The Farms to School initiative discussed by Valianatos and Cobb presents an insight into the efforts being taken to connect students with food and counter growing obesity rates. If a Farm to School program is done right, such as at Asheville's Abernethy Elementary School, then the benefits not only include students, but also the local farmers.
The main idea here is to meet schools' healthy and fresh food demands with the local food supply. Local farmers throughout the country struggle to simply break even. But with the ability to tap into the constant demand for food provided by schools, farmers can have a continued source of revenue, giving them some certainty in a very uncertain career.
Students benefit by engaging in different forms with their food. They not only eat healthier school meals, but they learn about healthier diets and are more willing to try new foods. Plus, if the Farm to School program includes implementation of school gardens and/or farm field trips, students can learn about gardening and the agriculture system. This can even lead to student interest in future careers in agriculture, which is extremely important since the average age of American farmers is at 57 and climbing. Furthermore, Farm to School programs include added curriculum to health classes, visits from in-school chefs and farmers, and farm tours. The food and health education of these young students will continue to stick with them throughout their lives.
I particularly liked this quote from Cobb, "If we give children access to healthy food in the cafeteria, nutrition education in the classroom, and hands-on learning through school gardens, a lifetime of healthy eating can take root."
Farm to School programs, of course, have challenges in getting implemented. As Valianatos points out, the logistics of organizing and actually getting the food to the cafeteria is extremely difficult. In addition, schools are reluctant to step away from the convenience and price predictability of traditional school food. The USDA has policies in place that have to be reviewed extensively by the schools if they want to use locally sourced food. Therefore, strong leaders to push the initiative are needed and the schools' child nutrition directors must be heavily involved to actually change the cafeteria menu.
I personally never had any useful classroom training pertaining to healthy foods. Which isn't surprising when the middle school "health" teacher is extremely obese and eats donuts off his belly during class (welcome to Tennessee). I certainly never learned how to garden through school either.
What was your school experience like in terms of food? Did your childhood schools have a Farm to School program or anything similar to one? Was local food ever brought up in your class curriculum? Was gardening promoted heavily at your school?
Growing up in South Florida, my options were either school lunch or you brought your own lunch. The majority of the time through elementary and middle school I brought my own lunch. In high school I had the option of school lunch, Papa Johns, wings and I can't remember the other items. I don't remember having vending machines available at school. We never discussed where our food came from or had access to local food within the school system, which was definitely a shame.
ReplyDeleteWhen I sat down to answer your question of what my school experience was like, I realized that in my elementary school years I really don't remember. It wasn't something that was taught in school or even advocated for and I don't remember any specific health discussions until middle school. I wonder if I had learned more earlier, what my outlook would be today.
ReplyDeleteLiving up north for the elementary school days, in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, my mom was always gardening and growing her own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. I always recognized it as more of a 'home' good shared with neighbors and a thing that I had thought everyone's parents were probably doing. I didn't start actually eating cafeteria food until High School and the stations that were offered were pizzas, sandwiches, and the free lunch that I never really explored. I was very fortunate to have an adamant teacher in my later high school years that did start a school food garden where she made us get our hands dirty and learn to compost.