Nice piece in the Dallas Morning News about how Texas state law has made it illegal to sell deep-fried foods and sugary drinks in schools, replacing them with healthier products that legislators hope will address the region’s childhood obesity problems.
The story uses as an example Bryan Adams High School in Dallas, where in addition to some old favorites such as hot dogs and chips, there are new offerings such as “fajitas, yogurt parfait, salad, apples, oranges and grapes. The traditional entrees are a little different as well. As of this year, all the breaded foods, including the chips, are baked, not fried. The milk is low-fat, and there are a lot more whole grains in crusts and breading.”
According to the piece, Ann Cooper, described as a school lunch activist, “is working with Whole Foods and others on a Web site, thelunchbox.org, providing menus and other assistance to school food-service workers and parents in adding more fresh, locally grown foods to school menus.” And the good news is that more and more kids seem to buying lunch at school, which is good because the viability of the program depends on a certain level of volume.
The story uses as an example Bryan Adams High School in Dallas, where in addition to some old favorites such as hot dogs and chips, there are new offerings such as “fajitas, yogurt parfait, salad, apples, oranges and grapes. The traditional entrees are a little different as well. As of this year, all the breaded foods, including the chips, are baked, not fried. The milk is low-fat, and there are a lot more whole grains in crusts and breading.”
According to the piece, Ann Cooper, described as a school lunch activist, “is working with Whole Foods and others on a Web site, thelunchbox.org, providing menus and other assistance to school food-service workers and parents in adding more fresh, locally grown foods to school menus.” And the good news is that more and more kids seem to buying lunch at school, which is good because the viability of the program depends on a certain level of volume.
- KC's View:
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One of the great things about the health and wellness session that I moderated on Monday at the FMI Future Connect conference was the way in the panelists described how it is so simple to kick food up a notch and make it healthier and more nutritious, either through the use of certain “super spices” or by including “super foods” in the recipe whenever appropriate.
This is one of the things that supermarkets ought to be able to bring to this discussion in every community - an ability to both talk about provide better and more nutritious food that tastes good.
The thing about the Texas program that strikes me is how important it is to educate kids about this, to bring them along slowly, rather than just expecting them to accept whatever we give them. It’s sort of funny - the Morning News interviews two boys at the school, one who likes the new food offerings and one who grouses about them.
I couldn’t help but feel that the more open-minded kid probably gets beat up a lot.
