321 Update

Howdy all,

I had a couple of interesting conversations about the lunch situation at 321 a week or so ago with one of the co-presidents of the PTA and the 321 science teacher who is also the staff member in charge of their healthy foods initiative.

The PTA Pres confirmed that they don't have any active parents working on the issue and that she thought there was a role for us to play. Perhaps they'll mention it in an official PTA meeting or notice if we want them to? She then introduced me to the science teacher. This was all rather informal, at the pumpkin sale, so I've forgotten their names - though I did give them both my card. They should be easy to track down though.

The science teacher was in a rush to get to class, but we talked for a while and she told me about a number of the healthy food initiatives they've introduced or experimented with. Highlights include:

There is no deep frying in the 321 kitchen. While they have items like chicken fingers, they are baked to heat them up (though pre fried);

Every lunch comes with carrots... how fresh, I'm not sure. I've attached a link to a NY Times article on carrots and city schools I read recently below that is very informative about the city bureaucracy and school lunch program in general;

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/dining/17carr.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ei=5088&en=7ef27c6a0052e909&ex=1350360000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Every lunch may also come with fresh apple slices (I wasn't 100% sure on this point.)

They've tried some other approaches like giving kids the choice of making fresh pizza with healthy ingredients or having the bulk frozen slices, but the kids always went for the less healthy alternative. This did indicate that the school does have a bit of leeway in devising lunch alternatives like this - that's good news;

She offered to meet with us as well to go over what they're doing and hear us out.

I've also attached a link to an article from the NY Times from about 2 months ago that reported on a direct link being found between common preservatives and colorings found in kids' food and attention span problems. I'm interested in following up with the school on this issue as we go forward.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/health/research/06hyper.html

Neal

Better Food at the Harvest Fest

At PS 146/The Brooklyn New School, we've been trying to make changes in a lot of different ways. One thing we started working on last year was making the food better at our annual Harvest Fest. Last year it was a little dicey. The organizers (parents who put on this event every year) did not want a bunch of new people storming their meeting, demading they get rid of French fries, cotton candy and potato chips. There was one very tense planning meeting I heard about, with food people and the organizers yelling at each other. Not good. In the end, small but important changes were made -- we got rid of the fried food (it was a safety issue, mostly), and we had chicken sausages.

This year the organizers were amazing and agreed to let us take over the food completely. I trod much more lightly than happened last year, and made lots of compromises, and found them to be great to work with. When you factor in efficiency, cost, and appeal, you have to make compromises, especially the first year. But we got lots of restaurant donations and made a lot of small steps forward, and we all worked together really well, which I feel was a great triumph.

Plus, it is a rising tide: the organizers took steps toward having more movement activites and games, to get the kids moving and exercising. Next year we all want to have square dancing.

This is our new and improved menu:
Hot dogs: tofu, turkey and beef (donated, so they are not upscale or nitrate-free)
Organic burgers (from Costco)
Gourmet Sausages (donated from Fairway)
Cornbread made by the kindergarten families
Vegetarian Chili (made by Blue Ribbon, as last year)
Regular Chili (made by Naidre's)
Pumpkin Soup (made by applewood)
Cole slaw (made by a parent)

Popcorn -- with olive oil, instead of the hydrogenated oil packets the popcorn comes with
Cotton candy (eh, what can you do?)
Apples and apple cider (from Red Jacket Orchards)
Pie (made by parents - a tradition at the festival)

I think it is a great step forward. Next year will be even better. Of course it is goiong to rain this weekend, when the festival is happening, but we'll have it inside. I'll let you all know how it goes, and post pictures. (Or you can come see/taste for yourself - Saturday, Octover 27, 610 Henry Street in Carroll Gardens!)

-Larissa/Brooklyn/PS 146

public school food blues

I am new to the public school system as of this year, but I am already reeling from the issues that have come up around unhealthy food offered to (and consumed by) my daughter. We do not have cow's milk in our home. But now my daughter is having regular or chocolate cow's milk once a week! I would love chocolate milk to be banned altogether. It's novel...it's sweet...and it's terrible for my daughter's teeth and her tendency toward respiratory infections. Oy!

The New Yorker Article

This article came out in the New Yorker a while back, but it's still a great overview of what's going on in the school food movement, who are some of the stars, and what we're up against.


-Larissa/PS 146/Brooklyn

WELCOME TO SNAC!

Are you tired of your child coming home from school with tales of the terrible food he or she was introduced to during the school day? Do you think that processed foods should not be a part of federal school lunch program? Are you frustrated with the Office of School Foods' stalled attempts to introduce local foods to the lunch program? Do you think schools should be teaching kids about good food -- instead of the other way around?

If so, you're in the right place. The School Nutrition Action Coalition is a group of NYC public school parents who are tired of bad food in the schools. We believe that if we get together, our voices will form a coalition, and that we will be heard. We think that our interest in this topic span neighborhoods, schools and boros. We are tired of our tax dollars working to worsen the obesity and diabetes epidemics. We think it can be better.

Join our coalition! Read up on what our schools are doing, and share with us what your school is doing. We can all learn from each other, as we pick and hammer and pound away at the wall that is between us and a healther nation.

Larissa -- PS 146, Brooklyn
Mercedes -- PS 321, Brooklyn
Lora -- PS 10, Brooklyn