Ok Here goes!
Back in the spring when my son was in Kindergarten I started checking out the lunch menus at his school (El Marino in CCUSD). I was appalled. Looking over the month of 20 or so meals it was a beige gut bomb of kid food - no veggies listed, desserts offered several times a week and I came to find out that chocolate milk was offered everyday.
No way am I sending my kids down that line to buy that food. I love his school, his teachers, our principal and so much about CC Unified but that food was, and largely still is, an unacceptable choice for my kid. I resigned myself to pack a lunch everyday but also started pulling parents together to start working with our food services director to see if I could improve things. Selfishly, I hoped to not have to come up with a healthy, varied and Iggie-approved sack lunch every school day but optimistically (though not naively) I hoped to improve the choices for all the elementary kids in the district. I think they all deserve better.
So this past spring I started Healthy Schools Culver City, a group of parents dedicated to improving the quality and freshness of meals offered at the elementary schools in CCUSD. We are comprised of parents representing the 5 elementary schools in the district and in short time successfully lobbied the food services department to improve the "third choice" meal offered each day and desserts are offered on fewer days.
However since this fall, improvements have stalled. A trial period offering chocolate milk only on Fridays was terminated earlier than agreed by CCUSD food services and requests to review the detailed food service budget and to review nutritional information of the food provided have been rejected. I'm still packing a lunch everyday and kids in the district are still being served heavily processed and packaged food on a majority of days. Very little food is actually prepared by the talented and able food services staff at the central kitchen for elementary students, most of it is simply heated and served.
I'm starting this blog as a way to get some info out there to parents about the current status of food services at CCUSD and share information about the attainable goal of serving healthful, tasty and kid-approved meals on the limited budget all schools deal with. I'm hoping to keep a positive relationship with the district while pushing to improve the quality of food served and looking for more parents to get involved and push the issue with me.
Thanks for reading and please share this link with those who care about kids nutrition.
Maggie
Hi Maggie, Congrats on your new blog. Im curious, does Iggie's school actually have cooking appliances? I know that a lot of school's have removed them since the shift towards cheaper (reheat-able) entrees. If they still have stoves then I would think you have a better chance of getting healthier foods someday.
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie,
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance CCUSD could form a partnership with some of the local growers like those at the Farmer's market? What about corp sponsors like Sprouts or Trader Joes? I would suspect the resistance is montary; don't want to change anything for fear of increased cost.
Yes, they have the kitchens and facilities. As a matter of fact, the district has some funds that can be allocated toward improving the kitchens, if we put the pressure on the school board to do so.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have tried to pair food service up and get them working with Growing Great. GG Knows exactly what to do. They have improved several school districts' lunches, including Manhattan Beaches. I don't know what ever came of this. But it appears we hit another road block. This would be a good avenue to continue to pursue.
Btw, we all know things don't have to cost more to be healthy. Pasta and red sauce could not be more expensive than frozen, full fat chicken nuggets which is what they are served now.
ReplyDeleteAnd we won't be losing ppl who buy lunch by serving healthy lunches. A survey has already been taken which shows around 80% of the ppl surveyed, who don't buy a lunch, would buy lunch, if it were healthy.
Not to mention the brain power and energy the kids would have to enjoy the rest of their day!
Thanks Maggie for fighting the food fight. It seems that the CCUSD MO is to slip back into what's familiar. I've often wondered how long it takes for something to be accepted. Wonder if we could get Jamie Oliver to come to CCUSD since LAUSD turned him down. :)
ReplyDeleteMaggie, I'm so excited that this initiative has been taken on. Nutrition and Childhood Nutrition, especially, is my passion. I am ready to jump on board. Please contact me as I'd love to know what I can do to be a part of it. Thank you! Natalie Kling nataliekling@gmail.com
ReplyDelete