Fresh Food Nation

By Cathe Olson
Issue 143: July/August 2007

Because so many children rely on school cafeterias for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, the quality of school meals plays a major role in their health and well-being. What do schools feed our children? Typically, it is heavily processed, deep-fried, frozen entrées such as chicken nuggets, pizza pockets, and corn dogs. Many schools have fast food delivered to their cafeterias on certain days of the week—and some even have fast-food franchises right on campus.¹

Overconsumption of processed and fast foods that are high in fat, sugar, and sodium, as well as a decrease in physical activity, have been major factors contributing to the obesity epidemic in the US.² The percentage of children 6 to 11 years old who are overweight has more than doubled from the 1970s to 2002, and the percentage of overweight adolescents 12 to 19 has tripled.³ James O. Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center, stated in a 2002 WebMD article that, if rates continue to rise, obesity-related diabetes alone "will break the bank of our health care system."⁴ Besides diabetes, obesity can lead to impaired lung function, sleep disorders, heart disease, and other health conditions.⁵

On the other hand, studies have shown that healthy, active, well-nourished children are more likely to attend school and to learn, having better attention spans and concentration levels.^6,7 In addition, increased levels of physical fitness are associated with higher achievement in reading and mathematics.⁸ The conclusion is inescapable: Nutritious meals are essential for our children's physical and academic health.

Some US schools now make it a priority to feed students fresh, wholesome food, and are turning to farm-to-school programs to improve the quality of school meals and the effectiveness of nutrition education. Farm-to-school programs not only offer healthy, tasty, fresh food to students, but also provide hands-on educational experiences to connect children with the sources of their food. Local farmers benefit from direct sales of their products, which helps the community as well.

Do farm-to-school programs really make a difference?

To read the full article "A Homeschool Primer" get your instantly downloadable digital copy of School Lunches Toolkit. Whether you pack lunches everyday or are concerned about your school's lunch program you will love this collection of six "best of" Mothering articles.