Why School Lunch Matters— more than you ever thought possible
Don’t sleep on the topic of School Lunch; Here’s a deeper look beyond the “mushy peas, milk, and jello” — Food that Nourishes for the…
Photo by Fischer Twins on Unsplash
This week marks the first steps of my 1200 hour, 8-month timeline for my official Dietetics Internship through Ball State University. It’s been a long time coming and quite the journey to get here today.
In a dietetics internship, the student spends roughly 9-months working in the field of nutrition and dietetics to develop mastery level experience and to understudy from some of the leading professionals in the field.
Long gone are the days of highly acclaimed apprenticeships for trades and service positions where if you wanted to be a remarkable Chef you knew who you NEEDED to go find, and consequently beg to take you on as their mentee.
For the first “rotation” in my internship, I am working at Beech Grove City Schools, within the area of Indianapolis, Indiana. While school systems are always changing, the school environment was always a positive experience for me personally. I was lucky though; I know that school is not often a great experience for many people.
There are countless reasons why…
From the predetermination of “fame” based on the status of one’s last name to the growth of personality/interest specific cliques that are formed along the way. An all-inclusive club in kindergarten begins to slowly dwindle away into broken fragments of our imagination, leaving only bits and pieces of what a collective community can be. By the time junior-high hits, students’ hormones and physical and emotional health and well-being has ridden more rollercoasters than the body ever thought possible.
Little does the body know that this is just the beginning right??
Adolescents develop during these primitive years, when they soak up their environments like a sponge (insert homage to Spongebob Squarepants if you will). Impressionable, young human beings are shaped and sculpted by the culture they interact with. Those with whom they spend the most time with become of the most important factors for the decisions they make and the paths they take.
Finding ones identity also becomes of primal focus for the nature of growth during these years. Reflection, reassessment, and taking personal initiative to say:
“I believe ____.”
“I think _____.”
Values separate from opinions.
Questions are asked, hearts and opinions are uprooted and remain afloat for a while, and at some point they come to settle upon something tangible (or they can lose themselves and go awry- but we won’t discuss that here at the moment).
When I mention the fact that this stage of life is highly impressionable, I mean it, they are like sponges.
The culture of the school is crucial to the development of a young student into a mature adult and thriving citizen of our community.
So who are the important people that make decisions in the school, who set forth the culture of the entire 8+ hour day, and often spend more time with students than the students’ family members themselves on a day-to-day basis…?
Teachers.
Staff.
Other students
The all-important providers of Lunch — the famous “Lunch Ladies”
Principle.
Guidance Counselor.
Superintendent.
And all the other adults who oversee operations and have taken the role to lead and impress upon good things in the lives of tomorrow’s generation.
Let us pause for a moment to applaud these servant-leaders.
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When these adults are of excellent quality and commitment to the success and benefit of the students, they deserve our praise.
Think back for yourself; was there a teacher or staff member, coach or counselor that made a strong impact on you growing up? Chances are there was a predominant figure in your life that had a strong influence.
Like I said, the school is an important place to be; for these cultivating spirits…
School is Culture.
School is Community.
School is Life.
Don’t believe me? Check out this powerful podcast connecting Big Chefs and Big Ideas, oftentimes highlighted in our schools’ nutrition environments.
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For some people, school can be a sanctuary. For others, it just isn’t, and it can be… well, not pleasant” let’s say for lack of a better term.
Between stigma, judgment, constant critique and criticism, prejudice and ridicule lies the infinite possibilities for encouragement, embrace, imagination and inspiration. These times are critical I tell you, absolutely critical.
In the past, many of the more important moments between kids occurred on the schoolyard. — If you’re asking what a “school-yard” is, then I assume you to be able to navigate technology much better than I, understand computer code, and to you I say hello Leader of Tomorrow — But nowadays, one of the most important places for social engagement and development of culture and community is
THE SCHOOL LUNCH.
This is where nutrition professionals have been working for years to 1) improve the healthfulness of the food, but now these same professionals are working alongside social-science researchers and psychologists, and others to also 2) strategically develop healthier environments for kids to interact in and enjoy the opportunity to experience social connection and healthy food.
This is where I come in ;) and where I love to support.
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Growing up, I always loved school, but school lunch was not necessarily a “beatific” scene in my opinion. From the salads — aka ice berg lettuce and shredded carrots — aka “crunchy water chips” drenched in ranch dressing to the athletic posters on the wall advertising to students that its okay to walk around with a milk mustache — because it was supposed to help you grow up strong and courageous.
This is not how I believe the school environment should be in our modern age. At a later time I may discuss the nutritional advertising provided to schools, but at this time I will simply focus on the options given to the students.
Historically, one adjustment to the lunch routine that was found to make a positive and beneficial role for the food chosen by students was to simply place the healthiest section, the self-serve salad bar at the beginning of the lunch line rather than at the end. What nutrition professionals and researchers found was that students ended up reaching the salad bar at the end of the lunch line with their trays too full and feeling too rushed through the line to take the time or make the space on their tray for some healthy, beneficial, colorful fruits and vegetables.
As time progressed, nutrition professionals continued to promote healthier eating by encouraging students and staff to “color your plate” and “eat the rainbow” with marketing and playful slogans and stickers placed near these healthier foods.
It is fascinating to dive into the history and research of how the school lunch has transformed throughout time, especially since the previous first lady, Michelle Obama, took it on as a personal mission and passion project to lead this country and its schools to a healthier future. — Shout out to Michelle Obama [applause] [applause]
Like Michelle Obama, I am dedicated to creating healthier futures for kids. I’m also passionate about creating healthier futures for teens, young adults, middle-aged and even the elderly (with some of the most youthful hearts). Health brings happiness. And as a fellow human being, I have a personal investment in the Pursuit of Happiness:
For You
For Me
For We
Each and every student deserves a healthy life, a healthy future, and should be given the opportunity to lead their own health journey with ease and guidance, which is much easier with the proper nutrition environment.
As I talked about before, school is an important place, for social connection, formation of beliefs and values, and also the development of our habits and food decisions.
As I leap into this nutrition-focused dietetics internship, I hope to share short stories and thoughtful discussion about my experiences and promote the health of the future generation with my work and honest love in this career each and every day.
Stay in the loop, keep up to date… like, follow, comment and continue to contribute and share this conversation with others. The future health of our schools is truly important to all of us; we deserve to lead the next generation to have the greatest opportunity to live happy and healthy lives. In fact, they deserve it more than ourselves.
Stay in touch — Get Involved !
We all have an opportunity to make a difference, from our own family tables to volunteering on the school’s wellness team.
If you don’t have one — start one and spark a movement of community members and parents passionate about being involved in your community, dedicated to promoting good health for our wonderful kids.
Check out these promotional organizations promoting healthy school lunch programs and healthy kids!
USDA Team Nutrition No Kid Hungry Feeding America
Dayle Hayes of School Meals Rock ! Farm to School
School Nutrition Association Food Research and Action Center
Together, we can help promote and provide for the healthiest futures possible for our young kids. We all have an opportunity to equip and empower #HealthyKids and strengthen our School systems !
Chat soon!
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Originaly written January 2019, published on Medium February, 2019.