School Lunches: Healthy or Popular?

As parents, many of us know about the constant struggle to provide healthy food for our kids and get them to eat it.  We struggle to plan meals, balance our budgets, avoid sodas and expand our children's choices. (I remember a long period when my children ate macaroni and cheese and peas for every meal.  And I'm not sure they always ate enough peas!)  Parents do our best, but it isn't always easy.  All of this becomes even harder when there isn't enough money to buy healthy food.  In families experiencing poverty, 32.8% experience food insecurity.

How our children eat impacts how well they can learn in school.  A hungry child can be tired, have difficulty concentrating, and have trouble remembering things.  Long term hunger can lead to delays in the mind's development -- leading to lower standardized test scores.  It is crucial that our children have enough food -- and healthy food -- to get the most they can out of their schooling.

The federal government takes these issues seriously.  The Obama administration changed the regulations for school lunches, mandating more whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, less sodium, and nonfat milk.  The regulations put in place by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act in 2010 set high standards for nutritious food for our kids.

So, what can be wrong with these regulations?  All I have to think about is that seemingly endless period of time when my kids would only eat macaroni and cheese.  I can't imagine them stretching their palates to accept whole grain pasta in that macaroni and cheese.  What happens if the school offers healthy food -- but the kids won't eat it?

This is the concern raised by the School Nutrition Association.  In 2014, Lyman Graham, SNA's Director, pointed out that "with sky-high produce costs, we simply cannot afford to feed our trash cans."  The new administration is sympathetic to those concerns.  Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has halted the phasing in of some of the new regulations.  Some school districts, including C. W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville and Manlius Pebble Hill School in Syracuse, have already opted out of the federal regulations, giving up on federal funding for free and reduced meals, because students have resisted the healthier food.

What do you do when your kids want pizza or soda?  How do you balance the demands of making sure your children eat and making sure they eat well?  Do your kids complain about or praise school lunches?  And what do you think the school should serve?  Whole grain healthy food -- with hopes kids will get used to it?  Or not as healthy food, which we know they will eat?  Please post your opinions below.

The Vicious Cycle of Poverty and Iliteracy

            When my eldest child began to read, I remember the world suddenly opening up for him.  We’d be driving in the car and he would be so excited about reading each and every sign – whether it was the distance to the next town or an advertisement for fast food.  As he exclaimed with joy over the bits of information flowing to him from roadsigns (“Gas next exit,” “Garage sale,” “Grand opening”), I was struck by how much of our world is covered in text.  You are reading right now.  We get news from our friends in writing on Facebook; we find our way to the “restrooms” by reading the sign, I know I can get a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda, because it is written on the menu.  Without being able to read, what would the world look like?  How would we find our way around, pick up bargains, know what is happening in our city or state or country or world?

            Not being able to read well can have negative effects on human flourishing.  According to The New England Journal of Medicine people who are not good readers can misunderstand the instructions a doctor has given them, misread prescription dosages, and have severe health problems simply because they do not have the health information they need.  Poor readers have difficulty filling out job applications, finding addresses, and understanding safety information.  

There is a reinforcing cycle of connections between illiteracy and poverty.  People who have money are more likely to own books.  They are also more likely to have jobs that give them the time to encourage their children to engage with those books.  If someone works a janitorial job, for example, she is more likely to both make less money and work during the hours a school-aged child is home from school.  For these reasons, people who live in poverty are more likely to have poor literacy skills. 

However, the cycle continues: people who have poor literacy skills are more likely to become or remain poor.  The skills needed for higher paying jobs, the ability to read job notices and fill our job applications, and the clarity and confidence of oral skills are often lacking for people who have trouble reading and writing.  Literacy advocate AndyMcNab says that while the ability of a school to spend time on literacy is "not a problem for children who were exposed to books at home, it left those from deprived backgrounds disadvantaged because they had few role models outside school to encourage them to read.  'Kids from working-class families are being failed because they don't come from a middle class culture where everyone reads,' he said." 

Schools can only do so much, and without the supplemental instruction many children who live in poverty cannot receive at home, there is a growing gap in literacy skills between middle-class and poorer children.  This disparity is evident in the Syracuse City Schools, where the different in attainment on the third grade ELA test between those who are economically disadvanted and those who are not is the greatest difference in any category.  While 24% of children who are not economically disadvantaged in the Syracuse City School District were proficient on the 3rd grade ELS test, only 7% of students who are economically disadvantaged were proficient.

It is clear that children do better when they have access to good books and to adults who engage them in reading.  Reading for fun -- and finding the fun in reading -- is crucial.  That is what we do in LEAP.  Our summer literacy enrichment program will take place at Great Grace Church of God in Christ, making it easier for children on the Near West Side ot participate.  The census tracts near the church include some of the highest concentrations of poverty in Syracuse, including census tract 30 with 65% of its residents below the poverty line, according to the most recent data.  The kids we work with are smart and curious -- but they do not have the same resources as other children.

At LEAP, we offer children a student-centered approach to reading and writing that focuses on their strengths and their enjoyment.  We encourage children to have fun with their reading and to write with a purpose.  Our well-trained teachers focus on each child's unique skills and needs, working with no more than 5 children each.  If you'd like to get more information about this summer's LEAP program or would like to support our efforts, feel free to contact us or donate.