The Farm to School Program for School Lunches
Sowing Seeds of a Healthier Future for Children
Farm to School is a school-based program that connects schools and local farms with the objective of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, health, and gives nutrition education opportunities. Farm to School also supports local and regional farmers.
School Lunch Program
The national school lunch program first came under permanent federal regulation in 1946 with the purpose of reversing malnutrition resulting from the Great Depression in the 1930s. The government funded the employment of school cafeteria employees and the purchase of excess commodities, like pork, dairy, and wheat for use in the school lunchrooms.
The school lunch program was to provide healthy meals with plenty of calories to ensure children did not go home hungry. Changes in school lunch priorities and costs, over time, caused the schools to be instructed to cut fat from lunch meals, cut costs, while maintaining calorie levels. Sugar was added to replace lost fat calories and food production was outsourced to cut costs.
It was cheaper to use processed packaged lunches, rather than hire enough individuals to cook items from scratch. Many school cafeterias became nothing more than microwave centers. The local farmers could not compete with the price of mass produced products.
Childhood Obesity Studies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 25 percent of children between the ages of six and 22 were overweight in 2007. The CDC estimates that one in three children born in 2000 will become diabetic in their lifetime, and that these children will also be the first generation with a shorter life expectancy than that of their parents. We are feeding our children to death with processed foods.
Farm to School Program Benefit
There are 30 million children eating school lunches, 5 days a week, 180 days a year in the United States. Schools participating in the Farm to School Programs purchase fruits, vegetables, eggs, grains, honey, meat, and beans for use in the school cafeterias.
The program encourages nutrition-based curriculum and provides hands-on learning to students through farm visits, gardening, and composting. Schools are encouraged to take field trips to visit local farms, farmers markets, and plant and tend a small garden plot near their classroom. The majority of children today are not connected to the farm, so students gain an appreciation for good-quality food and where it originates.
The Journal of American Dietetic Association, in a report (A Garden Pilot Project Enhances Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Children, 4th to 6th grade, by Stephanie Heim, Jamie Stang, and Marjorie Ireland, July 2009, Vol. 109, Issue 7) stated that children who participated in garden-based nutrition education increased their servings of fruits and vegetables. Participation is a predictor of higher fruit and vegetable consumption as adults, while preventing or delaying chronic disease conditions.
Garden-based nutrition education programs offer a strategy for increasing fruit and vegetable intake. Most children enjoy fresh tasting fruits and vegetables, working in the garden, and preparing fresh food. Data showed an increase in the number of fruits and vegetables eaten, with an increase of asking for fresh fruits and vegetables at home.
Sustaining Local Farms
Farmers participating in the Farm to School programs on average receive a five to ten percent increase in farm income. The farmer benefits from market diversification, relationships with school districts, parents, and communities. It is sometimes the boost a small producer needs to stay in business.
The school market can be a great opportunity for new farm producers to design their operation around the Farm to School program. School lunch programs start up just as the local farmer’s markets are winding down, providing opportunity for season expansion for sales.
What Parents can do at Home
Parents need to participate. If a home garden is not possible, take children shopping, go to farmers' markets, stop at farm stands, visit a farm, and make real food part of life. Spend time with the children. Eat meals as a family. More than one study has shown that when children participate in gardening educational programs, whether at school or at home, they eat healthier and can develop habits they will carry with them into adulthood.
Farmers' Market
|
What do you think about this article?
More in Health & Wellness
Latest Articles