chains and waste need to be taken into account. Importantly, those who access the meals need to be able to do so without stigma. </p>
<p>This leads to questions of who is responsible for running this? If school-provided meals are going to be successful and embraced by school communities, they need support from families, governments, health and education experts, as well as primary industries.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-gutful-of-lunchbox-hype-has-selling-good-bugs-not-drugs-for-kids-health-gone-too-far-176251">A gutful of lunchbox hype – has selling 'good bugs not drugs' for kids' health gone too far?</a>
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<p>Schools will also need the appropriate infrastructure, so there is a place for food to be prepared and eaten. Together with the produce and staffing, this leads to inevitable questions about costs and funding.</p>
<p>Finally, we also need to think about whether this is a universal or opt-in system. While many families will welcome food at school, some others may feel disempowered, and as though their choices are being removed. </p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>School meals could provide so many benefits, from creating jobs to addressing food insecurity, supporting local food production, reducing the burden on parents, and supporting student wellbeing, attendance and school performance.</p>
<p>With pockets of enthusiasm and innovation occurring across Australia, it is time for a national conversation to help get universal school-provided lunches on the menu at schools across Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brittany Johnson receives grant funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Manson receives funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and the King and Amy O’Malley Trust Postgraduate Research Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Gallegos receives funding from the Queensland Children's Hospital Foundation via a philanthropic donation from Woolworths. She has also received funding from the ARC and Foodbank Qld. The views expressed here are the author's own and do not reflect those of the Children's Hospital Foundations, Woolworths or Foodbank Qld.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Golley receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, Hort Innovation Ltd. </span></em></p>Research suggests a meal prepared onsite is likely to be the most achievable way of rolling out school lunches in Australia.Brittany Johnson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Flinders UniversityAlexandra Manson, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant, Flinders UniversityDanielle Gallegos, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, Queensland University of TechnologyRebecca Golley, Associate Professor (Research) Nutrition and Dietetics, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1904302022-09-20T19:07:54Z2022-09-20T19:07:54Z‘If only they made better life choices’ – how simplistic explanations of poverty and food insecurity miss the mark<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485431/original/file-20220919-325-1u20wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C44%2C5964%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The way we perceive poverty, hunger and household food insecurity is shaped by media, government policy, public relations, advertising and personal experience. But one persistent strand is the notion that <a href="http://patrick-fournier.com/d/6612-cours10.pdf">poverty and food insecurity</a> are the result of poor personal choices and priorities. </p>
<p>Over time, this view can come to be seen as “common sense”, influencing our understanding of how and why people go hungry. But is it accurate? Does a focus on individual failings – and individual solutions – mean New Zealanders are missing the bigger picture? </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.gjcpp.org/en/article.php?issue=43&article=269">three research projects</a> (recently published together) looked at the experiences of families who don’t have enough to eat. We spoke with people struggling with food poverty and asked why this might be tolerated in a country that produces so much food.</p>
<p>We found that, contrary to popular belief, parents went without food in order to feed their children, that many had good nutritional knowledge, and that mothers in particular worked very hard to protect their children from knowing the extent of the poverty and hunger within the home. </p>
<h2>Focus on the individual</h2>
<p>Food insecurity refers to the inability to access nutritionally adequate and safe foods. In Aotearoa New Zealand, <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/household-food-insecurity-among-children-new-zealand-health-survey-jun19.pdf">one in five children</a> aged two to 14 live in households that are food insecure with poor access to nutritionally-rich foods. </p>
<p>When there are insufficient resources to feed everyone well, families ration food, opt for cheaper items that “pad out” a meal, and purchase items which <a href="https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/12699">last longer in the cupboards</a>. </p>
<p>Despite these rates of food insecurity in families, there is still a tendency by those who haven’t experienced food insecurity to attribute hunger to <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/kiwi-mum-and-healthy-meal-guru-says-parents-to-blame-for-obese-kids/C2R4H6QARDUZBHHUIBFEM2QCUE/">individual decision making</a>. Families involved in our research felt shame and stigma at being unable to afford enough food, in large part due to the way in which hunger and poverty are framed in public discussions. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hunger-is-increasing-worldwide-but-women-bear-the-brunt-of-food-insecurity-188906">Hunger is increasing worldwide but women bear the brunt of food insecurity</a>
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<p>Stories that blame individuals for not trying harder rarely look at the known drivers of poverty and hunger such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03036758.2022.2088574?journalCode=tnzr20">inadequate incomes</a>, <a href="https://www.masseypress.ac.nz/books/precarity/">insecure work</a>, <a href="https://population.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/HowdenChapman_etal_Housing_Health_Wellbeing.pdf">high rents</a> or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622001101">lack of access to suitable land</a> for growing food. </p>
<p>Favouring individual self-reliance and self-help as solutions to address food insecurity erases the wider social context within which <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1177083X.2021.1951779">food insecurity and hunger occur</a>. </p>
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<img alt="Supermarket trolly with sign saying " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485433/original/file-20220919-875-vnilyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Individual acts of charity can help reinforce the status quo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/cart-with-free-food-for-people-having-a-hard-time-royalty-free-image/1222779375?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>External issues</h2>
<p>In reality, the challenges regarding food “choice” faced by families such as those in our research stem from insufficient access to resources, and resources that are unfairly shared. Food inflation rose <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/13/new-zealand-food-inflation-highest-for-13-years-as-vegetables-and-dairy-drive-prices">8.3% in August</a>, while wages rose just <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-wage-inflation-rises-to-3-4-percent/">3.4% over the past year</a>.</p>
<p>The families we spoke with spent considerable time and energy to creatively source food and stretch available foods so that all family members had enough to eat.</p>
<p>Households found creative ways to make do, such as pooling resources, calling on wider family networks, and seeking charitable and state support. When faced with ongoing hardship, people used less socially acceptable measures, like shoplifting, dumpster diving and cooking in public spaces to <a href="https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/ijoh/article/view/14242">manage the lack of food</a>. </p>
<h2>Easier to give to charity than challenge status quo</h2>
<p>When presented with examples of food insecurity and hunger, sympathetic people typically offer charitable support in the form of donations or volunteer work. However, this does not address the core drivers of unequal access to resources.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/330861/sweet-charity-by-janet-poppendieck/">others have argued</a>, acts of individual and corporate charity maintain the status quo rather than highlighting and addressing the <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-01-2014-0037/full/html?journalCode=bfj">underlying causes of poverty and food insecurity</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-asked-children-how-they-experienced-poverty-here-are-6-changes-needed-now-180567">We asked children how they experienced poverty. Here are 6 changes needed now</a>
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<p>People who have resources to share are viewed as altruistic, compassionate and empathetic when <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/p/poppendieck-charity.html">they give to charity</a>. In comparison, people in need of charity feel a sense of shame and stigma at having their lack and inadequacy exposed to strangers. In a society that values independence, people who need help to meet a basic need, such as food, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/10/1804">feel humiliated</a>. </p>
<h2>Hunger is political</h2>
<p>Historical and political contributors to food insecurity remain firmly in place, due in part to firmly-held beliefs around “poor choices” and a desire for charity to be employed as a solution instead of more equal access to resources.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1453894800369848326"}"></div></p>
<p>Across Aotearoa New Zealand, farms produce enough high-quality food to feed over <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-019-0557-z">30 million people a year</a>. Yet New Zealanders – and disproportionately <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03036758.2022.2088574?journalCode=tnzr20">disabled</a> and <a href="http://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/household-food-insecurity-among-children-new-zealand-health-survey-jun19.pdf">Māori, and Pacifica families</a> – do not have sufficient nutritionally-rich foods for their health and well-being. </p>
<p>Structural changes are crucial to properly addressing food insecurity. This includes addressing past and current injustices, ensuring liveable incomes for all, building affordable housing, and taking action on wealth inequality.</p>
<p>Our research found people living under-resourced lives were doing the best they could. What is needed is political action to address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity, not simplistic narratives about personal responsibility and choice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190430/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebekah Graham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Food insecurity is often talked about as an issue of individual responsibility. But our research suggests most people struggling to put food on the table are not the agents of their own misfortune.Rebekah Graham, Lecturer – Community Psychology, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1885722022-08-12T12:37:22Z2022-08-12T12:37:22ZWorried about back-to-school inflation? Latest price data on backpacks, laptops and kids’ clothes offers some relief for parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478832/original/file-20220811-19-geqa37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C36%2C3983%2C2981&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While laptops have dropped in price, old-school supplies like pencils and markers are getting more expensive. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BacktoSchoolInflation/571d8a959d874132a8c052bb6222eb01/photo?Query=back%20to%20school%20inflation&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=22&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Marta Lavandier</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As summer draws to a close, it is time for many to think about back-to-school shopping, such as notebooks, backpacks and new clothes.</p>
<p>As an <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">economist</a> who has studied consumer prices for years, I wondered how <a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2022/08/01/soaring-inflation-puts-central-banks-on-a-difficult-journey/">soaring inflation</a> was affecting the costs of typical back-to-school gear. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf">Consumer prices rose</a> by about 8.5% in July from a year earlier, according to the latest data released on Aug. 10, 2022. But this figure is only an average. The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm">price of some items</a>, like airline fares and gasoline, has jumped a lot more than that, while the cost of other items, like the price of televisions and phones, have actually fallen.</p>
<p>To determine how the cost of paying for what school children need has changed, I tracked two sets of prices: First, the cost of back-to-school necessities. Second, the price of school lunches – since learning on an empty belly is hard. </p>
<h2>Clothes and backpacks</h2>
<p>Children often seem to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3568055/">sprout during summer vacation</a>. This growth typically means they need new clothes for fall’s cooler weather. The U.S. government’s consumer price index has been following the price of both girls’ and boys’ clothes since 1977.</p>
<p>Government data shows the price of girls’ clothing peaked in 1992. The price of boys’ clothes peaked six years later, in 1998. Not only are clothes cheaper today than they were in the 1990s, but over the last 12 months prices for girls’ clothes have increased by less than 2% – compared with overall inflation of 8.5%. The price of boys’ clothes, however, jumped almost 5% last year.</p>
<p>Going back to school also means new shoes, since kids’ feet grow too. The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm">average price for boys’ and girls’ footwear</a> has risen steadily since 1977. In the past year, the price of shoes and sneakers climbed by almost 8%.</p>
<p>As for school supplies, inflation has been a mixed bag. The price of notebooks and paper has soared in the past year, by 11%. And while the consumer price index doesn’t track pencils, markers and crayons, its close cousin, the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ppi/">producer price index</a>, shows retailers are paying 11% more than they did last year for pencils and markers, while <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3399403399402">art supplies</a> have climbed almost 18%.</p>
<p>The prices of backpacks, on the other hand, increased at a much slower pace, up about 4% in July 2022 from 12 months earlier. And if your child needs a new laptop or tablet, you’re in luck. The <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SEEE01">price of computers</a> has actually fallen by almost 4% from July 2021.</p>
<p>Putting these categories together into an equally weighted index suggests the cost of going back to school won’t hurt your wallet as much as parents might fear. My back-to-school index rose about 5.1% in July from a year earlier.</p>
<p>The index also shows prices are virtually unchanged from about a decade ago. This is small consolation for parents who didn’t have students in school 10 years ago. However, it does show that the prices of back to school items are not always increasing.</p>
<p><iframe id="eQ5pg" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/eQ5pg/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>School lunches</h2>
<p>Another major cost when going back to school is buying lunch in school cafeterias. </p>
<p>Pre-pandemic data suggests <a href="https://progressivegrocer.com/npd-64-percent-students-will-buy-school-lunches">close to two-thirds of students</a> were buying lunch at school. Consumer price data shows the cost of food in urban elementary and secondary school cafeterias was down 43% in May 2022 from a year earlier – the latest figures available. </p>
<p>In fact, the index level is about the lowest since the index began tracking the data in 2005, primarily because there was <a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-will-stop-serving-free-lunch-to-all-students-a-pandemic-solution-left-out-of-a-new-federal-spending-package-179058">universal free lunch</a> during parts of the pandemic. That <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/darreonnadavis/2022/07/22/universal-free-school-lunches-will-end-soon-after-cuts-to-pandemic-era-spending/?sh=519f89474c11">program has now ended</a>, though some states are stepping in, so lunch costs are likely to climb in most school districts in the coming year.</p>
<p>For families who prefer to pack school lunches for their children, the data looks much worse. The average price of food purchased for home preparation <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SAF11#0">surged 13.1% in July</a> from a year earlier, the fastest pace of inflation since 1979. </p>
<p>But since that may not reflect the actual cost of the food in a child’s lunchbox, I did my own calculation based on what my mother packed for me when I was a kid: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which remains a staple today – though not for my children. </p>
<p>My lunchbox typically consisted of a PB&J sandwich on white bread, apple slices, a few baby carrots, a bag of potato chips, 8 ounces of milk and a chocolate chip cookie - to keep me happy. Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s <a href="https://foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov/">school lunch buying guide</a>, I found the portions that would provide about 666 calories, a touch more than <a href="https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf">recommended by the government</a>. My personal lunchbox index jumped by over 13%.</p>
<p>That was mainly driven by the jump in the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000702111">price of bread</a>, peanut butter, <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000709112">milk</a> and potato chips, which all climbed by more than 14%.</p>
<h2>Choosy shopping</h2>
<p>While most prices for going back to school are rising more than usual, there are still bargains to be found, such as in children’s clothing and computers. </p>
<p>Or in the lunchbox example, you could add more apples, whose price has climbed only about 5%. Including more apple slices could not only ease your wallet but also improve your child’s nutrition.</p>
<p>Prices on most goods may be a lot higher than a year ago, but it’s important to remember that not everything is undergoing sky-high inflation. With careful shopping, even families on a tight budget can find what they need at a price they can afford.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188572/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Inflation is soaring, but prices for typical back-to-school gear like backpacks, computers and new clothes are rising less than average – or even falling.Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer in Markets, Public Policy and Law, Questrom School of Business, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1843652022-06-07T12:32:24Z2022-06-07T12:32:24ZChanges are coming to school meals nationwide – an expert in food policy explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466869/original/file-20220602-183-w294c0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C33%2C4477%2C2978&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Eating well makes it easier to concentrate on learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tyden-brownlee-picks-up-a-free-school-lunch-at-olympic-news-photo/1207638083">Karen Ducey/Stringer via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>For the two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. public schools have been able to provide free meals for all students, including to-go meals in the summer. But on June 30, 2022, <a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-will-stop-serving-free-lunch-to-all-students-a-pandemic-solution-left-out-of-a-new-federal-spending-package-179058">the federal waivers that expanded the school lunch program will expire</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>In May 2022, SciLine interviewed <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fPDErC8AAAAJ&hl=en">Marlene Schwartz</a>, a professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut and the director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health, about how these changes will affect children and families and how food pantries can help.</em></p>
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<p><em>The Conversation has collaborated with SciLine to bring you highlights from the discussion, which have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em></p>
<h2>What is the role of school food in children’s overall diet and health?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: School food plays an important role, particularly since <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/healthy-hunger-free-kids-act">the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was passed in 2010</a>, improved the National School Lunch Program. About <a href="https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/primer-school_breakfast_program_national_lunch_program/">30 million children a day</a> participate in the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp">National School Lunch Program</a>. </p>
<p>The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act required the USDA to update not just the rules about what was served for the reimbursable lunch, but also the rules for things like snacks and beverages that are sold in vending machines or other places in the school.</p>
<p>Research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2019.10.022">the meals served now are better</a>, that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.9517">the meals children are eating are better</a>, and, in fact, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00133">some data suggests</a> that the trajectory of childhood obesity that has been such a concern has been attenuated because of the success of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.</p>
<h2>During the pandemic, the federal government provided waivers to school food programs so they can change their services. What changes have the waivers permitted?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz:</strong> The largest change was allowing for all of the children to receive meals at no cost. That dramatically increased the number of children who had access to school meals.</p>
<p>Another large change that came from the waivers was for the summer meal program. Typically, that program is much smaller, and meals are served at particular sites in a community and children need to be brought there by a parent, and they need to eat the meal on-site. </p>
<p>During COVID-19, the USDA allowed that program to provide meals to-go. Breakfasts, lunches were packaged up and were distributed to the parents of the children, and this increased participation because it allowed parents to access these foods in a way that worked with their own schedules, particularly if they are working parents.</p>
<h2>Assuming the waivers will expire as scheduled on June 30, how are schools going to cope?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: It’s hard to know how schools are going to cope, but dropping the waivers will make their jobs much harder.</p>
<p>We are adding the administrative burden of having to go back to collecting information from families to see who qualifies for the meals, and then, in the actual serving of the meals, having to know who’s eligible for reduced or free meals and collecting money from those who pay. Those are things that, over the last couple of years, food service directors have not had to manage, giving them more time to really focus instead on the meals.</p>
<p>It’s also important to recognize that we are still facing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1077371645/schools-scramble-to-feed-kids-as-supply-chain-issues-persist">supply chain issues</a>. Food service directors often order the food months in advance. When that food doesn’t show up, they really need to scramble to find substitutes. Those problems have increased the burden on them to run the program.</p>
<h2>What are the effects of making school meals free for all students?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: The findings are pretty clear that when students have universal free meals, <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">participation in school meals programs goes up</a>, so more children eat them. And research shows that the meals that are provided through the school meal program are of higher nutritional quality than the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5262">meals that children bring from home or get from other places</a>.</p>
<p>Some studies have found that when you provide universal free meals, you have <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">improvements in academic performance,</a> particularly for students who are at higher risk.</p>
<p>There is also evidence in <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">some studies</a> that universal free school meals help improve family food insecurity rates. When a family knows that their child can get breakfast and lunch every day at school, it really allows them to save their food budget to purchase other foods for the house. And that helps them be more food-secure.</p>
<h2>What is the role of food banks and pantries in shaping the diet and health of vulnerable children and families?</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A long line of cars wraps around a parking lot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">There are over 200 food banks across the country that distribute food to thousands of food pantries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/residents-line-up-in-their-cars-at-a-food-distribution-site-news-photo/1229725297">Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: Within the charitable food system, there’s been a real shift in thinking that has been a change from giving away as many pounds of food as possible to really looking at the nutritional quality of those pounds. That’s thanks in part to <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/">Feeding America</a>, which is a national network of food banks, and <a href="https://www.ahealthieramerica.org/">Partnership for a Healthier America</a>, which is part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative. Both of them are working with food banks around the country to really help them track the nutritional quality of their food and set goals for themselves in terms of maximizing the most nutritious foods they are able to distribute.</p>
<h2>What do you wish people knew about the current state of school foods?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: One thing that I would really like people to acknowledge is the improvements that have occurred in the school meal program after the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. One of the challenges that I’ve noticed in my research is that sometimes the menu that you get from your school says things like chicken nuggets, pizza, tacos, hamburger, and a parent might think that doesn’t sound healthy. </p>
<p>What they don’t know is that those chicken nuggets are baked, not fried, and probably are whole grain breadcrumbs. The pizza probably has a whole grain crust, lower-fat cheese and vegetables on it. There’s this tension between wanting to create school menus that will be appealing to children and also communicate the nutrition information to parents. And that’s not the easiest thing to do.</p>
<p><em>SciLine is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlene B. Schwartz has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture, Connecticut State Department of Education, Partnership for a Healthier America, Feeding America, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Horizon Foundation. </span></em></p>An expert on food policy explains how the end of COVID-19 waivers will impact children’s access to food, as well as the importance of food banks and pantries.Marlene B. Schwartz, Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health and Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1790582022-03-14T12:22:23Z2022-03-14T12:22:23ZSchools will stop serving free lunch to all students – a pandemic solution left out of a new federal spending package<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451702/original/file-20220312-25-1vg2wv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=105%2C67%2C4903%2C3409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">About 30 million students eat school lunches daily.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-american-school-girl-holding-lunch-on-a-royalty-free-image/136801944?adppopup=true">JGI/Jamie Grill/Tetra Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Public schools have been serving all students free meals since the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted K-12 education. In March 2022, Congress rejected calls to keep up the federal funding required to sustain that practice and left that money out of a <a href="https://khn.org/morning-breakout/free-school-meals-not-included-in-1-5-trillion-budget/">US$1.5 trillion spending package</a> that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-aid-biden-signs-omnibus-bill/">President Joe Biden signed</a> into law on March 11, 2022. We asked food policy expert <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fPDErC8AAAAJ&hl=en">Marlene Schwartz</a> to explain why free meals make a difference and what will happen next.</em></p>
<h2>How did the COVID-19 pandemic initially affect the school lunch program?</h2>
<p>In March 2020, nearly all U.S. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/20/818300504/schools-race-to-feed-students-amid-coronavirus-closures">K-12 school buildings closed</a> due to the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal government’s <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp">National School Lunch Program</a>, quickly <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/fns-disaster-assistance/fns-responds-covid-19/child-nutrition-covid-19-waivers">granted waivers</a> to increase program flexibility and accommodate the challenges of the pandemic.</p>
<p>These waivers, which have been renewed several times, were critically important for school food service programs as the programs <a href="https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2021.102.020">abruptly shifted</a>
away from serving meals in cafeterias and designed new distribution models to continue to feed students. Many school meal staff across the country created <a href="https://thecounter.org/covid-19-school-lunch-minneapolis-houston-kansas-city-san-francisco/">grab-and-go meals</a> that families could pick up, which was particularly important in the spring of 2020 and the following school year. Another major change, which has continued during the 2021-2022 school year, is that school systems are able to serve meals to all students at no cost.</p>
<p>Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/">30 million lunches were served every school day</a> to K-12 students through the National School Lunch Program. Schools provided roughly three-quarters of those meals at reduced rates or no cost at all – with the federal government reimbursing a portion of the cost of those meals. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children near a school bus, wearing masks, carry bags of food." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451653/original/file-20220311-22-iqtor8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Children like these in Santa Fe, N.M., could pick up bagged meals at bus stops when their schools had closed their doors amid virus outbreaks in 2020 and 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakNewMexico/16263619130e462d81806328e5badd28/photo?Query=school%20meals&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1074&currentItemNo=13">AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio</a></span>
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<h2>How much money is involved?</h2>
<p>The program cost <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/child-nutrition-programs/national-school-lunch-program">$14 billion in 2019</a>, before the pandemic disrupted it.</p>
<p>The price of a school lunch for families without free or reduced-cost meals varies. In 2017, full-price lunches tended to run between <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats">$2.50 and $2.75</a> apiece. </p>
<h2>Are all public school students still getting free meals?</h2>
<p>Yes. However, that will no doubt change once the latest waiver expires on <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/covid-19-child-nutrition-response-85">June 30, 2022</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://frac.org/news/fracdissapointedomnibusmarch2022">Advocates urged Congress</a> to keep funding school nutrition programs at higher levels. But Congress <a href="https://frac.org/news/fracdissapointedomnibusmarch2022">did not include that money</a> in the <a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2022/03/congress-seeks-updates-on-state-of-the-federal-workforce-in-1-5t-omnibus-spending-deal/">$1.5 trillion spending bill</a> House and Senate lawmakers passed in March 2022.</p>
<p>This means that next fall, most schools will have to resume the old three-tiered system where some families don’t pay at all, some receive discounted lunches, and others must pay full price.</p>
<p>Two states will buck that trend. <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/univmealsqandapart2.asp">California</a> and <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2021/07/11/maine-among-first-states-to-make-school-meals-free-for-all-students/">Maine</a> will continue providing universal school meals after the federal waiver ends due to measures their state legislators passed and governors signed into law during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>At the federal level, more than a dozen senators and roughly 50 members of the House of Representatives backed proposed <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1530">legislation in 2021 that would permanently make school lunch free</a> for all students, regardless of their income. There is significant <a href="https://frac.org/news/introuniversalschoolmealsmay2021">support</a> for this idea among advocates, but the future of this type of federal legislation remains to be seen. </p>
<h2>What are the advantages of making school meals free to everyone?</h2>
<p>In my view, the biggest advantage to universal school meals is that more students actually eat nutritious school meals. Following the regulations that emerged from the 2010 <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/healthy-hunger-free-kids-act">Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act</a>, the nutritional quality of school meals improved significantly, and a recent study found that schools typically provide the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5262">healthiest foods that children eat</a> all day.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">The research shows</a> that making school meals free for everyone improves attendance and <a href="https://theconversation.com/free-school-meals-for-all-children-can-improve-kids-health-161957">boosts diet quality</a>. It also decreases the risk of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-food-insecurity-152746">food insecurity</a> and the <a href="https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/posts/fighting-the-stigma-of-free-lunch-why-universal-free-school-lunch-is-good-for-students-schools-and-families/">stigma associated</a> with receiving a free meal. When no one has to pay, the growing problem of <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-should-serve-kids-food-in-school-not-shame-81787">school meal debt</a> is also eliminated.</p>
<p>There are important logistical benefits to universal school meals. Families don’t have to <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/applying-free-and-reduced-price-school-meals">fill out any paperwork</a> to establish their eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. And cafeteria staff can focus on serving the meals if they don’t need to <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/">track payments</a>.</p>
<h2>What’s wrong with charging some students for lunch again?</h2>
<p>You have to look at the costs and benefits of the big picture. Universal school meals provide significant benefits to the school community as a whole – most notably, reductions in food insecurity and improvements in student diet quality. I believe these benefits are far greater than the marginal cost of providing free meals to students who would otherwise pay. </p>
<p>The fall of 2022 is also much too early to revert back to the three-tiered system because school food programs continue to face significant challenges. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1077371645/schools-scramble-to-feed-kids-as-supply-chain-issues-persist">Supply chain disruptions</a> have made it harder to buy some kinds of food, including <a href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/FNS-Survey-Supply-Chain-Disruptions.pdf">chicken and whole grain products</a>. In addition, many schools are having trouble <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/results-fns-administered-school-food-authority-survey-supply-chain-disruption">hiring the staff they need</a> to prepare and serve the meals, and <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings/">inflation is increasing food costs</a>. </p>
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<h2>What do you see happening in the future?</h2>
<p>Ideally, the federal government will reconsider this issue and support universal school meals.</p>
<p>If that does not happen, advocates, policymakers and researchers will be watching what happens in California and Maine. We will be able to compare what happens in these states versus those that do not continue to provide all students with free meals. My hope is that this information will inform future decisions about implementing universal school meals for all students nationally.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlene B. Schwartz receives funding from the USDA and the Connecticut State Department of Education. </span></em></p>A food policy expert explains how school lunches changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and what’s wrong with going back to the normal system now.Marlene B. Schwartz, Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health and Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1762512022-02-09T00:36:40Z2022-02-09T00:36:40ZA gutful of lunchbox hype – has selling ‘good bugs not drugs’ for kids’ health gone too far?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444977/original/file-20220208-19-1hp3d6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5184%2C3445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Does your child have a “<a href="https://kidsinadelaide.com.au/build-a-gut-friendly-lunchbox/">gut-friendly</a>” lunchbox? It’s <a href="https://www.healthylunchboxweek.org.au/">Healthy Lunchbox Week</a>, a back-to-school initiative of Nutrition Australia. School lunches are essential for long-term child health and well-being, according to <a href="http://www.thechildrensclinicpa.com/blog/2021/9/24/strength-in-numbers-how-nutrition-can-build-an-army-to-protect-us-against-covid-19">some researchers</a>.</p>
<p>There are even <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/five-tips-to-boost-your-child-s-immune-system-against-covid-19">media</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/11/unlocking-the-gut-microbiome-and-its-massive-significance-to-our-health">reports</a> that a “gut-friendly” lunchbox might help protect us against COVID-19.</p>
<p>Many products are now heavily marketed as promoting gut health. How can parents, carers and schools navigate these claims in deciding what children should eat?</p>
<h2>What is a gut-friendly lunch?</h2>
<p>In recent years, microbiome scientists and nutritionists have drawn attention to the interaction between our diet, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/essays-on-health-microbes-arent-the-enemy-theyre-a-big-part-of-who-we-are-79116">colony of microbes</a> in our gut (microbiota), and our health. We have moved beyond the simple idea of nutrition and health as “<a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/energy-in-and-energy-out">energy in, energy out</a>”. Instead, human-gut microbiome research understands our bodies as members of and hosts to multispecies communities. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YB-8JEo_0bI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What exactly is the human microbiome?</span></figcaption>
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<p>A gut-friendly diet consists of foods that build healthy microbiota. Foods with “friendly” or “good” bacteria – yoghurt, kimchi, sourdough and kombucha, for example – are claimed to promote the microbiota colony in our gut, thereby improving overall health.</p>
<p>Excitement surrounding this research is based upon the hope that your gut microbiome might hold the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/11/unlocking-the-gut-microbiome-and-its-massive-significance-to-our-health">key for countering a range of diseases</a> and conditions. The benefits include better heart health, lower risks of diabetes and obesity, and decreases in depression and anxiety. Some also claim healthy gut microbiota <a href="http://www.thechildrensclinicpa.com/blog/2021/9/24/strength-in-numbers-how-nutrition-can-build-an-army-to-protect-us-against-covid-19">could help fight COVID and other infectious diseases</a> by boosting the immune system.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/essays-on-health-microbes-arent-the-enemy-theyre-a-big-part-of-who-we-are-79116">Essays on health: microbes aren't the enemy, they're a big part of who we are</a>
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<p>Against this backdrop, it’s little surprise <a href="https://www.campusreview.com.au/2019/02/monash-exhibits-the-humblest-of-objects/">the school lunchbox</a> has again been targeted as one way to help solve today’s public health challenges. </p>
<h2>The ‘gutification’ of food and diets</h2>
<p>Much of the research on microbiomics is in its early stages. There are gaps in scientific knowledge in this field. Still, the focus on the gut and its relation to human health is changing our understanding of food, health and our bodies.</p>
<p>Food corporations have arguably been among the biggest drivers of the gutification of foods. More and more products are labelled using the language and concepts of “gut health”, “mood food” and “immunity boosting”. Yoghurts for children, for example, are marketed using terms such as “probiotics”, “immune boosting” and “strengthening”. </p>
<p>Manufacturers’ marketing is part of a broader trend of using nutrition science in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4601">“wellness” industries</a>.</p>
<p>However, some <a href="https://theconversation.com/boosting-your-gut-health-sounds-great-but-this-wellness-trend-is-vague-and-often-misunderstood-155472">researchers are cautious</a> about the specific health claims made by food corporations. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4815753/">Others have raised concerns</a> that the general advice to consume probiotics could harm some individuals, such as those with an overactive immune system.</p>
<p>The Therapeutic Goods Administration does regulate products like, for example, <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/faecal-microbiota-transplant-products-regulation">fecal microbiota transplants</a>. But food-related claims about gut microbiota and health are under-regulated. These products often fall between the cracks of <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/community-qa/food-and-medicine-regulation">medicine and food</a> regulation and labelling requirements.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of various types of priobiotic food products" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444979/original/file-20220208-22-a3uq5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many food products are marketed by highlighting their health-giving ‘probiotic’ qualities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/boosting-your-gut-health-sounds-great-but-this-wellness-trend-is-vague-and-often-misunderstood-155472">Boosting your ‘gut health’ sounds great. But this wellness trend is vague and often misunderstood</a>
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<h2>Is the ‘immunity-boosting’ lunchbox ethical?</h2>
<p>The concern about these products is not just a matter of scientific evidence. In the race to commercialise such products (as with other new food technologies including <a href="https://www.organicgardener.com.au/blogs/nanomaterials-our-food">nano- and biotechnology</a>), the social and ethical dimensions of this burgeoning industry have been neglected. </p>
<p>Industry sees the process of properly considering such questions as <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/07/31/the-moral-imperative-for-bioethics/JmEkoyzlTAu9oQV76JrK9N/story.html">slowing down innovation</a>. But it’s vital to answer these social and ethical questions to ensure community expectations and standards related to food science and innovation are upheld.</p>
<p>In these times of heightened anxiety about child health at school, gut-healthy products can give parents and carers a greater sense of control over their child’s health. Yet almost all of the conditions or diseases gut-healthy foods purport to address have complex causes located in a myriad of structural factors. Public health researchers call these the social determinants of health. </p>
<p>Obesity, heart disease and depression are all complex conditions. They are shaped by family history, environment, geography, genetics, economics and education. These factors are beyond the responsibility of individuals and can’t simply be solved by more probiotics.</p>
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<img alt="lunchbox full of healthy food" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444981/original/file-20220208-18-1dyn958.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It might help, but don’t expect a healthy lunchbox to be a cure-all for complex public health problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-untangle-the-murky-politics-around-kids-and-food-and-ditch-the-guilt-108328">Let's untangle the murky politics around kids and food (and ditch the guilt)</a>
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<p>A major concern within public health ethics is when individuals are made <a href="http://foodfatnessfitness.com/2017/05/01/lifestyle-thin-sociality-neoliberal-welfare/">responsible for social or structural problems</a>. It’s like blaming an individual for not using an energy-saving light bulb while the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australia-resources-minister-floats-a250-bln-coal-lending-facility-2021-10-07/">government is supporting new coal mines</a>. Similarly, expecting a school lunchbox to protect a child from diseases doesn’t make up for inadequate public health infrastructure.</p>
<p>This situation risks putting the responsibility for managing a global pandemic on individual carers (as well as requiring parents and carers to navigate science claims). It also sends a confusing message to the community about the nature of infectious disease transmission and prevention. In the absence of widespread vaccination, ventilation, masks and social distancing, “boosted” immunity is not going to protect children or the community.</p>
<p>The gut microbiome is an exciting new area of research. It opens up wide-ranging possibilities for individual and public health. But uncritical acceptance of health claims that over-promise only serves business interests and risks undermining the integrity of the science and overburdening individuals. </p>
<p>As this field develops, the ethical and social dimensions of human-gut microbiome research cannot be left behind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Lyons is a member of the Australian Greens, and senior research fellow with the Oakland Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Mayes and Deana Leahy do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many school lunchbox products are now heavily marketed as promoting gut health. The limited regulation of such claims leaves it to parents and carers to assess whether they really stack up.Christopher Mayes, Senior Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin UniversityDeana Leahy, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Monash UniversityKristen Lyons, Professor, Environment and Development Sociology, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1619572021-07-20T18:45:06Z2021-07-20T18:45:06ZFree school meals for all children can improve kids’ health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411933/original/file-20210719-19-1pzcy0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5366%2C3572&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many children, especially from low-income communities or communities of color, eat up to half their daily calories in school. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cafeteria-worker-serving-healthy-food-to-children-royalty-free-image/498579063?adppopup=true">SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recognizing that millions of U.S. children are at <a href="https://theconversation.com/18-million-us-children-are-at-risk-of-hunger-how-is-the-problem-being-addressed-and-what-more-can-be-done-151821">risk of hunger</a>, <a href="https://www.foodservicedirector.com/operations/maine-california-embrace-universal-free-school-meals">Maine and California</a> have approved funding to offer free school meals to all students within their state. Meanwhile, a <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Universal-School-Meals-Program-Act-of-2021.pdf">bill proposed in Congress</a> aims to make free school meals a permanent fixture in all states.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Universal-School-Meals-Act-Summary.4.28.21.pdf">Universal School Meals Program Act</a> would provide free healthy meals and snacks to all children in public and nonprofit private schools regardless of income. </p>
<p>Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/child-nutrition-response-84">has allowed</a> school districts to provide meals free of charge to families during the pandemic. Previously set to expire in September, the policy has been extended <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/04/20/usda-issues-pandemic-flexibilities-schools-and-day-care-facilities">through the 2021-2022 school year</a>. This marks the first time in the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/program-history">75-year history</a> of the National School Lunch Program that all U.S. public school children are getting equal access to school meals, with no questions asked.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.eatright.org/food/resources/learn-more-about-rdns/qualifications-of-a-registered-dietitian-nutritionist">registered dietitian nutritionist</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=2ujk8c8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">researcher</a> who specializes in child <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-food-insecurity-152746#:%7E:text=Food%20insecurity%20is%20fundamentally%20an,obstacles%20like%20poverty%20and%20discrimination.&text=Food%20insecurity%20can%20be%20exacerbated,of%20healthy%20and%20affordable%20food.">food insecurity</a>, I frequently see how <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11071574">access and availability</a> to nutritious foods can shape kids’ health. </p>
<p>When children return to schools in the fall, the ongoing policy waivers provide an opportunity to examine how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.03.006">universal free school meals</a> impact nutrition in school meal programs and health inequities among children.</p>
<h2>Better health</h2>
<p>Good nutrition plays a crucial role in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22175">strong academic outcomes</a>. School meals have been shown to reduce childhood <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/august/usda-s-national-school-lunch-program-reduces-food-insecurity">food insecurity</a> and childhood <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.2048">overweight and obesity</a> while improving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.04.010">overall diet quality</a>. </p>
<p>School meals are often more nutritious than meals eaten <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5262">elsewhere</a> or even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001900017X">home-packed lunches</a>. Studies have shown that access to school meals can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy267">improve attendance</a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/health_and_academics/pdf/factsheetDietaryBehaviors.pdf">academic performance</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3386/w24986">behavior</a>.</p>
<h2>Less stigma</h2>
<p>Many children, especially those from low-income and minority families, eat up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.016">half their daily calories</a> at school. For these families, the cost of school meals, usually between <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/">US$2.48 and $2.74</a> depending on grade level, can add up quickly over a week, month or school year.</p>
<p>Children with <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/unpaid-meal-charges">outstanding meal debts</a> could be <a href="https://www.eater.com/2019/5/22/18634237/lunch-shaming-students-meal-debt-american-schools">shamed</a>, refused a meal or provided a lower-cost alternative meal – such as a cheese sandwich, fruit and milk rather than the standard meal served to other students. </p>
<h2>Needed relief</h2>
<p>School meal programs are run like a business and depend heavily on federal <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/rates-reimbursement">reimbursements</a> from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When families can’t or don’t pay for meals served, schools may need to use their own funds to cover the losses. The Department of Agriculture <a href="https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/frac-unpaid-meal-fees-policy-guide.pdf">prohibits using federal funds</a> to pay off unpaid meal debt. The Universal School Meals Program Act would <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Universal-School-Meals-Act-Summary.4.28.21.pdf">eliminate around $10.9 million of existing</a> unpaid school meal debt reported by <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/uploadedFiles/6_News_Publications_and_Research/8_SNA_Research/2019-school-nutrition-trends-summary.pdf">75% of U.S. school districts</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to school meal debt, during the first full year of the pandemic, schools served <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/data/february-2021-keydata-report">fewer meals</a>, resulting in further losses in revenue. The meals served <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/uploadedFiles/6_News_Publications_and_Research/8_SNA_Research/Impact-of-Covid-19-on-School-Nutrition-Programs-Back-to-School-2020.pdf">were more costly</a> due to packaging and personal protective equipment for staff. As a result, more than <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/">50% of school meal programs</a> reported a financial loss in 2019-2020. An even greater number of programs report expecting a loss for the <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/">2020-2021 school year</a>. </p>
<h2>Return on investment</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020670">national study</a> found that schools participating in universal free meal programs reduced their per-meal costs while maintaining nutritional quality of meals served. School meals can <a href="https://agriculture.vermont.gov/sites/agriculture/files/documents/Farm_to_School_Institution/Economic%20Contribution%20of%20Farm%20to%20School%20in%20Vermont%20.pdf">stimulate local economies</a> because they can <a href="http://www.farmtoschool.org/Resources/EconomicImpactReport.pdf">drive purchases from local farmers</a> and ranchers and <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520300033/the-labor-of-lunch">create jobs</a> in school nutrition, food production, sales and distribution. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>For school districts, switching to a universal model of meals for all children – regardless of income – is likely to reduce <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/child-nutrition-reporting-burden-analysis-study">administrative burdens</a>. Schools would no longer have to waste time on applications and meeting reporting requirements like they have to do under the current reimbursement model. They could focus on healthy meals and nutrition education instead. </p>
<p>I believe the return on investment from universal school lunches would benefit our country’s economic recovery from the pandemic as well as the health and well-being of our country’s children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161957/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew J. Landry receives funding support from the National Institutes of Health. He is affiliated with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics where he serves as a volunteer member of the Legislative and Public Policy Committee. He is also a member of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior where he serves as an appointed member of the Advisory Committee on Public Policy. These organizations had no role in this article and the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author.</span></em></p>Expanding free lunch programs could also reduce stigma for students, lower administrative burdens for schools and create jobs for communities.Matthew J. Landry, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1625882021-07-14T12:21:51Z2021-07-14T12:21:51ZHappy 50th birthday to Chez Panisse, the Berkeley restaurant that launched farm-to-fork eating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410804/original/file-20210712-15-cg8u6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C3%2C1016%2C763&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The entrance to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chez_Panisse#/media/File:ChezPanisse.jpg">Calton/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a small restaurant called Chez Panisse opened its doors 50 years ago in Berkeley, California, it wasn’t obvious that it would change how Americans thought about eating. The <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/10/kamp_excerpt200610">first menu</a> on Aug. 28, 1971, was pâté baked in pastry, duck with olives, a salad and an almond tart, served for a fixed price of US$3.95. There were too many waiters and not enough utensils.</p>
<p>But this seemingly quirky eatery’s food was more vivid and flavorful than that of French restaurants that were more elegant and expensive. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alice-Waters">Alice Waters</a>, who founded and still runs Chez Panisse, didn’t invent gourmet food; as I write in my book “<a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Ten-Restaurants-That-Changed-America/">Ten Restaurants that Changed America</a>,” her great innovation was to orient fine dining toward primary ingredients.</p>
<p>Today, Americans value local, seasonal and artisanal products on restaurant menus and at the market. The importance of starting with good-quality ingredients seems so obvious that it’s hard to understand why this was an alien idea 50 years ago.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Alice Waters looks over rows of vegetables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410813/original/file-20210712-15-yvg6f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alice Waters, executive chef and owner of Chez Panisse, at a farmers market in 2009.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FoodAliceWaters/cee0351d2db24f34907ad850247aa706/photo">AP Photo/Susan Walsh</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Beyond French cuisine</h2>
<p>Despite some grumbling about tasteless tomatoes, restaurant diners and shoppers in the 1970s cared primarily about low prices and the availability of a variety of products regardless of season. Where food came from and even what it tasted like were less important.</p>
<p>In 1970, the food writer Mimi Sheraton commented, “You can’t buy an unwaxed cucumber in this country … we buy over-tenderized meat and frozen chicken … food is marketed and <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/46738/wallflower-at-the-orgy-by-nora-ephron/">grown for the purpose of appearances</a>.” </p>
<p>At that time, high-end dining was still defined, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-was-french-cuisine-toppled-as-the-king-of-fine-dining-66667">as it had been for 300 years, by France</a>. There, basic products such as chickens from Bresse, oysters from Belon or saffron from Quercy were exemplary and sought-after. Elsewhere, imitators were more preoccupied with sauces, technique and fashion than with what actually went into their dishes. </p>
<p>Even if chefs wanted better raw materials, the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/44197/13566_eib3_1_.pdf">industrialization of U.S. agriculture and livestock production</a> made them difficult or impossible to find. “<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30236672">Dining at the Pavillon</a>,” a 1962 book about New York’s Le Pavillon, quoted its notoriously arrogant owner, Henri Soulé, ruefully observing that he was unable to obtain things that the ordinary French shopper took for granted: young partridges, primeurs (early spring vegetables), Mediterranean fish like red mullet or rascasse and properly aged cheeses. In the United States, alas, “Everything is fresh all year round and is <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5856259M/Dining_at_the_Pavillon">never quite fresh, if you see what I mean</a>.” </p>
<p>Waters firmly believed that a restaurant could be no better than the ingredients it had to work with. But she struggled to find high-quality foods. Produce was the hardest, and attempts to create a farm run by the restaurant failed. Besides a few Chinese and Japanese markets, the restaurant had to depend on urban gardeners and foragers who knew where to find wild mushrooms and watercress. In 1989, Waters still found it <a href="https://www.loa.org/books/303-american-food-writing-an-anthology-with-classic-recipes-paperback">challenging to obtain good butter, olives or prosciutto</a>. </p>
<p>Chez Panisse’s menus were carefully faithful to French models in its early years. Then, between 1977 and 1983, the restaurant gradually shifted to what would become its focus: “California” or “New American” cuisine. Beef bourguignon and duck with olives were out; <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/186080/chez-panisse-pasta-pizza-and-calzone-by-alice-l-waters-patricia-curtan-and-martine-labro/">spicy crab pizza</a> and <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baked-goat-cheese-salad">warm goat cheese salad</a> were in. As farmers and foragers realized there was a market for seasonal local products, they started producing for it – laying the foundation for <a href="https://www.california.com/farm-table-movement-california/">today’s farm-to-table movement</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8sKhVspiu3E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Cathy Pavlos, chef-owner of the restaurant Provenance in Newport Beach, California, explains what California cuisine is and how it has evolved since Alice Waters helped launch the movement in the 1970s.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Driving a food movement</h2>
<p>Many other California restaurants and chefs helped catalyze this revolutionary turn to local ingredients and an eclectic aesthetic. Chez Panisse alumni <a href="https://www.sousvidemagazine.com/the-latest/chefs-personalities/mark-miller/">Mark Miller</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/dining/judy-rodgers-chef-of-refined-simplicity-dies-at-57.html">Judy Rodgers</a> went on to found new restaurants that explored beyond the modified Mediterranean aesthetic that inspired Waters. Another Chez Panisse veteran, <a href="https://www.finecooking.com/chef/jeremiah-tower">Jeremiah Tower</a>, created a more aggressively elegant cuisine at his San Francisco restaurant <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/restaurants/article/THE-RISE-FALL-OF-A-STAR-How-the-king-of-2906407.php">Stars</a>.</p>
<p>But food historians acknowledge Alice Waters’ innovation, persistence and dedication. Joyce Goldstein commented in her 2013 book “Inside the California Food Revolution”: “I did not set out to write an encomium to Alice, but I’ve got to hand it to her, <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520268197/inside-the-california-food-revolution">she drove the train of the ingredients revolution</a>.” </p>
<p>Waters asserted from the start that food from a more local, small-scale agricultural system wouldn’t just taste better – it also would improve lives and human relations. She has been an activist for causes ranging from <a href="https://edibleschoolyard.org/sites/default/files/Principle%20of%20an%20Edible%20Education_A%20Vision%20for%20School%20Lunch.pdf">school food</a> to <a href="https://lithub.com/alice-waters-sustainability-sounds-good-but-we-need-regenerative-farming/">sustainability</a> to <a href="https://eat4thefuture.com/news/climate-underground-summit-with-al-gore-chef-alice-waters-and-more">climate change</a> – always drawing connections between better-tasting food and social and environmental healing. </p>
<p>And she has pushed back against skeptics who say that eating locally and organically is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/17/magazine/alice-waters-interview.html">affordable only for a small elite</a>. Her response is that access to affordable, decent food from sustainable sources <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Alice-Waters-push-for-local-organic-setting-3189190.php">should not depend on wealth or social privilege</a>, any more than decent medical care should be available only to the affluent.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ht6mG28h1qE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Edible Schoolyard, a project Alice Waters founded in 1995 at a Berkeley public middle school, uses organic school gardens, kitchens and cafeterias to teach students about food and nature.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Chez Panisse has been startlingly consistent over its 50-year span. It is at the same address, and the menu is still limited on any given day but changes constantly. The focus on using only the best ingredients is as intense as ever. The meals I’ve eaten there, most recently in 2016, have all been marvelous.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 106,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<h2>Staying on track in a changing industry</h2>
<p>As recent events have shown, restaurants aren’t utopias, however starry their aspirations. In 2017 and 2018 the industry was rocked by the #MeToo movement, which exposed <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2018/10/how-chefs-and-restaurateurs-are-faring-post-metoo.html">abusive chefs and substandard wages</a> at top-ranked organizations. Restaurants have also faced criticism for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solving-food-waste-in-americas-restaurants-2016-5">wasting food</a> and <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479800612/front-of-the-house-back-of-the-house/">perpetuating racial and economic inequality</a>.</p>
<p>Restaurants are a historical cultural phenomenon rooted in <a href="https://www.thisiscapitalism.com/rise-celebrity-chefpreneur/">bourgeois ambition</a>. Expecting them to advance social justice may seem as naïve as expecting collective decision-making in a high-pressure food service environment where the ingrained response to whatever the boss says is “<a href="https://www.ice.edu/blog/kitchen-culture-end-yes-chef">Yes, Chef</a>.”</p>
<p>The nature of culinary celebrity is <a href="https://www.eater.com/22193151/momofuku-david-chang-memoir-eat-a-peach-review">clearly changing</a>. Against this background, the constancy of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse is all the more impressive. Few restaurants get to celebrate 50 years of service, let alone a half-century combining seriousness of social purpose, loose organizational hierarchy and, above all, simple and delightful food.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162588/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Freedman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Local, organic, sustainable’ are common buzzwords on US restaurant menus now, but it wasn’t always that way. Alice Waters and her restaurant, Chez Panisse, helped put them there.Paul Freedman, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History, Yale UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1636462021-07-10T21:32:13Z2021-07-10T21:32:13ZSwap shapes for rice crackers, chips for popcorn… parents can improve their kids’ diet with these healthier lunchbox options<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410275/original/file-20210708-27-qm1z4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-lunch-boxes-sandwich-fresh-vegetables-623487920">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601775">Four in five</a> primary school students eat a packed lunch every day, costing parents around <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">A$20 a week</a>. That’s almost <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/latest-release">10 million</a> lunchboxes across Australia every week. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/">nine in ten</a> of these contain so-called “<a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/discretionary-food-and-drink-choices">discretionary foods</a>” such as cake, chips, muesli bars and fruit juice. These foods are not necessary for a healthy diet, and are often high in saturated fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre. <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019003379">40%</a> of energy in an average lunchbox comes from these discretionary foods.</p>
<p>Busy parents need to find replacements for these discretionary foods, which are not only healthy, but also easy, cheap and tasty. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">Our research</a> shows parents can make healthier swaps, without costing them more. </p>
<h2>What children should be eating</h2>
<p>Healthy lunchboxes can play a big role in positively influencing students <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252059240_What_is_the_relationship_between_child_nutrition_and_school_outcomes">behaviour in the classroom</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252059240_What_is_the_relationship_between_child_nutrition_and_school_outcomes">academic achievement</a>, <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43923">health</a> and <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259349/WHO-NMH-PND-ECHO-17.1-eng.pdf">weight</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1412201203866365956"}"></div></p>
<p>Generally children should have a <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf">variety of foods</a> from the five core food groups: vegetables and legumes; fruit; grain foods (mostly wholegrain and those high in fibre); lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds; milk, yoghurt and cheese (or alternatives).</p>
<p>Depending on their age and sex, children should consume somewhere between <a href="https://www.nrv.gov.au/dietary-energy">4,500-7,000</a> kilojoules per day. But it’s also important <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf">where</a> they get that energy from. It’s <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/gug-family-toc%7Egug-family-guidelines">recommended</a> children limit their intake of saturated fat, salt and added sugar.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-food-should-my-child-be-eating-and-how-can-i-get-them-to-eat-more-healthily-130470">How much food should my child be eating? And how can I get them to eat more healthily?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A healthy lunchbox doesn’t need to be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg98pAJ1AkE&feature=emb_logo">fancy</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTu9NEnhLuQ">expensive</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJppW7w7yL0">time consuming</a>. </p>
<p>A healthy recess would mean, for instance, children eating one serving of fruit or vegetables, some <a href="https://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/primary-schools/swap-it/packing-an-everyday-lunchbox/">yoghurt and a few rice crackers</a>. At lunch, children could eat a simple sandwich, wrap or roll, or leftovers made from <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf">core food group</a> ingredients such as veggie-loaded wholegrain pasta. </p>
<h2>How to replace junk foods with healthy ones</h2>
<p>Parents have told us they <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.2196/25256">want</a> convenient and cheap foods to pack, that their children want to eat. So, we developed a healthy lunchbox program called <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">SWAP IT</a>. In this program, we provide simple ideas for swapping unhealthy foods kids might like to healthier ones comparable on cost, taste, texture and preparation time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-healthy-diet-is-cheaper-than-junk-food-but-a-good-diet-is-still-too-expensive-for-some-57873">A healthy diet is cheaper than junk food but a good diet is still too expensive for some</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For instance, you could swap</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Shapes for rice crackers. This will mean 159 less kJ, 77% less saturated fat and 39% less sodium</p></li>
<li><p>chips for popcorn. This is 176 less kJ, 57% less saturated fat, 56% less sodium</p></li>
<li><p>cake for pikelets means 464 less kJ and 63% less sugar.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Perhaps one of easiest things you could do is to try ensure your kids stick to drinking water. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A picture showing some of the swaps outlined above." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Calculations are made based on the serving sizes. (Shapes 25g, rice crackers 20g, Smith chips 19g, popcorn 13g, slice of cake 75g, 3 pikelets 75g)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research found <a href="https://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/primary-schools/swap-it/tips/">SWAP IT</a> supported parents and students to reduce energy from discretionary foods by 600kJ per week. Research suggests a small reduction of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">600kJ</a> per week is enough to meaningfully impact population levels of obesity. </p>
<h2>It can be rolled out to schools</h2>
<p>Parents <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/mum-receives-warning-note-from-school-over-bad-food-in-lunch-box/news-story/7d2e9af2d84bb403bab7155746c3939e">are sometimes blamed</a> for unhealthy lunchboxes. </p>
<p>But a barrage of unhealthy foods are <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-its-not-just-a-lack-of-control-that-makes-australians-overweight-heres-whats-driving-our-unhealthy-food-habits-162512">promoted</a> to parents and children, often disguised as healthy choices. Parents and children see as many as <a href="https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/news/food-advertising-endangering-kids-health/">ten junk food adverts</a> per hour. And more than half of parents report their child’s “<a href="https://theconversation.com/give-in-to-pester-power-at-the-supermarket-checkout-youre-not-alone-11205">pester power</a>” influences what they pack in their lunchbox.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/give-in-to-pester-power-at-the-supermarket-checkout-youre-not-alone-11205">Give in to pester power at the supermarket checkout? You're not alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Parents <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">told us</a> they wanted easy to access information when they were in the supermarket. So we got parents to sign up to SWAP IT via their school’s usual <a href="https://www.moqproducts.com.au/skoolbag/">communication</a> <a href="https://www.flexischools.com.au/">app</a>.
Around <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.57">two-thirds</a> of primary schools used such apps. </p>
<p>We prompted parents with swap ideas each week by sending push notifications to their phones. We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0812-7">found 84%</a> of parents liked having the messages sent directly to their phones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two phones side by side. The first phone shows a SWAP IT notification. The second phone shows an example of a swap from muffin bites to scones." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Example notification from the SWAP IT school lunchbox program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.57">four in five</a> primary school principals agree it is a school’s role to support parents to pack healthy lunchboxes. We found SWAP IT could be rolled-out to schools through their communication apps at a cost of <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.2196/25256">less</a> than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0812-7">A$1,800</a> per school. </p>
<p>Investment in promoting a healthy diet is <a href="https://www.phaa.net.au/documents/item/2870">cost-effective</a>, as less people end up in hospital and productivity is improved.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pg98pAJ1AkE?wmode=transparent&start=59" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lunchbox swap ideas for Monday to Friday that are cheap, simple, healthy and tasty.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Schools across Australia can <a href="https://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/primary-schools/swap-it/express-your-interest/">register their interest</a> in the SWAP IT program. In the future, schools could choose to sign up to SWAP IT, in a similar way to signing up to other programs such as <a href="https://www.crunchandsip.com.au/">Crunch & Sip</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew 'Tepi' Mclaughlin is affiliated with the International Society for Physical Activity and Health, the Australasian Society for Physical Activity and Newcastle Cycleways Movement.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Wolfenden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, The NIB Foundation and The Heart Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Sutherland receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, NSW Ministry of Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Brown and Jannah Jones do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We developed a healthy lunchbox program. Here, we provide parents with ideas for swapping unhealthy foods kids might like to healthier ones comparable on cost, taste, texture and preparation time.Matthew Mclaughlin, PhD Candidate, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of NewcastleAlison Brown, PhD Candidate, University of NewcastleJannah Jones, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of NewcastleLuke Wolfenden, Professor (Public Health), University of NewcastleRachel Sutherland, Conjoint Lecturer, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1565682021-05-18T20:05:44Z2021-05-18T20:05:44ZSchool gardens and kitchens could grow with Ontario’s proposed food literacy act<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400660/original/file-20210513-19-1ii5xqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=94%2C65%2C4645%2C2980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food literacy includes understanding where food comes from and knowing how to plan, select, prepare and eat healthy meals. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As some essential services like <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-community-gardens-essential-1.5545115">community gardens</a> re-open and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/may-long-weekend-mixed-weather-still-ok-for-gardening-1.2645535">people start planting again</a>, our connections to food are top of mind. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has shone light on many issues in our “<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-the-perils-of-our-just-enough-just-in-time-food-system-133724">just enough, just in time</a>” food system. Stories about <a href="https://theconversation.com/100-days-of-coronavirus-has-sent-shock-waves-through-the-food-system-140386">meat-packing</a> workers and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/covid-19-hamilton-1.5985299">migrant labourers</a> facing COVID-19 work hazards and other injustices have put a spotlight on the precarity of a globalized food system. </p>
<p>Some seed retailers have reported growing demand amid an apparent <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/05/964043089/suppliers-field-growing-demand-for-seeds-from-pandemic-gardeners">pandemic resurgence in gardening</a>, while some local farms reported <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/covid-19-farm-gate-sales-booming-customers-looking-for-fresh-local-safe-1.5535723">increased sales</a>. Awareness of where our food comes from and all the issues this implies will be important for building a more resilient post-pandemic food system.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2015-010">Food literacy</a> includes knowing how to plan, select, prepare and eat healthy meals as well as being aware of and engaged in food systems. <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-216">Ontario’s Food Literacy for Students Act</a> (Bill 216) aims to make food literacy mandatory for all Ontario students in grades 1-12 to “ensure that students are given opportunities to grow food, prepare food and learn about local foods.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher and kids at a garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401416/original/file-20210518-13-17bqedh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Learning to plant seedlings could be part of core school curriculum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>First of its kind in Canada</h2>
<p>Bill 216 is the <a href="https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/kingston-developed-private-members-bill-would-be-first-in-canada-to-mandate-food-literacy-education">first of its kind in Canada</a>. The <a href="https://www.quintenews.com/2020/12/11/mpp-kramp-leading-the-charge-on-food-literacy/">private member bill</a> was proposed in October 2020 and has <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-216/status">passed its first and second reading</a>, but has not yet gone to committee. Canada currently lags behind some other countries in teaching and funding food literacy. Japan, for example, has a <a href="http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server../APJCN/17/s1/180.pdf">food education law</a> that emphasizes food and cooking skills.</p>
<p>Many young people today are graduating high school without <a href="https://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=5727">essential food skills</a> to cook or grow food, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2752/175174414X14006746101916">lack knowledge about our food systems,</a> where food comes from, how it was produced and the broader systems that move and regulate it. This is because this type of food-related education is <a href="https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/370/355">not mandatory</a>.</p>
<p>A lack of food literacy or skills can lead people to be <a href="https://nutritionconnections.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Food-Literacy-Programming-in-Ontario-Report-Final.pdf">more reliant on highly processed ready-made foods</a> which, if consumed regularly, can increase risk of developing chronic disease. But food skills alone can’t compensate for having
inadequate income or <a href="https://farmworktofeedcanada.ca/covid-19-intensifies-food-insecurity-for-canadians-in-urban-food-deserts/">facing food insecurity due to constrained choices</a> in the foods that are available where one lives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-a-better-canada-after-covid-19-transform-cerb-into-a-basic-annual-income-program-140683">How to build a better Canada after COVID-19: Transform CERB into a basic annual income program</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Chronic disease is a burden on our health-care system. It costs Ontario <a href="https://www.ccohealth.ca/sites/CCOHealth/files/assets/BurdenCDReport.pdf">$10.5 billion annually</a> and disproportionately affects <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/science-research-data/understanding-report-key-health-inequalities-canada.html">those facing health inequities</a>, such as people with lower socio-economic status, Indigenous peoples, sexual and racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants and people living with physical or mental impairments.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fresh produce seen on a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401327/original/file-20210518-19-1ep0s4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ontario’s proposed bill aims to integrate opportunities to learn about local foods into school curriculum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Awareness of food systems and policies — sometimes known as <a href="https://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/news-from-agriculture-and-agri-food-canada/agri-info/being-agri-literate-canadian-agricultural-literacy-month-celebrates-its-10th-anniversary/?id=1615472324023">agricultural literacy</a> — is important for everyone since these systems and policies affect our environment, economy and the people working within them. These systems and policies also influence the foods that are produced or available to us locally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4">in turn affecting our health</a> and cultural food practices.</p>
<p>As such, awareness and recognition of a diversity of cultures and food practices will be <a href="https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/article/doi/10.1525/elementa.428/114467">critical for food literacy in schools in order to decolonize food systems and related education</a>. This is especially important in a country like Canada, where contemporary food policy and food experiences <a href="https://theconversation.com/clearing-the-plains-continues-with-the-acquittal-of-gerald-stanley-91628">emerge from ongoing legacies of colonization</a> (including <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3941673/">residential schools</a>) and Eurocentric and racist and <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pandemic-border/permanently-temporary-the-problem-with-canadas-immigration-policy">exclusionary policies of immigration</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, policies that dictate how food is produced, distributed and consumed have <a href="https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/413">adversely affected and under-valued Indigenous cultural practices, and cultural practices of communities deemed “other” by Eurocentric norms</a>. </p>
<p>Educating students about food systems could help the next generation to envision and build a more equitable and resilient food systems and advocate for the foods and food justice issues relevant to diverse cultures and communities. Food literacy education could help empower students and communities to be engaged in policy decisions affecting food, choosing what they eat, how it is produced, processed and distributed — all of which affects community <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ca9733en/ca9733en.pdf">food security</a>. </p>
<h2>Kitchens and gardens</h2>
<p><a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ955704">Learning through hands-on experiences</a>, especially with food in kitchens and gardens, is a way for students to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-017-9815-7">develop skills and solidify their knowledge</a>. </p>
<p>This type of approach reinforces knowledge when learning about food <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ955704">and food systems</a>. Learning hands-on skills in a kitchen has shown to <a href="https://www.odph.ca/upload/editor/LDCP-Food-Skills-Report-WEB-FINAL.pdf">improve one’s confidence in their ability to cook, which can increase the likelihood of cooking and preparing</a> meals from scratch.</p>
<p>But schools often do not have infrastructure such as kitchens and gardens, and most teachers do not have the training <a href="https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/spotlight/school-food-and-nutrition/">to lead cooking and gardening lessons</a>. Investment in kitchens and gardens by governments is essential to make hands-on food literacy education possible. In 2014, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/education-28981684">the United Kingdom committed the equivalent of more than $295 million for school kitchens and dining facilities</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-community-gardens-plant-the-seeds-of-change-to-address-global-warming-134776">School-community gardens plant the seeds of change to address global warming</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>In 2020, the Coalition for Healthy School Food called on the federal government for a one-time investment of $200 million in a dedicated <a href="https://www.healthyschoolfood.ca/post/letter-to-the-prime-minister">school food fund</a> for infrastructure and equipment, such as kitchens and cafeterias, greenhouses, appliances and tools, and pilot projects. </p>
<p>This could enhance existing programs and expand programming across the country. In the meantime, some <a href="https://www.growingchefs.ca/restaurants">innovative projects with local chefs and restaurants</a> provide some evidence that this type of hands on learning is possible.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A school kitchen facility." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401415/original/file-20210518-13-1k1uiqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Investment in school kitchens and gardens by governments is essential to make hands-on food literacy education possible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Connections to a national school food program</h2>
<p>Many of the infrastructural changes that would result from Bill 216 could also support a national school food program. They could also help to teach about the new <a href="https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/">Canadian Food Guide</a>, Indigenous and diverse cultural food practices since food programs would benefit from kitchen and garden facilities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-pledges-a-canadian-school-food-program-but-recipe-requires-funding-112789">Federal budget pledges a Canadian school food program but recipe requires funding</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Earlier this year in February, the federal Minister of Agriculture launched an <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/02/24/advisory-council-set-to-shape-canadas-food-policy.html">advisory council</a> for <a href="https://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-our-department/key-departmental-initiatives/food-policy/the-food-policy-for-canada/?id=1597863791042">Canada’s food policy</a>. The council first met in early March, and soon we should hear how it will <a href="https://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-our-department/key-departmental-initiatives/food-policy/the-food-policy-for-canada/?id=1597863791042#aarea">advise on implementing the four priority action areas</a> the federal government announced in the 2019 budget: these areas include investing “in projects that increase access to food, with the potential to provide social, health, environmental and economic benefits,” and engaging with “<a href="https://www.budget.gc.ca/2019/docs/plan/chap-04-en.html#Introducing-a-Food-Policy-for-Canada">provinces, territories and key stakeholder groups to work toward the creation of a national school food program</a>.” Another priority is addressing Indigenous food insecurity and providing support for “strong Indigenous food systems.” These priorities can and need to be reflected in food literacy and school food initiatives.</p>
<p>However, the program is <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-pledges-a-canadian-school-food-program-but-recipe-requires-funding-112789">yet to be funded</a>. Canadians who signed a <a href="https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1957">House of Commons e-petition 1957</a> presented to the House in May 2019 calling for a national school food program are eager to hear more about next steps and how this could dovetail with Bill 216. </p>
<p>Given that food literacy is an essential knowledge and skill set, a food literacy act in Ontario and other provinces is long overdue. The proposed act adds to the potential right now to make <a href="https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SchoolFoodNutrition_Final_RS.pdf">comprehensive and integrated school food programs</a> possible. </p>
<p>What are we waiting for?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alicia Martin receives funding from the Social Sciences Research and Humanities Council. She is a member of the Canadian Association for Food Studies' School Food Working Group, which is a member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amberley T. Ruetz receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). She is a member of the Canadian Association for Food Studies' School Food Working Group, which is a member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food.</span></em></p>Ontario’s proposed Food Literacy Act for Students, a first in Canada, would mean students in grades 1-12 have opportunities to grow food and prepare food and learn about local foods.Alicia Martin, PhD Student, Geography, University of GuelphAmberley T. Ruetz, Ph.D. Candidate in Geography and Arrell Food Scholar, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1559342021-03-30T11:36:15Z2021-03-30T11:36:15ZHow school lunch could improve when classrooms are full again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389649/original/file-20210315-17-16klgq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5439%2C3587&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School lunch is a lot less fun during a pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/school-children-are-spaced-apart-in-one-of-the-rooms-used-news-photo/1228514555?adppopup=true">Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended school lunches, like just about everything else for students. Once schools turned into virtual learning platforms, they found <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-connecticuts-schools-have-managed-to-maintain-lunch-distribution-for-kids-who-need-it-most-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-154308">creative ways to feed students</a>, including distributing meals at outdoor <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305875">pickup locations</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/12.22.20-Universal-School-Meals-Sign-On-Letter.pdf">pandemic has renewed and strengthened national</a> and <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB364">state-level calls to make school meals free</a> for all students.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation U.S. asked four school nutrition experts what the break from daily in-person learning may change about school lunch.</em></p>
<h2>1. Cafeterias with more space, less noise</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hsGKoXYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Christine Caruso</a>, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Saint Joseph</strong>: Even prior to the pandemic, staff and students were concerned about <a href="https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.30.1.0101">crowding and noise levels</a> in cafeterias, according to research my colleague and I conducted on <a href="https://foodcorps.org/case-studies/">school meal programs</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html">Now it’s clear that crowding</a> and <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/13/1001696/loud-talking-could-leave-coronavirus-in-the-air-for-up-to-14-minutes/">loud talking</a> are also serious COVID-19 risk factors.</p>
<p>As more children return to in-person learning, many school districts are <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2020/10/23/how-are-cafeteria-s-operating-in-covid-19-">letting students eat in their classrooms</a>. Schools are also relying on <a href="https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/back-to-school/schools-reveal-plans-for-lunchtime-protocols-amid-covid-19-pandemic/2323699/">courtyards or outdoor tents</a> to create safer eating environments. </p>
<p>These measures are critical because the coronavirus spreads <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30514-2">through airborne droplets and aerosols</a>. </p>
<p>As a public health precaution, I believe that most schools need to redesign their cafeterias to provide more and varied spaces for students to spread out, rather than being tightly packed together, and muffle noise. In addition to using outdoor spaces and classrooms, students can also eat in hallways and other spaces as needed. </p>
<h2>2. Fewer families paying for meals</h2>
<p><strong>Michael Long, Assistant Professor of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington University:</strong> <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/nslp-fact-sheet">Serving the 30 million</a> students who rely on school meals has required radical rule waivers and program changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes include adjusting meal requirements and allowing schools to provide free meals <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/usda-040120">to all students</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020670">my research team’s analysis</a> of government <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-nutrition-and-meal-cost-study">data</a> collected during the 2014-2015 school year regarding costs and nutrition, medium and large schools that offered everyone free lunch and other meals spent US$0.67 less per meal than similar-sized schools that certified students for free and reduced price lunch eligibility based on <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/income-eligibility-guidelines">household income</a>. Despite the lower costs – likely due to administrative savings – nutritional quality remained the same. </p>
<p>The pandemic has renewed and strengthened <a href="https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/12.22.20-Universal-School-Meals-Sign-On-Letter.pdf">national</a> and <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB364">state-level calls to make school meals free across the board</a>. </p>
<p>However, this shift will not be possible without new rules and increased federal funding. Without it, when the COVID-19 waivers expire – currently scheduled for the fall of 2021 – many schools will return to the familiar experience of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020670">inadequate funding</a>, big administrative burdens and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304102">lower participation</a> rates.</p>
<h2>3. Healthier, tastier meals</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.fcs.uga.edu/people/bio/caree-cotwright">Caree Cotwright</a>, Assistant Professor of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia</strong>: Since the pandemic began, schools have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.09.018">modified their lunches</a> in numerous ways, introducing new delivery methods and meal packages to deter the spread of the coronavirus. </p>
<p>Schools need more federal funding and support to continue providing healthy meals to students to reduce <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db288.pdf">health disparities</a>. School lunch is more widely consumed by kids from <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S136898002000259">low-income families and communities of color</a> than their counterparts.</p>
<p>When students return to school, many are eating lunch in their classroom or outside rather than in the cafeteria. In my assessment, eating in a learning atmosphere offers a unique opportunity to bolster nutrition education programs and encourage students to taste new entrees that may be packaged in unfamiliar ways. </p>
<p>For example, one school nutrition director in the Atlanta area described to me a program using online taste tests to make school lunches more appealing to students. To start, parents pick up a week’s worth of school meals, which can be quickly heated and served. Then, a group of students participate in a live Zoom session with a school chef who guides them through warming and assembling a simple school lunch meal, such as cheesy chicken tacos with salsa. Students taste and rate the recipe with the chef. Finally, the video, student comments and taste-test results are posted for other students to view before the recipe is added to the menu.</p>
<p>My research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0113">making school meals more nutritious and delicious</a> requires engaging school nutrition directors, teachers, parents and students. These partnerships can encourage students to try new recipes and better understand how food and the environment are linked – which may result in <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014002948">less food waste</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C1563%2C1041&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Child carries lunch in plastic bag" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C1563%2C1041&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cafeteria workers have distributed breakfasts and lunches during the pandemic, even when school buildings are closed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/myah-abeloff-holds-a-packed-lunch-and-breakfast-as-the-news-photo/1213017507?adppopup=true">Lauren A. Little/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. More food justice efforts</h2>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.jenniferelainegaddis.com/">Jennifer Gaddis</a>, Assistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison:</strong> <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46681">Congress provided limited funding</a> in March 2020 to help reimburse school food providers for the <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news-publications/press-releases/2020/sna-survey-finds-school-meal-programs-financial-losses-mount/">financial losses</a> they experienced during school closures. But it wasn’t enough. </p>
<p>More than a quarter of districts <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news-publications/press-releases/2020/sna-survey-finds-school-meal-programs-financial-losses-mount/">surveyed</a> by the <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/">School Nutrition Association</a>, a nonprofit trade group, said they had cut hours for school cafeteria workers during the pandemic in order to cut costs.</p>
<p>These workers – mostly <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.15779/Z38M341">women and people of color</a> – are far more likely to be in <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.15779/Z38M341">part-time, low-wage jobs</a> and far <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news/research/2020-Compensation-and-Benefits-Report/">less likely to belong to unions</a> than the teachers they work alongside. </p>
<p>Before the pandemic, a growing number of schools were employing cafeteria staff to cook nutritious <a href="https://wearescratchworks.org/">meals from scratch</a>, and implementing <a href="https://www.farmtoschool.org/about/what-is-farm-to-school">farm-to-school programs</a> and <a href="https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/program-overview/#_values">other practices</a> to improve jobs, local economies and the environment.</p>
<p>Due to <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news-publications/press-releases/2021/new-usda-data-fewer-meals-served-2B-loss-for-school-meal-programs/">fewer kids eating school meals during the pandemic</a> and the increased costs associated with COVID-19 safety protocols, these positive changes may stall, or even be reversed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520300033/the-labor-of-lunch">My research suggests</a> these reforms are needed to <a href="https://foodcorps.org/cms/assets/uploads/2019/09/Reimagining-School-Cafeterias-Report.pdf">transform the school lunch experience</a> and maximize the <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RF-FoodPolicyPaper_Final2.pdf">ability of school meals</a> to improve public health and contribute to a post-pandemic economic recovery.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155934/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Gaddis is affiliated with the National Farm to School Network as an advisory board member.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine C. Caruso is affiliated with the Hartford Food System and Hartford Decide$ as a board member. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Long received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to conduct research on school meal costs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caree J. Cotwright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students are spreading out when they eat and using more single-serve packaging. Future changes to school meals could be less visible.Jennifer Gaddis, Assistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies, University of Wisconsin-MadisonCaree J. Cotwright, Assistant Professor of Food and Nutrition, University of GeorgiaChristine C. Caruso, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Saint JosephMichael Long, Assistant Professor of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1455732020-10-13T16:36:33Z2020-10-13T16:36:33ZCare is the secret ingredient in school lunch programs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362684/original/file-20201009-23-107f8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5725%2C3802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School food programs can also serve children’s critical social and emotional needs. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Now you just have to starve,” a student told us bluntly when we asked about their new school lunch program.</p>
<p>The school had recently transitioned from an in-house program, with meals prepared and served by lunch staff, to an externally catered program where lunches were ordered online and dropped off. With the loss of familiar lunch staff, children no longer knew who to turn to when they got the wrong lunch order, didn’t have lunch at all or their sandwich from home was mouldy.</p>
<p>These kids taught us an important lesson: school food programs work better when they actively nurture care and connection.</p>
<p>We study the <a href="https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/a-community-partnership-aiming-to-let-no-child-go-hungry/">impacts of school food programs on the well-being of children and families in British Columbia</a>. In 2019, we documented lunchtime in three different schools to learn what mattered to students as they transitioned to a new model of school lunch. </p>
<p>As we were <a href="http://lfs-jblack.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/10/BC-School-Lunch-Program-Full-Report-June-2020.pdf">writing our report of the study’s findings</a>, what struck us most was how often students talked about food as a source of care.</p>
<h2>Kids talked about care</h2>
<p>At its most basic, care is any activity done to support and promote life, argues University of Minnesota political scientist Joan Tronto who examines the <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814782781/caring-democracy/">role of care in democratic societies</a>. By this definition, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12465">feeding children is a crucial aspect of caring for them</a>. </p>
<p>Yet surprisingly, care is often overlooked in public conversations about school food. <a href="https://www.healthyschoolfood.ca/">School food advocates</a> typically focus on the potential of schools to provide nutritious food and alleviate hunger. But the caring labour of connecting kids with food is absent in this argument.</p>
<p>In contrast, in our research, we found care was a constant refrain in children’s talk about lunch. Students told us how much it meant when parents packed foods they enjoyed, when classmates looked out for each other and shared food, and when the former lunch workers paid attention to what they liked and kept a watchful eye out for students. These acts of care are likely even more important now, amidst the stressors of going to school in the pandemic and as children adjust to life at school after months of lockdown. </p>
<p>Our research indicates that when school food programs value and facilitate human connection, they can help improve children’s access to healthy food and nurture their <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/protective/school_connectedness.htm">sense of security and well-being</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A tray showing a bowl of pasta, apple and carton of milk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361388/original/file-20201002-17-7nw1x2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A typical meal from the former school food program prepared by in-house lunch staff.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sinikka Elliott)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Relationships behind the food</h2>
<p><a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/femeco/v24y2018i3p89-112.html">Students benefit</a> when they know that trusted adults are looking out for their food needs. Lunch workers in the schools we studied connected with students in other ways, too. Cheery personalized notes handwritten on paper lunch bags by former lunch staff put a smile on students’ faces. Many students talked about the care and thoughtfulness of the staff in knowing them and their food preferences.</p>
<p>Students valued the caring work of school lunch so much that it shaped their ideas of the food itself. To our surprise, when we visited schools during lunchtime and asked students what they thought about the catered and in-house programs, some students had very different impressions of the food from the two programs — impressions that didn’t really align with the actual food.</p>
<p>“It’s airplane food,” one student said, referring to the catered food. “It’s less homemade,” said another. </p>
<p>“Homemade” typically means made from scratch using fresh ingredients. In fact, the new catered program involved more scratch cooking and fewer prepackaged foods than the old program. </p>
<p>Yet students responded not to what was on the menu, but to the relationships behind the food. The lunch worker who used to make their brown-bag lunches was widely known and liked by students. The meaning of the food changed for them when they didn’t view it as part of the school’s caring web of support. Now it came from an anonymous, for-profit catering company.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A picture of an entree in a disposable container." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357554/original/file-20200910-18-7f85kb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Catered lunches involved more scratch cooking and fewer prepackaged foods than the former in-house program, but some students viewed it as less homemade.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sinikka Elliott)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Limited influence over catering</h2>
<p>The new program was intended to broaden the reach of school meals to more students, yet fewer children opted into the program during its first few months. Both the new and old programs were voluntary, and students in need could receive reduced price or free lunches.</p>
<p>We spoke to school staff after the catered program was implemented. With the change, they found there were hoops to jump through to make adjustments and they worried this affected students’ access. From frozen accounts due to nonpayment, to students getting the wrong meal with no option to whip up a substitute, school staff felt they could no longer properly care for students. </p>
<p>Staff expressed distress at not being able to help their students. As one staff member told us, “We just want to help people. We just want to feed the kids.”</p>
<p>Because the program was operated by the catering company, school staff had limited influence over it compared to the former program. The changes made it hard for them to meet their students’ basic needs.</p>
<h2>Care on the menu</h2>
<p>Designing effective meal programs to ensure no child misses out means acknowledging that feeding children requires nurturing, caring relationships. School lunch workers aren’t the only ones who can do this work, but our research suggests that they can serve at the heart of vibrant care infrastructures in schools that anticipate, identify and meet children’s diverse needs for food and connection. </p>
<p>But this requires giving them the time and autonomy to craft and run programs that work best for their students. Sadly, school lunch workers — like care workers in general — are often <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/05/cafeteria-workers-risking-their-health-feed-vulnerable-students-column/2939584001/">overworked, poorly paid and undervalued</a>. </p>
<p>As children acclimatize to being back to school after months of <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/children-risk-lasting-psychological-distress-coronavirus-lockdown-save-children">social isolation</a>, parents, schools and policy makers need to work collectively towards policy actions to lessen <a href="https://www.unicef.ca/en/press-release/impact-covid-19-children-canada-short-medium-and-long-term-mitigation-strategies">the impacts</a> of the many stressors that children faced during school closures and as the pandemic continues. </p>
<p>In the United States, health policy experts <a href="http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2005638">consider federally run school food programs</a> to be a key element of the country’s COVID-19 response and strategy to support children through the pandemic.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/68291/file/Mitigating-the-Effects-of-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-on-Food-and-Nutrition-of-school-children.pdf">UNICEF</a> also recommends prioritizing child nutrition and feeding programs as a core strategy for supporting school children globally, regardless of whether schools remain open or are closed due to COVID-19. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-pledges-a-canadian-school-food-program-but-recipe-requires-funding-112789">Federal budget pledges a Canadian school food program but recipe requires funding</a>
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<p>Canada now has a <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-pledges-a-canadian-school-food-program-but-recipe-requires-funding-112789">valuable opportunity to recognize school food programs</a> as part of the national COVID-19 strategy. The recipe for successfully supporting children through this pandemic and beyond should not overlook the special ingredient of care in school lunches.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145573/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sinikka Elliott receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Vancouver Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Black receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is affiliated with the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia where she is a 2020-2021 Wall Scholar. </span></em></p>School food programs should be key elements of governments’ COVID-19 responses. In planning these, the relationships that are part of providing food matter.Sinikka Elliott, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of British ColumbiaJennifer Black, Associate Professor of Food, Nutrition and Health, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1208112019-07-29T11:34:40Z2019-07-29T11:34:40ZWhy are school lunches still so unhealthy?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285510/original/file-20190724-110154-1gn9a2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do you know what your child is eating at school?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are more than <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijpo.12185">91m school children</a>
worldwide now defined as living with obesity – and the UK is in the top 20 countries for obesity levels. In the UK, the obesity rate for children doubles <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-child-measurement-programme-ncmp-trends-in-child-bmi">during primary school</a> years – and then <a href="https://theconversation.com/physical-activity-programmes-in-schools-arent-working-heres-why-109684">increases again in secondary school</a>.</p>
<p>This is in part because teenagers in the UK <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">consume poor quality diets</a>, low in nutrients and high in processed foods. Indeed, girls in England do not get essential nutrients required for <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">reproductive and overall good health</a> (vitamin A, folate, iron). And young people are also generally low in at least five micro-nutrients needed for development, immunity, mood and energy levels. </p>
<p>Teenagers in the UK also consume the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">highest amount of added sugars and sugary drinks</a> compared to all other age groups. Teenagers also consume the highest amount of breakfast cereal products (that are also known to be filled with sugar), and confectionery. And only <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">4% of UK teens meet daily fibre recommendations</a>. This is concerning given that dietary fibre is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease, <a href="https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2018/mar/high-fibre-diet-has-benefits-for-type-2-diabetes,-study-claims-96054636.html">type 2 diabetes</a> and cancer. Young people are also <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">only eating around two and half portions</a>of their recommended five a day of fruit and vegetables. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action">Research</a> also shows that teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds have <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-child-measurement-programme-ncmp-trends-in-child-bmi">lower micro-nutrient and fibre intake</a> than their more well-off peers. And findings from the <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/">Food Foundation</a> think-tank show that almost 4m children in the UK live in households that <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publications/">struggle to afford to buy</a> enough fruit, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods to meet the official nutrition guidelines.</p>
<p>These types of dietary patterns can not only have negative consequences on the physical health of teenagers, but they can also impact their mental health. Research shows malnourished teens are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0024805">less likely to fulfil their potential</a> at school, and more likely to suffer with poor mental health.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-way-for-children-to-lose-weight-heres-what-the-research-says-79714">What's the best way for children to lose weight? Here's what the research says</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Why the poor choices?</h2>
<p>But brain changes that occur with puberty coincide with the transition to secondary school and these changes can influence attitudes and behaviours in all areas – <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-34828-010">including healthy eating</a>. The desire to fit in is strong, and liking healthy food can be seen as “uncool” by teens. Young people also <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/4/458/632655">place great importance</a> on social time within the school day. And many teenagers describe the school dining hall as an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305764X.2019.1630367">intimidating place</a> with poor food choices and teachers roaming – making it somewhere they would rather avoid. There’s also often long queues and a lack of perceived privacy in school canteens – which can lead to teenagers skipping lunch and getting most of their energy intake at morning break or at the end of the school day from local food outlets.</p>
<p>There’s also the wider issue that school food policy has failed to sustain quality nutrition – particularly in secondary schools. <a href="http://www.akofoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2_0_fell-report-final.pdf">Researchers from the Jamie Oliver Foundation</a> were alarmed to find many schools are still serving high fat and sugary foods at break and lunch – including pasties, pizza, doughnuts, muffins and cookies, often in large portion sizes. This is despite Oliver campaigning tirelessly over the last decade to change the nation’s eating habits after <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464070/">Jamie’s School Dinners</a> aired in 2005 to reveal the terrible standards of school food in the UK. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11821747/Jamie-Oliver-admits-school-dinners-campaign-failed-because-eating-well-is-a-middle-class-preserve.html">Oliver has since said</a> that his push to improve nutrition for children didn’t work because eating well is still seen as a “posh and middle-class” concern.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt have become a mainstay of lunches in schools across the UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A lack of continuity between successive governments and poor consistency in the evaluation of school food standards may also be to blame. Indeed, the current <a href="https://www.schoolfoodplan.com">school food plan</a> that provides practical and specific guidance on the types of food and drinks schools should and shouldn’t offer – <a href="http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SFP-governance-and-funding.pdf">has not been evaluated since 2013</a>. And while <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2">it’s a requirement for schools to follow this plan</a>, in reality there can be a great deal of difference in how schools feed their children.</p>
<h2>Time to act</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/mind-the-doughnut-emotional-eating-is-a-habit-that-can-start-in-childhood-58602">Research shows</a> that eating habits people pick up in their youth <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/28/1/10/1553731">tend to track into adulthood</a>, which makes the teenage years an important stage to start forming healthy habits. So rather than placing the full responsibility of food choice onto teens, more needs to be done to enable young people to make healthier choices. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School lunches should be nutritious and delicious.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This can include consulting with pupils to engage them in making decisions about the dining room environment and better food education. Reducing choices and streamlining menus has also been shown to improve <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Nelson12/publication/265755030_First_annual_survey_of_take_up_of_school_meals_in_England/links/5630bd2d08ae1bdcebcf2383.pdf">healthier food choices</a>. Though to improve teenager health in a sustained way, wider issues <a href="https://theconversation.com/advertising-has-the-power-to-make-children-fat-and-this-needs-to-stop-58899">such as food advertising</a> and food development also need to be looked at. </p>
<p>But of course it <a href="https://theconversation.com/obesity-crisis-cant-be-solved-by-schools-major-new-study-91265">isn’t just all down to schools</a>, parents can also help massively by creating a home environment that supports healthy eating. Here, patience is a must and convenience is key – offer carrots or chopped fruit when they are hungry coming through the door after school. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-parents-and-pupils-are-finding-healthy-packed-lunches-hard-to-stomach-65419">be the example</a> – have fun trying new fruits or vegetables – and help kids to recognise that fuelling with nourishing foods impacts how we all feel, think, look and perform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Rose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Obesity crisis: pizza, pastries, chips, donuts, cookies, hot dogs, and burgers – just your average school lunch.Kelly Rose, PhD Researcher in the School of Science, Engineering and Design, Teesside UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1108622019-04-05T10:43:17Z2019-04-05T10:43:17ZIt can take a village to feed hungry kids in schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267444/original/file-20190403-177178-1gf2g52.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Assembling backpacks of food for students to take home in Flint, Mich.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fbem.org/programs/backpack-program/">Kathleen Payton/Food Bank of Eastern Michigan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/child-hunger-facts">One in 6</a> American children faces hunger and <a href="https://www.nokidhungry.org/sites/default/files/HIOS.pdf?_ga=2.158838642.994859008.1549598355-1996888792.1549598355">3 out of 4</a> teachers report regularly seeing hungry kids in their classrooms. In response, <a href="https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R43783.html#_Toc523154337">school meals</a> make up a large fraction of federal food assistance.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp">National School Lunch Program</a> is the second-largest federal food assistance program, serving <a href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/cn/NSLPFactSheet.pdf">30.4 million</a> children. It is complemented by the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/sbp/school-breakfast-program-sbp">School Breakfast Program</a>, the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/afterschool-snacks-faqs">Afterschool Snack Service</a> and the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-food-service-program">Summer Food Service Program</a>. Though these programs are essential, they are not enough.</p>
<p>On a local scale, organizations such as food banks assist food-insecure children and families, but their work within schools is typically limited. In my roles as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7i7qjxUAAAAJ&hl=en">researcher</a> of food in schools and as a <a href="https://foodforlanecounty.org/">food bank</a> board member, I often see opportunities for more collaboration between schools and communities to help fill the gaps in feeding kids whose families face economic hardship. </p>
<h2>Local efforts are limited</h2>
<p>In some communities, food banks and K-12 schools already work together as partners. </p>
<p>One way this occurs is through <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/hunger-relief-programs/backpack-program">backpack programs</a> that give students easily prepared foods, like boxed macaroni and cheese and canned beans, for the weekend. Backpack programs, such as those in <a href="https://www.fbem.org/programs/backpack-program/">Northeast Michigan</a> and <a href="https://afac.org/about/who-we-serve/backpack-buddies/">Arlington, Virginia</a>, are highly local. </p>
<p>Often these initiatives exist because someone, such as a high school teacher I collaborated with on a study, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-57174-4_11">Melissa Washburn</a>, sees a need and reaches out to local food banks for support. Washburn, a health teacher at a public high school in Lansing, Michigan, partnered with a nearby food bank to initiate a backpack program that delivered shelf-stable items. Wanting to improve the quality of the food in the packs, Washburn secured grants from a local nonprofit and the schools’ alumni association to include locally sourced fruits and vegetables. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/30/372906273/beyond-free-lunch-schools-open-food-pantries-for-hungry-families">Food pantries located in schools</a> are another source of support for hungry students and their families. These efforts also often depend on one or a handful of dedicated people who see a need and amass volunteers for the task. </p>
<p>Local efforts are important and should be the norm rather than the exception. <a href="http://www.rootcausecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Key-Factors-for-School-Based-Food-Pantries-Perspectives-From-Food-Bank-and-School-Pantry-Personnel.pdf">School-based food pantries</a> and weekend <a href="http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/tools-for-schools/find-challenges/at-home-challenges/1276-backpack-programs">backpack programs</a> should be a routine feature at all public schools. </p>
<h2>Bringing in the village</h2>
<p>While school food pantries and backpack programs are important, we need to welcome more ideas to the table to feed children in schools. Because funding for public education is limited and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1476750318811920">teachers are overextended</a>, the village needs to help support these endeavors. </p>
<p>There are countless models for marshaling communities to feed students. Service organizations, faith-based groups and local clubs can step in to help.
Food banks, in particular, are in excellent positions to foster connections between schools and these groups. For example, a network of churches in Junction City, Oregon, works with the food bank to supply items, such as peanut butter, for backpack programs in local schools.</p>
<p>Partnerships between businesses and nonprofits, such as the <a href="https://foodforlanecounty.org/get-help/more-food-programs/programs-for-children/">Cereal for Youth program</a> in Lane County, Oregon, are another model. This program brings three local businesses together with the food bank to provide free high-quality granola to kids 18 years and under in schools or afterschool programs. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9zyqNj7A91A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Cereal for Youth program distributes free granola to Oregon kids in schools.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another important initiative is lobbying for better federal or state school food assistance. In Oregon, nonprofits, food banks and other organizations have formed the <a href="https://oregonhunger.org/hunger-free-schools/">Hunger-Free Schools Coalition</a> to encourage state legislators to make Oregon the first state to provide universal free school meals.</p>
<p>Food can also provide a gateway to building community in and around schools. For example, our food bank nutrition educator teaches family cooking classes at a local elementary school. Free evening or weekend meals for school communities with food provided by food banks and partners are another possibility. </p>
<p>Schools are places where food assistance can have great impact on vulnerable members of society. Community organizations, businesses and food assistance agencies all have roles to play in this effort.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Riggs Stapleton is affiliated with Food for Lane County as a (volunteer) member of the Board of Directors. </span></em></p>Backpack programs that give students easily prepared foods, like boxed macaroni and cheese and canned beans, can make a difference.Sarah Riggs Stapleton, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, College of Education, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1127892019-03-21T21:55:24Z2019-03-21T21:55:24ZFederal budget pledges a Canadian school food program but recipe requires funding<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263664/original/file-20190313-123541-1c8afai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C186%2C5114%2C2747&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada is ranked 37th of the 41 most wealthy nations in regards to child well-being and access to healthy food, according to UNICEF.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hectic mornings of rushing around packing school lunches for kids could actually become a thing of the past for Canadian parents.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.budget.gc.ca/2019/docs/plan/chap-04-en.html#Introducing-a-Food-Policy-for-Canada">recent federal budget</a>, Canada has finally declared its intention to work towards a national school food program with the provinces and territories.</p>
<p>The pledge is <a href="https://www.hilltimes.com/2019/03/20/liberals-propose-national-school-meal-program-as-canada-remains-back-of-pack-on-childrens-nutrition/193321">embedded in the new national food policy</a>, although the government has not yet committed any funds for the program.</p>
<p>As researchers focused on student nutrition, wellness and national and provincial food policy, we see <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-a-national-school-food-program-happen-102018">a national school food program is a no-brainer</a>. </p>
<p>Food at school can improve children’s <a href="http://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/260">health and academic outcomes while creating economic opportunities for local, sustainable agriculture</a>. To ensure this, however, the federal government needs to establish food procurement criteria and regulations to protect against <a href="https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/cbmh.32.2.391">corporate food and beverage from gaining entry into schools</a>. </p>
<p>In many countries, parents’ main focus in the morning is getting their kids out of the door on time because schools handle lunch as part of a larger health, education and economic strategy. </p>
<p>In France, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5852781/">school lunches are part of the school day</a>, not a break from it. Children are served a four-course meal while sitting at a group table with a supervisor who teaches them about nutrition, healthy eating and table manners. </p>
<p>In Italy, <a href="https://www.gamberorosso.it/en/news/english-food-news/school-lunches-in-italy-setting-a-healthy-pattern-for-adult-life/">school meals are locally sourced and certified organic</a>, with special meals provided for children with food allergies, intolerances and religious restrictions. School lunch menus are sent home on a weekly basis to help parents avoid overlap at home. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japans-amazing-school-lunch-program-2017-3#lunchtime-in-japanese-primary-schools-is-almost-sacred-it-isnt-hurried-or-hasty-kids-get-the-time-just-to-sit-and-eat-1">Japan</a>, where <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/food-education-the-law-in-japan-1.2894279">food education is mandated by law</a>, lunches are cooked in school. In an effort to reinforce a culture of self-sufficiency students serve one another and when lunch is done everyone helps clean up.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263644/original/file-20190313-123545-f5s3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Japan, food education is mandated by law. Here, Yoshihiko Noda, former prime minister, joins children for a kindergarten in Yokohama, near Tokyo, in October 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Kyodo News)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23218237">Brazil, school food is part of a national and comprehensive food strategy</a> that integrates education, agriculture, health and food security while supporting family farming. </p>
<h2>Health crisis spans economic divides</h2>
<p>The last time the federal government seriously discussed implementing a national school food program was during <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09581596.2018.1524849">the Second World War when the government rejected a school lunch program.</a> Instead, Canada decided to provide a <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/food-will-win-the-war">family allowance</a> designed to ensure families had enough income to buy food for their children. </p>
<p>Since then, the pervasiveness of diet-related diseases among children may make today’s youth the first generation to have <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/39-1/HESA/report-7">sicker, shorter lives than their parents</a> as found by a House of Commons standing committee on health in 2007.</p>
<p>Children spend a considerable amount of time at school for well over a decade of their lives, so schools are the ideal medium for <a href="https://dcjournal.ca/doi/10.3148/cjdpr-2018-037">fostering and reinforcing a lifetime of healthy eating habits</a>. Preventing chronic diseases through improving nutrition among children and youth should, therefore, be a priority. </p>
<p>A national, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/embed/4941523/%22">health-promoting school food program is essential</a> for Canada. With adequate funding and national standards, it can be the powerful health-promotion program needed to reverse our current health crisis that spans socio-economic divides. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265195/original/file-20190321-93054-1atvmpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School food programs are not only about children eating healthier, but also about children developing lifelong skills towards good health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Universal, sustainable</h2>
<p><a href="https://dcjournal.ca/doi/10.3148/cjdpr-2016-037">Most provinces</a> in Canada have some form of a school food program (breakfast, snack and to a lesser degree lunch), but the type of program and quality of food served varies across the country. Existing programs largely rely on charitable funding because if there is any provincial and municipal support, it often only covers a fraction of the cost. </p>
<p>A national research team that my co-author was part of <a href="http://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/260">recommended six key characteristics to guide a national school food program in Canada</a>. Such a program would be: </p>
<p><strong>1. Universal</strong> and offered to all students at no cost or subsidized cost, and administered in a non-stigmatizing manner. </p>
<p><strong>2. Health Promoting,</strong> thereby focused on providing whole foods, specifically vegetables and fruits.</p>
<p><strong>3. Respectful</strong> of local conditions and needs, serving culturally appropriate foods. </p>
<p><strong>4. Connected</strong> to communities, supporting local food producers when possible.</p>
<p><strong>5. Multi-Component</strong> and integrated with curricula to incorporate nutrition education and hands-on food preparation for the development of food skills.</p>
<p><strong>6. Sustainable</strong> and so receiving ongoing funding, staffing and training along with regular monitoring and evaluation.</p>
<h2>Economic opportunity</h2>
<p>A national school food program isn’t just an expense; it’s an economic opportunity. Internationally, school food programs have an impressive return on investment — <a href="http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/resources/wfp281517.pdf">three dollars to $10 for every dollar invested</a> — including the <a href="http://www.farmtocafeteriacanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Upstream-HIA-Oregon-Farm-to-School-policy.pdf">creation of new jobs</a>. </p>
<p>School food could also be a fruitful emerging <a href="https://theconversation.com/farm-to-school-movement-takes-root-in-canada-101635">economic activity in Canada as it is in the United States as my research aims to show</a>. Canada would have the chance to develop a made-in-Canada school food economic growth strategy, akin to what <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-a-national-school-food-program-happen-102018">Brazil or Italy</a> has pursued. </p>
<p>The economic burden and preventable cost of nutrition-related disease in Canada is estimated at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196333">$13.8 billion annually</a>. Treating chronic disease already consumes an alarming <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907549/">67 per cent of all direct health care spending</a>. Such expenditure levels could cripple Canada’s universal health care system. Yet, over <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907549/">30,000 deaths could be averted or delayed</a> annually if our diets complied with dietary recommendations, particularly for eating more fruit and vegetables. </p>
<p>Right now, more than <a href="https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1957">3,200 signatures have been put to a petition to the Minister of Health</a> for the implementation of a universal healthy school food program whose cost is shared with the federal government. </p>
<p>This is an official <a href="https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/home/about">e-petition</a> to the House of Commons — that means it was made available online on the House of Commons website after it was introduced to Parliament by <a href="http://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Julie-Dabrusin(88994)">MP Julie Dabrusin</a> on behalf of Debbie Field, co-ordinator of the <a href="https://www.healthyschoolfood.ca/who-we-are">Coalition for Healthy School Food</a>. </p>
<p>The promise of a national school food program is an important step forward for Canada. The provision of adequate funding will ensure that it benefits all Canadian children.</p>
<p>An investment in a national school food program is <a href="https://obrieniph.ucalgary.ca/files/iph/raising-canada-eco-report.pdf">an investment in children today</a> and the leaders of tomorrow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112789/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amberley T. Ruetz receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for her current research on the economic impact of the farm-to-school program. She is a supporter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which is advocating for a national school food program. She also consults with the Ontario Student Nutrition Program, Southwest Region.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara FL Kirk receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Heart and Stroke, the Lawson Foundation, the Max Bell Foundation, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation. She is a supporter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which is advocating for a national school food program. She is also a board member of Canada Bikes, a not-for-profit that promotes everyday cycling in Canada.</span></em></p>A well-planned national school food progam in Canada could be a huge boost to children’s health outcomes, long-term healthcare spending and local agriculture and economies.Amberley T. Ruetz, PhD Candidate in Geography and Arrell Food Scholar, University of GuelphSara F.L. Kirk, Professor of Health Promotion; Scientific Director of the Healthy Populations Institute, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1020182018-08-28T21:06:21Z2018-08-28T21:06:21ZHow to make a national school food program happen<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233371/original/file-20180824-149463-4d0eb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Rome, 70 per cent of ingredients in school meals are required by law to be organic. In Brazil, food is a constitutional right for children. Canada lags shamefully behind.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As summer winds down and a new school year begins, the conversation about food in schools is once again heating up. </p>
<p>In June, Sen. Art Eggleton tabled a motion <a href="http://healthscienceandlaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Senate-M-358.EF_-1.pdf">calling on the federal government to consult with key stakeholders to develop a cost-shared universal nutrition program across Canada</a>. </p>
<p>He is not the first senator to have made this call. Back in 1997, the <a href="http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/36-1/FINA/report-2/page-45#D">House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance</a> made the recommendation “to create a national school nutrition program” but no action was ever taken. In 2015, <a href="https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/421/SOCI/Reports/2016-02-25_Revised_report_Obesity_in_Canada_e.pdf">the Standing Committee on Social Affairs Science and Technology and the Minister of Health</a> advocated “for childcare facility and school programs related to breakfast and lunch programs… and nutrition literacy courses.” </p>
<p>A universal, national school food program would make sure that all students from kindergarten to Grade 12 have the same access to healthy food in school. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-your-kids-need-a-national-school-food-program-83135">The case for such a program in Canada is already strong</a>. So what needs to happen to make this a reality? </p>
<h2>A patchwork of programs</h2>
<p>Canada is lagging behind other high-income countries in providing nutritious food to children. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/890-building-the-future-children-and-the-sustainable-development-goals-in-rich-countries.html">UNICEF report</a> published last year, Canada ranked 37th out of 41 countries on access to nutritious food for children. That is below the United States. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233359/original/file-20180823-149469-1ahlygh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">By using local foods, a national school lunch program could double as a local economic growth strategy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One reason for this is Canada’s patchwork of programs that serve only a fraction of kids. Funding for programs comes from several different stakeholders, including provincial and territorial governments, municipal governments and charities. This contrasts sharply with school food programs in other countries.</p>
<p>In Brazil for example, food is a constitutional right, which means that a national program feeds <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233876347_The_Brazilian_School_Feeding_Programme_an_Example_of_an_Integrated_Programme_in_Support_of_Food_and_Nutrition_Security">47 million students at 190,000 schools each day</a>. </p>
<p>The benefits are multiple, not only improving student nutrition, health and social development, but providing wider employment. The program supports local food systems and regional economic development, since 30 per cent of food purchased for the program comes from small family farms.</p>
<p>In Italy, school meals are a central part of education about national culture and health. In Rome, <a href="http://www.gamberorosso.it/en/food-news/1045774-school-lunches-in-italy-setting-a-healthy-pattern-for-adult-life">70 per cent of ingredients in school meals are required by law to be organic.</a> These are also local or regional foods, making school meals a local economic growth strategy as well. </p>
<p>In Finland, school lunches, which are free for all students, <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/00070700910931940">are the healthiest meal that students eat during the whole day.</a></p>
<h2>It’s time for action</h2>
<p>These international examples illustrate how healthy food provision is prioritized elsewhere in the world. This pays off through an impressive return on investment for school food programs — of <a href="http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/resources/wfp281517.pdf">$3 to $10 for every dollar invested</a>. </p>
<p>Because children’s eating habits are more easily influenced than those of adults, interventions aimed at children are also more likely to have the potential to reduce future health-care costs. </p>
<p>Children spend on average six to seven hours or 50 per cent of their time awake at school which makes schools the ideal medium for instilling lifelong eating habits <a href="http://dcjournal.ca/doi/10.3148/cjdpr-2017-029">in a non-stigmatizing way</a>. </p>
<p>Public support for a national program is growing. Martha O’Connor, former director general of the now defunct Breakfast for Learning Program affirms that <a href="http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/36-1/FINA/report-2/page-45#D">“70 per cent of Canadians believe that child hunger in Canada is more important than national unity or the deficit.</a> Strategic investment in a national school nutrition program is an investment in the future of all Canadians.” </p>
<p>Political will is essential for a national school food program to become a reality. And Eggleton’s motion is catalyzing this important conversation about the state of children’s health in Canada. </p>
<h2>Soda tax as revenue</h2>
<p>Growing rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease among Canada’s population are unsustainable. <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/sites/foodsecurecanada.org/files/coalition_for_healthy_school_food_0.pdf">The Coalition for Healthy School Food</a>, comprised of 40 organizations across Canada, estimates that a national, universal healthy school food program would cost $1.8 billion per year. </p>
<p>The Coalition is calling on the Government of Canada to initially invest $360 million, through provincial and territorial transfers, in healthy school food programs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233525/original/file-20180824-149484-yc7f7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A soda tax could almost finance a national school food program throughout Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The eventual goal would be universal coverage, through a cost-shared model of joint investments from the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as some investment from not-for-profits and parents where applicable. </p>
<p>The United Kingdom recently implemented a promising strategy of directing the revenue from a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf">national sugary drinks levy</a> to fund school food programs. Diabetes Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Childhood Obesity Foundation <a href="https://sugarydrinkslevy.ca/">are making the same recommendation for Canada</a>. </p>
<p>A soda tax could produce $1.7 billion in annual revenue for Canada, just short of the Coalition’s estimate to fund a national school food program. </p>
<p>Given the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907549/">burden that chronic, diet-related diseases already place on the Canadian health care system</a> — a cost estimated at $190 billion each year — a $1.8 billion investment in the health of our next generation is surely a small price to pay? </p>
<p>The cost of implementing a national school food program will pay for itself through <a href="https://www.sunlife.ca/ca/Learn+and+Plan/Health/Community/Feeding+our+future+Why+school+nutrition+programs+matter?vgnLocale=en_CA">improved mental health, learning and other health outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>Schools have a strong history of successful public health intervention and a national school food program is a critical investment that we all can support. It’s a no-brainer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara FL Kirk receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Heart and Stroke, the Lawson Foundation, the Max Bell Foundation and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation. She is a member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which is advocating for a national school food program. She is also a board member of Canada Bikes, a not-for-profit that promotes everyday cycling in Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amberley T. Ruetz receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for her current research on the economic impact of the farm-to-school program. She is a member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which is advocating for a national school food program. She also consults with the Ontario Student Nutrition Program, Southwest Region. </span></em></p>There would be many benefits from a national school food program, including a chance to teach children healthy eating habits that could last a lifetime. Why can’t it happen?Sara F.L. Kirk, Professor of Health Promotion; Scientific Director of the Healthy Populations Institute, Dalhousie UniversityAmberley T. Ruetz, PhD Candidate in Geography, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/898682018-01-28T18:09:35Z2018-01-28T18:09:35ZHow to keep school lunches safe in the heat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202953/original/file-20180123-182945-82964t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C1133%2C3224%2C1866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Keep it cool.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/712731865?size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock/bitt24</a></span></figcaption></figure><hr>
<p><em>This article is <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/back-to-school-2018-48951">part of a series</a> that draws on the latest research on back to school transitions. In it, experts explain how best to prepare children for school, and counter difficulties such as stress or bad behaviour.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The school holidays are over but summer isn’t, and we’re bound to have more hot days before the season ends. So how can you avoid making yourself or your kids sick when packing picnics or school lunches in the heat?</p>
<p>The good news is that the bacteria that cause food to spoil are quite different to the bacteria that typically cause food poisoning, and generally don’t make you sick.</p>
<p>But harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning can still end up in lunchboxes and picnics. Controlling the temperature of the food can help minimise the chance of getting sick, or the severity of any food-borne illness. </p>
<h2>Food poisoning and spoiling</h2>
<p>When left out in the heat, foods such as meat, cheese, fish and milk will spoil and start to smell because of bacteria such as <em>Pseudomonas</em>. But while it’s certainly not a good idea for your child to nibble on spoiled foods, such bacteria <a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/foodpoison/Pages/default.aspx">don’t usually result in gastrointestinal symptoms</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/salmonella-in-your-salad-the-cost-of-convenience-54325">Salmonella in your salad: the cost of convenience?</a>
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</em>
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<p>On the other hand, <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/E829FA59A59677C0CA257D6A007D2C97/$File/Foodborne-Illness-Australia-circa-2010.pdf">more than four million Australians</a> get food poisoning each year. The bacteria responsible for the majority of cases – <em>Salmonella</em>, <em>Campylobacter</em>, <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>, <em>E. coli</em> and <em>Listeria</em>– usually come from animal faeces and soil. They <a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/foodpoison/Pages/default.aspx">don’t change</a> the appearance, smell or taste of food.</p>
<p>The contaminated food can cause symptoms such as nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and chills as soon as 30 minutes after ingestion.</p>
<p>The cause of a specific food poisoning case can be hard to determine. Often the contaminated food is completely consumed and mild cases of diarrhoea can easily be caused by exposure to irritants such as gluten or lactose, as by a toxin, bacteria or virus. It’s usually only when multiple people eating the same food get sick that the source is traced and investigated.</p>
<h2>Bacteria flourish in the heat</h2>
<p>As with almost any kind of infection, contact with disease-causing bacteria doesn’t inevitably result in disease. We regularly handle a low level of bacterial contamination in the foods we eat without coming to harm. A gram of fresh tofu <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=sYUq27wYcKMC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=bacteria+food+doubling+time+20+minutes&source=bl&ots=P-sgYi8chv&sig=hSJ9fH2gx77NICPquAmD9Lv-Mwg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6trXk39_RAhXEjJQKHTV1DPUQ6AEIUTAJ#v=onepage&q=bacteria%20food%20doubling%20time%2020%20minutes&f=false">may contain</a> from 300 to 100,000 bacteria and fermented foods such as miso or yoghurt may contain millions of bacteria per gram.</p>
<p>The number of bacteria in contaminated food is important: a person ingesting a higher amount of virulent bacteria is more likely to fall ill than someone ingesting a much smaller amount. The type of bacteria is also important, as more virulent strains can lead to illness in lower doses.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203122/original/file-20180123-33541-1uiwd9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yoghurt can contain millions of bacteria per gram.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/meanderingwa/8802646570/">Upupa4me</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These bacteria flourish in a zone between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius – known as the temperature “<a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/faqsafety/pages/foodsafetyfactsheets/charitiesandcommunityorganisationsfactsheets/temperaturecontrolma1477.aspx">danger zone</a>” – where bacterial reproduction is most rapid.</p>
<p>In the summer heat, the doubling time of bacteria can be as short as 20 minutes. This means a thin slice of a well-washed tomato with 100 bacteria at 8am <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=sYUq27wYcKMC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=bacteria+food+doubling+time+20+minutes&source=bl&ots=P-sgYi8chv&sig=hSJ9fH2gx77NICPquAmD9Lv-Mwg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6trXk39_RAhXEjJQKHTV1DPUQ6AEIUTAJ#v=onepage&q=bacteria%20food%20doubling%20time%2020%20minutes&f=false">could contain</a> just over 26 million bacteria by 2pm on the same day.</p>
<p>Storing foods outside the temperature danger zone can dramatically slow the rate at which bacteria can multiply. This is why cold food should be kept below 5 degrees Celsius and hot foods above 60 degrees.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-leave-leftovers-to-cool-before-refrigerating-6114">Monday's medical myth: leave leftovers to cool before refrigerating</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can you do?</h2>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/faqsafety/pages/foodsafetyfactsheets/charitiesandcommunityorganisationsfactsheets/temperaturecontrolma1477.aspx">four key steps</a> to safely preparing food: </p>
<p>1) Wash your hands thoroughly before handling food. Use clean utensils and cutting boards</p>
<p>2) Use separate cutting boards for fresh produce and raw meat or poultry to reduce the risk of <em>Salmonella</em></p>
<p>3) Cook food to the right temperature using a food thermometer</p>
<p>4) Chill perishable foods such as meats, eggs, cheese or yoghurt with at least two cold sources, such as freezer packs, to keep harmful bacteria from multiplying rapidly. Frozen juice poppers can also be used as freezer packs and by lunchtime should be thawed and ready to drink.</p>
<p>An insulated lunchbox should be used for packing perishable foods. Insulated containers such as thermos flasks can also be used to store hot soups and stews.
When packing a child’s lunch the night before, store the food in the refrigerator overnight, so it stays colder for longer.</p>
<p>Finally, teach children to wash their hands with soapy water for 20 seconds before eating. Or pack disposable wipes so they can easily clean their hands before and after eating.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-you-have-to-wash-with-hot-water-to-kill-bugs-3086">Monday's medical myth: you have to wash with hot water to kill bugs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Getting sick</h2>
<p>Despite parents’ best efforts, food poisoning can occur. When it does, oral rehydration is the cornerstone of treatment. You can buy a rehydrating solution of sugar, salt and water from most pharmacists. Or <a href="http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm">make your own</a> by adding half a level teaspoon of salt and six level teaspoons of sugar dissolved in one litre of clean drinking or boiled water. </p>
<p>A bland diet for a short period of time can be helpful in recovery. </p>
<p>For severe symptoms or for any concerns about your child’s recovery, see your GP.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89868/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent Ho does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The good news is that the bacteria that cause food to spoil are quite different to the bacteria that typically cause food poisoning, and generally don’t make you sick.Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/830152017-09-07T09:37:13Z2017-09-07T09:37:13ZEcuador’s school food is bad for kids — and the environment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183837/original/file-20170829-6659-u6gz17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C7%2C4941%2C2856&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ecuador's school snack programme focuses on pre-packaged, individual-sized items like juice boxes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bluefilm.us">Bernardo Cañizares Esguerra</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year, malnutrition costs Ecuador the equivalent of <a href="https://www.wfp.org/content/2017-cost-double-burden-malnutrition-social-and-economic-impact">4.3% of its gross domestic product</a>, as the resulting health burden and reduced potential productivity places an economic toll on society. That was the unsettling conclusion of the World Food Programme’s 2017 report on the country, where stunting or chronic malnutrition in children under five has been persistently high for decades. </p>
<p>Malnutrition reached <a href="http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2016-global-hunger-index-getting-zero-hunger">25% between 2011 and 2015</a>. Even so, Ecuadorian children have also been gaining too much weight. By 2014, just under 20% of school-age children in the country were overweight and another 12% were obese. </p>
<p>As a health-policy researcher who studies Ecuador, I know that these two problems are not as different as they seem. Malnutrition and obesity often go together, <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/27417">even in high-income countries like the US</a>. That’s because insufficient sanitation, a lack of potable water, poor dietary habits and, critically, limited access to safe and nutritious foods all interact to affect people’s health status. </p>
<p>Ecuadorian officials must be unfamiliar with this global body of research, because they continue to offer public school kids largely unhealthy, pre-packaged snacks. If Ecuador is serious about putting “the population’s right to health” first, as it recently declared in making “<a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/decade-of-action/ecuador-commitment-25may2017/en">ambitious commitments to the United Nations’ Decade of Action on Nutrition</a>”, it should start by improving school food.</p>
<h2>Snack food nation</h2>
<p>Here’s what rural Ecuadorian children get to eat each morning at school: a couple artificially flavoured and sweetened energy bars, sugary cookies and a powdered drink mix. </p>
<p>Even for people who haven’t already had breakfast at home, this is a rather bleak menu.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184358/original/file-20170901-27238-jwdryf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ecuador’s sugary snacks provide too much energy for young kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.publicaffairs.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000581119/">US Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Efrain Gonzalez</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Underinvestment is not the problem. In 2013, Ecuador’s Ministry of Education spent <a href="https://educacion.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/06/Rendicion-de-cuentas-2013.pdf">US$82.5m to provide such snacks to</a> 2.2m students in 18,000 schools. For the 2015-2019 period, <a href="https://educacion.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2016/11/Proyecto-Alimentacion_06-10-2016-FINAL.pdf">it has designated US$474m</a> – roughly 3% of the <a href="http://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/sociedad/4/el-presupuesto-educativo-en-2016-suma-3-350-millones">country’s total education budget</a>. </p>
<p>But spending does not automatically translate into well-being, nor does money alone develop valuable eating practices. The health field’s traditional focus on caloric intake <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257829/">may have contributed</a> to Ecuador’s issue, because it has long emphasised calories over quality. </p>
<p>As such, Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health proudly maintains that its breakfasts for students age five to 14 provide <a href="http://www.finanzas.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/03/PROYECTO-DE-INTERVENCION-EN-LA-ALIMENTACION-ESCOLAR-15-1-2015.pdf">20% of recommended daily caloric intake</a>.</p>
<p>But these averages do not account for individual children’s health statuses, body types and levels of physical activity. As a <a href="http://www.finanzas.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/03/PROYECTO-DE-INTERVENCION-EN-LA-ALIMENTACION-ESCOLAR-15-1-2015.pdf">2015 government report</a> acknowledged, the current school snack translates into an energy overload for the youngest students and a nutritional deficit for older ones. </p>
<p>There’s also a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.12571/full">strong correlation</a> between access to processed foods – which are cheap to produce and purchase but generally energy-dense and nutrient-poor – and worse nutritional health among young people. </p>
<p>Not even students are happy with their breakfasts. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.055">Teachers and parents</a> report that children “don’t like the granola bars, and they are tired of eating the same food over and over again”. </p>
<p>“With the cookie and the <em>colada</em>” said one teacher, it’s just “sweet and more sweet”.</p>
<h2>Food is a big business</h2>
<p>The government defends its school food programme by arguing that it is designed to serve primarily as an educational incentive – that is, it gives kids a reason to come to school – and only secondarily as a source of nutrition. </p>
<p>But there is no scientific evidence that the school snack, alone or in combination with the free uniforms and textbooks that <a href="http://www.economists.nl/files/20101011-Uniforms-Oct2010.pdf">the government has provided</a> since 2007, has contributed to improving educational statistics. </p>
<p>Ecuador’s programme does, however, follow <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkr005">the advice of the World Bank</a>, which asserts that meal programs are best viewed as a safety net – a targeted transfer of food to the poorest or most vulnerable populations.</p>
<p>Well, sort of. The World Bank, a major school feeding player, has <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/school-nutrition-programs-are-first-line-defense-against-diabetes">also said</a> that school lunches can be the “first line of defence against diabetes”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"718151588905402369"}"></div></p>
<p>Amid these contradictory messages, the bank is clear on one thing: school meal programmes are “<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/24418">big business globally</a>”. Considering that this industry is valued at US$75 billion every year, it is perhaps unsurprising that corporate interests play a role in what kids around the globe eat.</p>
<p>The promotional materials of TetraPak, a Swiss snack food manufacturer, features <a href="http://www.tetrapak.com/sustainability/food-availability/school-feeding-programmes">images of students from Peru and Vietnam</a> sipping milk from their on-the-go containers. In Ecuador, top school food providers have included the international food and beverage giant Nestlé, as well as Moderna Alimentos, an Ecuadorian firm <a href="https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/05bc0f004d33300089b5cdf81ee631cc/Moderna.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">50% owned by the multinationals Seaboard and Contigroup</a>.</p>
<p>These pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all foods are not just bad for kids, they’re also bad for the environment. Ecuador’s government <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRgJY56qUYo">boasts of delivering</a> cookies and energy bars to even the most remote rainforest villages, but help managing the massive new amounts of inorganic waste produced is evidently <a href="https://lahora.com.ec/noticia/1102067867/activistas-alertan-sobre-el-manejo-de-la-basura-en-ecuador-">not included in the deal</a>. </p>
<p>Thus, in a fragile, essential ecosystem like the Ecuadorian Amazon, garbage is now being buried or burned, or remaining in open air and waterways. </p>
<h2>Teaching kids about food</h2>
<p>School food is notoriously political. In the US, one of the earliest acts by Donald Trump’s new Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was to <a href="http://thehill.com/regulation/healthcare/331400-trump-unwinding-first-ladys-school-lunch-program-rules">decelerate former first lady Michelle Obama’s initiative</a> to make public school lunches fresher and healthier. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184359/original/file-20170901-27268-1ksrhd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the US, school lunches are the source of heated policy debate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.055">scientific evidence</a> is uncontested: what and how we eat as children influences dietary patterns for the rest of our lives. Ecuador’s government would do better to comply with the Ministry of Public Health’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daw037">basic recommendations</a> for student nutrition, which requires food to be fresh and varied. </p>
<p>School menus aren’t just food – they’re also an opportunity to teach children about food systems that are good for them and for their country. Ecuador is one of the <a href="https://biodiversitygroup.org/documenting-biodiversity-ecuador/">world’s most biodiverse countries</a>, but in 2014 it imported <a href="http://www.finanzas.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/03/PROYECTO-DE-INTERVENCION-EN-LA-ALIMENTACION-ESCOLAR-15-1-2015.pdf">64% of the raw materials for schools’ food offerings</a>. </p>
<p>This foreign-sourced school-food assembly line sends a terrible message about how food can and should be produced, procured and served. In some <a href="http://www.farmtoschool.org/">US states</a> and Europe, by contrast, government takes a more holistic and often localised approach to feeding students. In Italy, school menus <a href="http://www.istruzione.it/allegati/2015/MIUR_Linee_Guida_per_l%27Educazione_Alimentare_2015.pdf">nod to cultural tradition, local sourcing and food sovereignty</a>. </p>
<p>Shifting away from pre-packaged handout snacks to fresher foods would help Ecuadorian students develop an appetite for healthful fare, as well as the knowledge and critical thinking skills that they’ll need to push for positive change in Ecuador’s delicate and unsustainable current food system. </p>
<p>Offering more fresh foods sourced from area farmers – ideally fruits, vegetables and grains – would reduce schools’ environmental impact, make meals healthier and boost local agricultural economies so that farmers, in turn, can invest in organic and other green growing practices. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/09/the-pure-study-lets-get-skeptical/">The greatest risk factor for poor health is poverty</a>. It’s time for Ecuador’s school menus to stop the snack food and start serving the future of its children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83015/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Irene Torres received funding from the Ecuadorian Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT).</span></em></p>Up to 25% of Ecuadorian children suffer from malnutrition, and the country’s sugary school snacks aren’t helping. Kids need healthful, fresh food — not high-calorie humanitarian aid.Irene Torres, Research in Education with a focus on Health Promotion, Aarhus UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/831352017-09-05T23:44:52Z2017-09-05T23:44:52ZWhy your kids need a national school food program<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184587/original/file-20170904-9750-15e6i9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada is one of very few industrialized countries not to have a national school food program. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children who <a href="https://are.berkeley.edu/%7Emlanderson/pdf/school_lunch.pdf">eat nutritious lunches feel better and learn better</a>. The evidence is clear and consistent. So why, in a rich country like Canada, will so many children be sitting in their new classrooms feeling hungry this week? </p>
<p><a href="http://proof.utoronto.ca/resources/fact-sheets/#children">One in six Canadian children</a> lives in a household too poor to put nutritious food on the table. <a href="http://davidhammond.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2016-Fruit-Veg-Consumption-J-School-Hlth-Minaker-et-al.pdf">Fewer than one in 10 Canadian children</a> and youth are eating the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended for healthy development. Called food insecurity, insufficient access to affordable and nutritious foods is a problem that is on the rise across Canada. </p>
<p>Good nutrition impacts children’s health, well-being and learning, and if children are not adequately nourished during childhood, the impact can last a lifetime. Hunger in childhood has <a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/383613">long-term adverse consequences for health</a>. </p>
<p>This is why I, and others, have been <a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1308652-national-school-food-program-an-urgent-necessity">calling for a national school food program</a> to be <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/28/national-school-food-program-needed.html">established in Canada</a>. </p>
<h2>Healthy foods, better moods</h2>
<p>My own research reveals that school children experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014001414">more mood problems and lower health-related quality of life</a> than children from food secure households. </p>
<p>In this research of over 5,800 Grade 5 children, mood problems were common even among children from households classed as marginally food insecure. Food insecurity was also associated with lower diet quality and higher body weight. This suggests a greater reliance on energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods when money for food is tight. </p>
<p>In a subsequent study, we found that lower diet quality, along with breakfast skipping and sugary drink consumption, were <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/11/14857">each associated with lower academic performance</a>, reinforcing the value of good nutrition to the health and learning of Canadian children. </p>
<h2>Universally available</h2>
<p>There is no better time to take action. According to a recent <a href="http://www.unicef.ca/en/unicef-report-card-14-child-well-being-sustainable-world">UNICEF report</a>, Canada ranks 37 out of 41 countries in providing access to nutritious food for children. Canada’s mediocre ranking in child well-being among other rich countries hasn’t improved over the past decade either. We are failing our children right now. And we will continue to fail them in the future if we don’t act soon, and fast.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184588/original/file-20170904-9717-rum2c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the absence of a national lunch program, healthy foods are enjoyed only by those children whose parents have the available resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Action is needed to address many contributing factors to food insecurity, like low income, poverty and the increasing costs of healthy and nutritious foods. But the advantage of school food programs is that they are universally available to all children. They can support the development of healthy eating patterns for <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/12751/chapter/1">all students</a>, regardless of income. </p>
<p>Universal school food programs make sense because all children attend school, spending more of their waking hours in this environment than any other. Yet Canada is one of only a few industrialized countries <a href="http://dcjournal.ca/doi/10.3148/cjdpr-2016-037">without a national school food program</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, school food provision is left up to individual provinces and territories, meaning there are no federally mandated standards for foods served or sold in schools. This leads to <a href="http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/apnm-2017-0125#.WaRu160ZNBz">inequitable access to nutritious foods during school hours</a> for students from across the country. </p>
<h2>The right thing to do</h2>
<p><a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/sites/foodsecurecanada.org/files/coalition_for_healthy_school_food_0.pdf">The Coalition for Healthy School Food</a>, comprised of 30 organizations across Canada, is calling for an investment of $1 billion, phased in over five years, to establish a cost-shared Universal Healthy School Food Program. This will enable all students in Canada to have access to healthy meals at school every day. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184589/original/file-20170904-9729-131vsk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children eating a healthy school meal in Milan, Italy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While this may seem like a lot of money, the return on investment for school food programs is an impressive <a href="http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/resources/wfp281517.pdf">$3 to $10 for every dollar invested</a>. This represents the added value to a country’s overall development, including increased productivity due to improvements in educational achievement. </p>
<p>Given the burden that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907549/">chronic diseases</a> already place on the Canadian health care system — a cost estimated at $190 billion each year — a $1 billion investment in the health of our next generation is a small price to pay. </p>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/heapro/dat055">Public and political support are essential </a> to address the systemic barriers that undermine the health of children across Canada. If we want to improve the health of our population, from the youngest to the oldest, we must examine why so few of us are able to adopt healthy behaviours. And this requires us to look at our social norms and values that make it so hard to access healthy foods. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/management/News/News%20&%20Events/21135-Food-Price-Report-Eng-2017-Final.pdf">food prices on the rise</a>, and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-food-industry-conspiring-to-make-you-fat-81537">food environment that is not supportive of health</a>, we have to move beyond a focus on individual choice and responsibility as a solution to child hunger. Our children deserve more, and better, when it comes to good nutrition. </p>
<p>A national school food program is, put simply, the right thing to do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara FL Kirk receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Heart and Stroke, the Lawson Foundation, the Max Bell Foundation and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation. She is a member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which is advocating for a national school food program. She is also a board member of Canada Bikes, a not-for-profit that promotes everyday cycling in Canada. </span></em></p>As Canadian kids head back to school this week, many will be hungry. Lacking fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods, they will suffer mood problems, disease and low academic performance.Sara F.L. Kirk, Professor of Health Promotion, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/817872017-08-24T00:33:07Z2017-08-24T00:33:07ZWe should serve kids food in school, not shame<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183215/original/file-20170823-6615-lp4vam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">All students deserve a healthy lunch when they go to school.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/serving-trays-delicious-food-closeup-concept-677113333?src=dBEX7Jg-7XGXmZG4vPw9Bw-3-58">Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the past several years, reports have surfaced about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/30/well/family/lunch-shaming-children-parents-school-bills.html">the “shaming” of students</a> for outstanding school meal debts. These students, often from low-income families, are being publicly humiliated because they have unpaid debt in their school meal accounts.
Policies that shame students can include <a href="http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/06/gardendale_elementary_student.html">stamping</a> on children’s hands or arms, taking their food away and <a href="http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/news/57468293-78/lunches-olsen-students-district.html.csp">dumping it</a> in the trash or giving them stigmatized <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/u-s-schools-rethink-lunch-shaming-policies-humiliate-children-meal-debts/">cold, partial meals</a> in lieu of the regular hot lunch. </p>
<p>As an <a href="https://education.uoregon.edu/users/sarah-stapleton">education researcher</a> who studies food in schools, I believe it’s our duty in schools to treat students with dignity and compassion. Moreover, access to food is a basic human need and should be considered a right – regardless of income. The best way to combat meal debt shame in U.S. public schools is to provide every student with free meals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183216/original/file-20170823-6641-1y70j66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In many schools, students with unpaid meal debts get turned away at the register.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Morgan Lee</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Addressing the problem</h2>
<p>Public outcry about school meal shaming has sparked the creation of at least <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/09/news/economy/school-lunch-shaming-debt-crisis/index.html">30 GoFundMe campaigns</a> organized by <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2017-07-11/battling-school-lunch-shaming-and-end-of-year-debts">parents</a> and <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/CRLUNCHDEBT">teachers</a> to pay remaining balances on student accounts. One school volunteer has even created a <a href="http://feedthefutureforward.com/">nonprofit</a> to help pay for kids’ meals.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?Chamber=S&LegType=B&LegNo=374&year=17">New Mexico</a>, <a href="http://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/5312017-senate-approves-legislation-prevent-school-lunch-shaming">California</a> and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/24/house-backs-giddings-amendment-food-shaming/">Texas</a> have begun crafting legislation to prohibit withholding food from students or to ban meal debt shaming altogether.</p>
<p>All of this has led to the USDA issuing a <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/unpaid-meal-charges-local-meal-charge-policies">memorandum</a> for school districts to clearly communicate their policies for meal fees to parents and guardians. However, the policy only suggests guidelines and provides no solid prohibitions against the shaming of students.</p>
<p>In a more extensive attempt to address the issue, the <a href="http://www.frac.org/research/resource-library/anti-lunch-shaming-act-2017">Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2017</a> has been introduced in the House and Senate by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. This bill would ban the shaming of students, prohibit the throwing away of food after it’s been served, and require districts to communicate directly with parents and guardians about school food debts.</p>
<h2>Schools’ ethical responsibility</h2>
<p>While these measures are steps in the right direction, addressing lunch shaming is treating a symptom rather than the underlying disease. All students need to eat every day, regardless of the funds available to them.</p>
<p>Given that we provide free schooling for all students in the country – regardless of family income – perhaps we should reexamine our societal norms around feeding them as well. Sociologist <a href="http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/sociology/faculty/janet-poppendieck">Janet Poppendieck</a> suggests in her 2010 book “<a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520269880">Free for All</a>” that we can and should provide free food to all students in our schools.</p>
<p>This move is not unprecedented: <a href="http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:544062/FULLTEXT01">Sweden</a>, <a href="http://www.elo-saatio.fi/finnish-free-school-meals">Finland</a> and Estonia provide <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20081211223110/http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/doc_item.asp?DocId=82&DocCatId=1">free food to all students</a> in public schools, regardless of income.
(<a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/">Finland’s education system</a> is considered by many to be the best in the world, and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/11-best-school-systems-in-the-world-a7425391.html">Estonia</a> has been rated in the top 10.)</p>
<p>Why are we so reluctant to feed all students in the U.S.?</p>
<p>Prior to the 20th century, schools did not provide any kind of food for students: Students typically went home for lunch or brought their own food. This separation between eating and learning may have been a relic of the <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/descmind/">mind-body duality from Descartes</a>, which assumes that schools are for disembodied minds. In fact, school meals did not <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8640.html">begin</a> until the early 20th century Progressive Era, when charities, women’s groups and PTAs provided supplemental lunches to children in need. American schools began <a href="http://time.com/4496771/school-lunch-history/">offering meals</a> to students on a wide-scale basis as part of the New Deal program, partly (or perhaps mostly) to help <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8640.html">provide markets for agricultural surpluses</a>.</p>
<h2>The need</h2>
<p>Today there’s unprecedented need for students in the U.S. to be fed. For the first time in our history, the <a href="http://www.southerneducation.org/Our-Strategies/Research-and-Publications/New-Majority-Diverse-Majority-Report-Series/A-New-Majority-2015-Update-Low-Income-Students-Now">majority of students</a> in U.S. schools are living in poverty. Many of these students are food-insecure and dependent on the food provided in schools, sometimes as the <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/02/10/274899069/for-lower-income-students-snow-days-mean-hungry-tummies">only meals</a> they eat daily. </p>
<p>Over <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf">31 million</a> students in the U.S. rely on free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program. Through the program, free meals are available to families who make <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/03/23/2016-06463/child-nutrition-programs-income-eligibility-guidelines">under US$31,500</a> for a household of four, while reduced-price lunches are available to families who make just below $45,000 for a family of four.</p>
<p>However, the income cutoffs for these programs don’t take into account the wide variation in cost of living across the country. Moreover, <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520269880">Poppendieck</a> has reflected that a family making just enough to be ineligible for free lunches may struggle as much as a family who qualifies.</p>
<p>The application for free/reduced lunches itself can be a barrier for students who might otherwise be eligible. Families may be worried about bringing attention to undocumented status through filling out an application, or they may simply be unclear about the process.</p>
<p>Families may also be ashamed to ask for help. For example, a teacher with whom I partnered in my <a href="https://d.lib.msu.edu/islandora/object/etd:3524">research</a> shared that though she experienced hunger as a child, her mother forbade her from accepting free meals at school. As a child, she didn’t understand why, but was nonetheless subject to her mother’s decisions.</p>
<p>In short, there are complicated nuances and challenges in understanding individual students’ food security. Shame is already a part of this picture. We shouldn’t be compounding it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183218/original/file-20170823-6628-jo5bps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children have a right to school lunches – regardless of their family’s income.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Toby Talbot</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Addressing the need</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-food-service-program">Summer Food Service Program</a>, a partnership between the USDA, nonprofits and government agencies (including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/well/family/free-lunch-at-the-library.html?mcubz=1">libraries</a>), provides free meals for kids ages 2-18 during the summer months when public schools are not in session. In this program, all a child needs to do to be eligible for the food is to show up at the designated place and time. I believe that this model of providing free food to children and teens with no need for proof of eligibility should be used in our schools, too.</p>
<p>There have been some strides toward making free food for all students a reality. Thanks to the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/community-eligibility-provision">Community Eligibility Provision</a> of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, districts where at least 40 percent of students are served by benefit programs can choose to provide free food for all students. The federal government reimburses participating schools based on the percentages of students qualifying for benefit programs.</p>
<p>But this promising policy can lead to problems. For example, in the Portland, Oregon public schools, 12 schools <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2017/07/a_dozen_portland_schools_to_ax.html">lost their community eligibility status</a> over the summer of 2017 because their qualifying student percentages declined.</p>
<p>What’s more, while the Community Eligibility Provision serves broadly low-income areas, it doesn’t address the increasing and perplexing nature of <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/publications/places-need">suburban poverty</a>, where children from low-income backgrounds may be overlooked because of the affluence around them.</p>
<p>It’s simply not enough to provide free meals to some students, or to all students in some schools. While providing free meals to all public school students would be costly, given that we provide textbooks, facilities, teachers, special education services and other essentials required for schooling, how can we continue to omit food as an educational essential? </p>
<p>Meal debt shaming is a serious problem, but student hunger is even more so. It’s time to move aggressively to make free food available to all students, in all U.S. public schools. It’s the least we can do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Riggs Stapleton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students with unpaid meal debts have been experiencing some shaming policies at school. New rules are aimed at protecting these children, but the real solution may lie in free meals for all.Sarah Riggs Stapleton, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, College of Education, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/338142014-11-07T11:04:49Z2014-11-07T11:04:49ZBrownbagging it not always the healthy choice for kids’ school lunches<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63804/original/63qt25th-1415234760.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=915%2C0%2C3446%2C2909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nutritious meal inside? Maybe, maybe not.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=25366735&src=lb-29877982">Lunchbox image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ravenous students, busy parents, nutrition professionals and school officials all have their own ideas about what belongs on the school lunch table. Plenty of criticism centers on the unhealthiness of notorious items like corn dogs, nachos, and fried foods that many schools dish up. But <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2014.07.007">our research</a> shows that what gets packed in a lunchbox from home can be just as unhealthy as what’s served on a tray at the cafeteria.</p>
<h2>School lunches are improving</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/healthy-hunger-free-kids-act">2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act</a> issued updated nutrition standards for the US <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp">National School Lunch Program</a> (NSLP). The revamped standards require schools to:</p>
<ul>
<li>increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free and low-fat milk</li>
<li>reduce the level of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat</li>
<li>meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements </li>
</ul>
<p>Over 90% of schools reported that they <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/2014/009814">successfully met</a> the revamped standards for the 2013-2014 school year, up from <a href="http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahaecc-public/@wcm/@adv/documents/downloadable/ucm_463491.pdf">just 14%</a> in 2009-2010. But even if schools are serving beautifully balanced, healthy meals, it’s an exercise in futility if kids aren’t eating them. </p>
<p>Some families are unhappy with the menu and taste changes of school meals and are considering joining the <a href="http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/%7E/media/publications/PDFs/SNDAvol1.pdf">40%</a> of children who already bring a packed lunch from home everyday. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63807/original/kvvjnwwf-1415235747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lunchtime in the schoolyard could leave something to be desired, nutritionally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=138148454&src=lb-29877982">Kids image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s in those lunchboxes</h2>
<p>When we took at look at what came to school in all those brown bags, we found that packed lunches – which of course aren’t required to meet any nutrition standards – are generally less healthy than lunches provided at school. </p>
<p>We rifled through 1,300 school-provided and parent-packed lunches of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children in three Virginia schools. We compared them for nutrients and also for food items present. Packed lunches provided more calories, carbohydrates, fat, saturated fat, sugar, vitamin C, and iron while providing less protein, sodium, fiber, vitamin A and calcium when compared to National School Lunch Program meals. Lunches from home also contained more desserts (61% vs 0%), snack items such as chips and crackers (57% vs 5%), and sugar-sweetened beverages (40% vs 0%), while providing fewer fruits (54% vs 67%), vegetables (17% vs 61%), and milk (20% vs 96%) when compared to school lunches. </p>
<p>Another <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267214005516">recent study</a> found similar results. The researchers used digital photography to document the lunches and snacks of more than 600 Massachusetts third and fourth graders in 12 public schools. They compared packed lunches to National School Lunch Program standards and <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/child-and-adult-care-food-program">Child and Adult Food Care Program</a> (CAFCP) standards. They found that only 27% of the packed lunches met at least three of the five NSLP standards, and only 4% of snacks met at least two of the four CAFCP standards.</p>
<p>We’re now interested in determining what motivates parents to pack a lunch for their child and what barriers there may be to participating in the National School Lunch Program. Why don’t families choose the provided meals despite being low-cost and even free for a large proportion of children? Researchers and health professionals need to consider strategies which will help parents meet the challenges of food and taste preferences, convenience, time, cost and nutrition. Since 40% of children are bringing a packed lunch from home to school every day, it is an emerging issue that cannot be ignored. </p>
<h2>How to get kids eating healthier foods</h2>
<p>Schools can encourage students to participate in the National School Lunch Program by offering <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00548.x/full">farm-to-school and school gardening</a> options, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S149940460600296X">taste tests of menu items, and involvement of parents</a> and children in the development of new menu items. </p>
<p>Parents can make changes to improve the nutrition of their child’s packed lunch by setting small goals such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>include a fresh fruit and vegetable every day</li>
<li>send water or milk for drinking instead of a sugar-sweetened drink</li>
<li>replace dessert with a healthier item such as fruit</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63808/original/bmhg3fvd-1415235922.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s so nutritious!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=138148454&src=lb-29877982">Girl image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Studies have shown that <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666304001448">involving children in the decision-making</a> around what to eat increases their likelihood to eat those foods. Parents can encourage their kids to eat healthy foods by involving them in packing decisions: giving children a choice about which fruits and vegetable to include, allowing them to select foods from the farmers market or grocery store, and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822304017122">modeling</a> healthy eating at home.</p>
<p>Parents can also… be patient. It takes time for children to accept new foods – research shows up to <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/26/4/546/">15 times</a>! – but <a href="http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v57/n2/abs/1601541a.html">exposing children to healthy foods</a> is critical for acceptance. Be patient, offer healthy foods, and be content with small bites. They will be forming healthy habits that last a lifetime!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33814/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alisha Farris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ravenous students, busy parents, nutrition professionals and school officials all have their own ideas about what belongs on the school lunch table. Plenty of criticism centers on the unhealthiness of…Alisha Farris, PhD Candidate in Behavioral & Community Nutrition, Virginia TechLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.