Chef Ann Cooper launches school lunch revolution
When I picked up my daughter yesterday from school, she was sullen — more so than her preteen moodiness usually allows for.
“What’s up, boo?” I asked.
“I’m really hungry,” she semi-snapped.
“What did you eat for lunch, babe?”
“A piece of bread and a cookie,” came the sad reply. Further inquries led me to the cold, hard truth: the choice for lunch was hot dogs or fish sticks.
“Everyone knows not to eat the hot dogs, Mom. They bounce. And the fish makes everyone sick.”
Wait just a tic. Are we living in the United States of America? Shouldn’t a healthy, good-tasting school lunch be the right of each and every child in public schools across this country? Doesn’t it peeve you just a little that your child is likely eating food products instead of actual food in their school cafeterias?
Chef Ann Coooper thinks so. She spoke last night at Morningside Elementary School to a group of about 200 concerned parents, mostly women, who would like to see farm-to-school initiatives and healthy school lunches broguht to every cafeteria in every public school in America.
“This is the social issue of our time,” Cooper said. “It should be our moral imperative that no child is hungry in school and that every child gets a healthy meal.”
Cooper has partnered with Whole Foods to bring her “school lunch revolution” to cities like Berkeley, Cal., Boulder, Col., and Harlem, in New York City. The program is subsidized by the Kellogg Foundation as well.
“Implementing these programs costs money,” Cooper explained decisively, “and you’re going to have to learn that there is a lot of compromise involved.” She sees the implementation of better lunch programs as a community effort, and cites several initiatives that need to be realized for a plan to work on a grass roots level. Here’s her recipe for change, in a nut shell:
1. Finances: It costs a lot of money to implement a new system. The USDA reimbursement rate per child in public school systems is $2.70, and according Cooper, all but about 95 cents goes to things other than healthy foods. In other words, the government is currently spending less than a dollar per day to feed your child if she is in public school. Reauthorization this December of Section 122 of the Child Nutrition Act is asking the government for $50 million more in funding, which roughly adds up to about $1 more per child. Partnering with business is a good way to get much-needed funds (see below on how you can sign the petition).
2. Equipment and facilities: Have you ever visited your child’s lunch room? Do you know that the majority of lunch rooms in public schools don’t even contain the equipment needed to actually cook food? When all a cafeteria worker is doing is opening a box and warming up chicken nuggets, stoves, knives and other crucial kitchen equipment aren’t needed. Funds will be needed for facilities to be improved, or, as Cooper recommends, a central kitchen that services many schools may be the answer.
3. The food itself: Where do we get it ? How do we implement farm-to-table initiatives and sustainable practices in a system embedded in spending $45 million a year on tater tots and fish sticks? The paradigm has to shift to the community — local farmers and producers have to get involved, and school communities have to let them. Cooper said none of the three cities she’s actually implemented the school lunch revolution in got started without an airtight business model and a feasibility study.
4. Human resources and marketing: Once the plan is in motion, people are what keep it moving, and the push to make it work has to come from an overhaul of current media and marketing, which spends billions a year in advertising Doritos and Cheez Whiz to kids. “We had a national anti-smoking campaign, and a national seat belt campaign,” said Cooper. “Why can’t we have a national campaign for better school lunches?”
For those of you who are complacently scratching your heads thinking that we’ve all got better things to worry about — like health care reform, for instance — stop scratching for a moment. Redesigning the school lunch program is health care reform. At our current rate of childhood obesity, our children may be the first generation since WWII that dies of disease before we, their parents, do. According to Cooper, the CDC estimates that one-third of Caucasian and one-half of black and Hispanic children born in 2000 will develop diabetes. Prevention is health care reform.
“Don’t our children deserve a chance to be the best that they can be?” asked Cooper of a receptive crowd that gave several rounds of applause throughout her presentation. A chefs’ team from Whole Foods (that’s exec chef Butch Raphael and Sabrena Hayat in the above photo) created a meal, using Cooper’s guidelines, of a “reformed,” affordable school lunch, which the group happily enjoyed: roasted chicken with roasted broccoli and cauliflower, as well as sweet potatoes and a sweet apple crumble. No tater tots in sight. “In Boulder,” explained Cooper, “we don’t serve dessert — it’s just not an option I can afford. I’d rather fight for hormone-free milk and organic strawberries. Children get fresh fruit or nothing sweet at all.”
“Pick something — anything — that you can change,” said Cooper. “Agree to do one thing differently, then do it. That’s my mandate to all of you.”
You can get involved: sign the petition for reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act or contact Georgia Organics to see how you can implement a metro-Atlanta farm-to-school program.
Left, chef Ann Cooper talks school lunch reform at Morningside Elementary.
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45 comments Add your comment
Stan
September 15th, 2009
2:34 pm
Even though I have no children, this is something I am in favor of. It seems like such a no-brainer to put into practice the good eating habits we all know we follow while the kids are in school. Plus it is very hypocritical for the Government to say that we need to follow this food guideline then feed kids in school what they feed them!
There is no way that the school lunch is healthy and balanced meal. I remember what kind of crap I had to eat when I went to school.
Teacher
September 15th, 2009
3:19 pm
Enter your comments here
ant banks
September 15th, 2009
3:21 pm
STAN,
in addition to improving the lunch menu, they need to bring recess back!! a lot of the kids are overweight borderline obese due to inactivity and poor eatin’ habits.
ant banks
September 15th, 2009
3:25 pm
my kid’s school had pizza and fries for lunch!!! it had to be over 1000 calories for that…
Julie
September 15th, 2009
3:26 pm
Why is it the government’s responsibility to feed school children? Making a sandwich and adding a piece of fruit or carrot sticks is not that difficult. If parents are really concerned about what their child is eating let them send lunch with their child.
reservoirDAWG
September 15th, 2009
3:34 pm
I was lucky. My mom stayed at home growing up and would make my brother and I lunch while we ate breakfast. Something needs to be done about lunch in public schools. I wouldn’t feed that to my dogs.
CC
September 15th, 2009
3:47 pm
Julie, you are naive. While I assume that you have enough money, time, knowledge and energy to put together a lunch every day, other parents may not. We live in a nice area (East Cobb) and I make lunch almost every day, but many of my kids’ friends buy lunch. Some parents either don’t have time or money to make a healthy lunch every day, and they rely on the school to provide that. The point of this story is that the school promotes that they provide a healthy lunch every day, and they really don’t.
Study after study, example after example shows that when kids (and adults) eat healthy foods, they are smarter, able to pay attention better, get into less trouble (i.e. less violent), and of course healthier. If everyone could be healthier, we’d all be better as a society and what better time to start this than in childhood? The sad thing is that some parents are lazy and permissive, and throw fits whenever someone tries to change things for the better.
Heard it all before
September 15th, 2009
3:53 pm
Hormone-free milk and organic strawberries. Nothing like taking an inherently sensible idea like improving the nutritional quality of school lunches and letting someone from the idiot fringe lead the charge.
KStrate
September 15th, 2009
3:55 pm
I think this is a wonderful initiative, Meridith. So many schools around the nation and in the Metro Atlanta Area have free or reduced lunch for the majority of their kids. So, while some moms think the government shouldn’t worry, other moms send their children to school knowing they’ll at least have something to eat for breakfast and lunch. These are the parents who are working 2-3 jobs just to provide the minimum for their children, and I think their kids deserve vegetables just as much as the kid whose mom packs it for them.
Yes, my mom packed my lunch almost every day until the end of high school. You know what happened freshman year of high school when I decided I wanted to eat from the cafeteria? I gained 20 pounds because of the crap they were serving (and I probably didn’t even realize what I was eating). I think it would benefit so many people if we did a farms to cafeteria initiative in Georgia. Yes, it would cost the schools more money to fix (energy, gas, etc.) and yes, it would make Lunchlady Linda do a little more than warm things up, but wouldn’t it also fill bellies better and keep them more alert? Instead of having a Coke and a bag of chips for lunch, what about some protein-packed grilled chicken and summer vegetables? Maybe even a baked potato?
I think this will be a long, hard fight, but if this lady has already done it in other cities, she can certainly do it here. Keep us updated, Meridith.
niquoo
September 15th, 2009
3:58 pm
Why does the government have to feed your effing kids?
Jill Williams
September 15th, 2009
3:59 pm
Not only does it discussed me what our children our eating at school it saddens me to know that if a child doesn’t have thier lunch money they can not have what the other kids are eating…they get thrown a peanut butter sandwich instead. Convicted Felons eat for free on our dime better than our children do.
"W"
September 15th, 2009
4:17 pm
NIQUOO,
that is the million dollar question!! that is the problem that i have with most democrats. they expect the govt. to feed their kids, educate their kids, babysit their kids via after school care. why don’t these parents think about all of these consequences when they are leavin’ the club with the stranger because he bought you two drinks and go home and have babies.
"W"
September 15th, 2009
4:19 pm
JILL,
what happens when you walk in wendy’s or mcdonald’s without money? they don’t even through you an effin’ pbj. be glad that the school do that!!
Angela
September 15th, 2009
4:34 pm
You go Ann. This is a powerfully important issue. Big business and lobbyists are interfering with the right of children to eat a nutritional meal. To those of you asking the question about why should the government provide lunch, you clearly don’t have children or a clue. Remember, they are required to go to school. Are you suggesting they not be fed between 8:30a and 3:00p? I’m not suggesting the schools be parents. But a little common sense should prevail. Lunch should be lunch, not chips, cookies, reprocessed, high calorie, high fat, low nutrition, LOW COST items. And yes hormone free and organic foods make sense. Kids don’t need any more exposure to pesticides, hormones, chemicals, etc., all used in food processing for one reason — to enhance the bottom line of the producer. I have three children and pack their lunches every day because I cannot let them eat what Aramark serves in our district. Believe it or not they serve a white bread hot dog bun, drizzled with 1.5 ounces of cheese product and a side of tomatoe sauce and call it an Italian Dunker. I’ve seen many children as young as 1st graders with only the “dunker” and a milk on their tray. How can a child perform in school, let alone thrive on a hot dog bun for lunch. No vegetables, no fruits and in many cases, not even opening the tomatoe sauce for dunking. Your tax dollars are paying for that. Wouldn’t you rather the money be used for a healthy lunch which leads to a healthy society? Packing lunch every morning is extra work but I know my kids are getting wholesome food and creating healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime, helping to lower healthcare costs for everyone including niquoo and Julie who interjected in a converation that clearly doesn’t concern them with their crass, ridiculous and off-base comments above. Unfortunately, some parents don’t have the means or opportunity do pack lunches for their children so niquoo and Julie get to buy them a white bread hot dog bun. Dig in.
Angela
September 15th, 2009
4:38 pm
I would suggest Jill doesn’t regularly frequent McDonalds or Wendys because she’s making better food choices. We’ll see who becomes a drain on the government and the rest of us who make healthy choices for ourselves.
hamsamich
September 15th, 2009
4:38 pm
If you can’t afford to bring money, they will give you lunch at a reduced rate that you can afford. If you repeatedly “Forget” to send money with your child because your $600/mo Tahoe payment is stretching your Child Support money thin, then they eat PB&J. (minus the J because that is bad for them)
R. Davis
September 15th, 2009
4:44 pm
Some of your comments would be taken more seriously if they were correctly written and spelled – I’m wondering if any of you actually WENT to school, much less ate the lunches. The schools feed my children when they are there because I pay taxes. The law requires that a child attend school (unless rigorous home-school standards are met) and that required time includes at least one traditional meal time – lunch. Therefore, that lunch should at least be up to the standard of a jail meal. And due to peanut allergies, even the ol’ PB&J is on the endangered list. Let’s feed the kids real food… Why is it even a question?
hamsamich
September 15th, 2009
4:50 pm
“W”
Be nice before she gets Discussed again.
"W"
September 15th, 2009
4:54 pm
HAMSAMICH,
i just get sooo tired of people wanting the gov’t to take care of their every need. sure, maybe some of your needs like the military, police, etc. but now the kids?
i read an article about 2 weeks ago and it said that in the near future school were going to the year round schedule because so many kids go hungry during the summer!! WTF!! Not a year-round schedule to help kids compete globally, but so they do go hungry during the summer.
Griffin
September 15th, 2009
5:04 pm
Go Ann. You are on the right track and doing it for the right reasons. Common sense always prevails in the end. There are many of us out here working on the grassroots level and are inspired by you.
John Oliva
September 15th, 2009
5:05 pm
If you don’t like the food the cafeteria serves, then get out of bed early and make YOUR child a tasty, nutritious lunch, just like my mother did and she worked!! How lazy are you? Take personal responsibility and stop blaming the schools for feeding your kids.
"W"
September 15th, 2009
5:08 pm
GRIFFIN,
are you suggesting that knowing how you will support your kids before you have them is not common sense? if your salary says that you can only afford to FEED on child at home and SCHOOL, why would you have 3 and hope the gov’t can bail you out.
The Truth
September 15th, 2009
5:27 pm
@ Julie: The reason why the government has stepped in and provides school lunch goes back to decades old research that links good nutrition to educational performance. In short, kids that were malnourished experienced a reduced capacity to learn and perform well in the classroom. While many would question this “government responsibility”, the bottom line is that having an educated and literate population benefits all Americans and is one of the key factors that continues to separate the USA from developing countries. So, I’m all for improving the quality and nutrition of school lunches and I’m in favor of subsidizing the cost for those families that cannot afford to provide a healthy lunch for their school age children if for no other reason than for the sake of pure, unadulterated, dog-eat-dog capitalism in the present day global economy.
News Daily
September 15th, 2009
5:28 pm
Great program. Schools don’t let elementary age children decide which subjects to study and they shouldn’t let them decide to eat chips and cookies for lunch, but that happens every day and is funded by tax dollars. Our tax dollars should be put to better use and nutritional food that can help kids thrive should be served. They learn about the food pyramid in class. Let’s have those food groups represented on their lunch trays as well. The fresher, healthier, more organic and sourced close to home the better. Keep up the good work.
BehindEnemyLines
September 15th, 2009
5:51 pm
“I’d rather fight for hormone-free milk and organic strawberries”
As long as this whackadoo fights that fight in Boulder & stays far far away from me & mine, I’ll consider it her business. It’s occasionally cute to see what the lunatic fringe is doing but hopefully you won’t waste blog space with such drivel very often.
ScienceTeacher671
September 15th, 2009
5:59 pm
Our high school offers 3-5 choices every day, and the line for pizza and fries is always the longest – in fact, the length of the line is usually inversely proportional to the nutritional quality of the meal.
I think schools could and should provide much healthier meals – and ought to get rid of all the sugary breakfast foods – but they claim the kids won’t eat healthy food.
Middle School Teacher
September 15th, 2009
6:30 pm
What a ridiculous comment from Julie. That argument is akin to saying, “Why worry that there are guns and drugs in public schools? IF you don’t like it, just send your kid to private school.” It’s conveniant to think that people who don’t like school lunches can just make their own at home and, if they are not doing so, it is because they’re lazy. The truth is that more than one million children go hungry in the U.S. daily. Simply by luck of birth, you and I were not one of them.
catlady
September 15th, 2009
6:58 pm
Jill, all parents have to do is fill out the free lunch forms. If your income is below about 40000$ with 4 people, you get free lunch. Maybe higher. If you cannot pay your child’s lunch but you make too much money for free lunch, realign your priorities. Or put together a lunch for them.
Last year was the first one where we did not continue to let kids charge their meals. We had kids owing hundreds of dollars each year–nearly $100000 the year before at our school alone. You wanna pay taxes on that? As we teachers had urged, last year they cut the food back to sandwich and milk and found that it took care of 98% of the problem. Amazing. Either the money was found and paid or the parent filled out and qualified for free lunch.
Our lunches provide way too much meat based proteins, usually baked (fried) food, heavily breaded. I can’t stand it. They do give the kids many more choices, but it is frequently prepackaged “food product”.
I was required to eat school food growing up. The idea was that I would be exposed to more types of food, but I just couldn’t eat the stuff–overcooked/undercooked/greasy/salty. My children also grew up eating school lunch except on days when they couldn’t stand the food (ie, tacos). Then, they made their own lunch.
Each school used to be allowed to plan and order its own food. We ate so much better–mashed potatoes with milk, for example. One time it was my kindergarten class’ turn. One of my boys wanted us to get deer meat–he even volunteered that he and his dad could bring in 5 or 6 deer–enough to feed the school of 300.
AlexDad
September 16th, 2009
9:36 am
Not sure where the $50 million number comes from. But that is only $1 more per child for less than two days of the school year… 30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program each of the 180 days of the school year. $50 million will have next to no impact. You need an additional $4 to $5 billion per year to make an impact on what is served. And for the record, the school lunch at my son’s school in Virginia is awesome: $2.00 per day for confetti barley salad, fresh pear, carrots, and skim milk. He loves it and so do I! Thank you to the Lunch Ladies for all you do!
Becky
September 16th, 2009
10:00 am
@R.Davis, thank you..I don’t have any children, but I do have 2 “adopted” grandchildren and I go to eat lunch with them about every two weeks..The food that they are served is not to bad..Still, I see a lot of kids that don’t eat any of it..
I don’t want to say that it’s all kids, but some just don’t eat even if the food taste good..I see kids that bring a lunch from home and they don’t eat either..So if this lady can help do something with the lunches that will make the kids eat better, I’m all for it..
Becky
September 16th, 2009
10:24 am
AlexDad, I have a sister that lives in VA and she has told me several times that lunches in school there have always been better..She had 3 children that went to school there and they alwyas loved the lunches that were served..
As for all of the talk about kids getting free lunches, just about everyc child gets that..I had custody of my 2 great nieces last year and with the SS and V.A. money, plus my salary, they both were still able to recieve free lunches..
The one thing that I would like to know though, is why do they offer the kids a salad, but they don’t let them have salad dressing? That’s just me wondering..
Cindy
September 16th, 2009
12:51 pm
I think we should start with letting kids see their parents eat better. And yes we should bring recess back. What good is it it preach to the kids about eating better and they see a parent eating the equivalent of 3 days worth of calories in one sitting and staring mindlessly into a tv screen.
As a side note, there’s a really cool new lunch box for helping manage portions and eating healthy. It’s called Basikbox. Basikbox.com. Really innovative in food portioning which is key to eating healthy.
Horrace
September 16th, 2009
1:25 pm
M Ford Goldman, the food expert lets her daughter eat school food? Maybe you can get one of those chefs you suck up to and have them cater school lunch.
mford
September 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
Yes Horrace, I let my daughter eat lunch room food. I believe all kids in public schools have the right to a healthy meal. That’s why I support this initiative. And thanks for the tip, but I think I’ll just keep fighting for better school lunches.
JohnsCreekMom
September 16th, 2009
2:38 pm
The important fact worth reiterating is that we ARE paying for school lunches (taxes!) and they are not nutritionally adequate. In what scenario would anyone pay for something and then not complain when its quality diminishes? Many people here are taking up the argument that parents who want healthy lunch food for their kids are begging for a handout. While some families need assistance, most pay the standard rate. Even so, should children of poor families just starve? Many families need help for many different reasons, but whatever the reason I think it is cruel to overlook the basic needs of our children. The families and community leaders who are pulling together their own resources to help our children deserve our respect and admiration.
Boo
September 16th, 2009
2:43 pm
Mom!!!…..Why did you have to let everyone know my name is Boo?
News Daily
September 16th, 2009
6:07 pm
Well said JohnsCreekMom. I simply disregard the comments of folks like many of those posted here. They clearly just like to complain and find fault without ever helping find solutions.
Huh?
September 16th, 2009
6:20 pm
Wait….The blogger has stories on cupcakes, BBQ, and other less than healthy foods, yet wants us to take her seriously regarding school lunches?
mford
September 17th, 2009
9:35 am
Huh: The Table Talk blog is designed to encompass a wide variety of food topics, including restaurant reviews, product reviews, cookbooks, food news and more.
candlerpark
September 17th, 2009
9:35 pm
Great topic Meredith! Too bad it brought out idiots that missed the point. Kids deserve better; those that pay and those that don’t. How did a blog entry on healthy school lunches turn into right-wing sewer overflow? It’s especially odd when you consider the socio-economic status of the Morningside parents.
the truth
September 18th, 2009
11:18 pm
I agree that food in the cafe should be healthy but the reality is that it is not. As parents, we should fight for better food for our children. I am in complete agreement that something should be done in the school system. However, this is not something that is going to change tomorrow. Our goal as parents is to teach these young people to make good choices. If the choice for healthy food is not available at school then you should make it available. Fight the fight but make the poor kid a good lunch. I refuse to let my children eat that crap. Our bodies are machines if you don’t put the correct fuel in ….. the don’t run properly. Make your daughter a lunch….better yet teach her how. My children are 10 and 12 they can make their own lunches and they do.
Battling Childhood Hunger « Operation Frontline: Detroit
September 22nd, 2009
1:09 pm
[...] the USDA reimbursement rate per child in public school systems is $2.70, and groups like JPE are asking for an increase of $50 million in funding, equaling to about $1 [...]
Suzie
October 6th, 2009
10:00 pm
Does the chef who promotes health looks unhealthy, a bit fat. The chef should exercise. This woman has an eating disorder, eating organic foods will not decrease obesity. Pack a lunch and get on to bigger issues in this world.
Caey
November 22nd, 2009
3:12 pm
Food Poisining at Boulder School District
If Boulder is cooking with raw chicken for thousands of students a day, this is what the newspaper headlines will say. Chef Ann Cooper wants school districts to use raw chicken and have the employees cook using the raw chicken. Most school districts use a precooked product and cook it. Tyson has a good precooked chicken product that schools can use. Ann Cooper does not promote using Tyson precooked, but wants to use RAW chicken. If an employee doesn’t cook the chicken to proper temperature, the children will be served RAW chicken and can get very sick.
Lonna
February 1st, 2010
12:38 pm
To comment on someone else’s comment that it is the parent’s responsiblilty…yes, I agree that if you have the means – it is the responsibility of the parent to pack a wholesome lunch. For me, that’s easy and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My guess is that anyone commenting has the means to do what they wish. We’re talking about the people who don’t have computers, nor the access to a computer. There is another world out there – one where people truly struggle, not just to pay thier bills, but to feed thier children.
There are children who’s parents can hardly afford dinner, so they count on the meal tickets that are provided to them for their children to eat at school. In some cases, that is the only meal for their children.
I do believe that we need to educate children and the adults that feed them about nutrition, this is for everyone.
This is why I am very excited about the work that Chef Ann is doing and hope to do my part.