By Anna Alderite
The right to have healthy food during meal time is the right of every child. Since a significant number of children spend several numbers of hours at school, serving healthy lunches must be part of its program. Lunchtime gives opportunity for the children to gain enough energy to finish all the activities during school days. Why this matter is at most importance nowadays?
For the past 30 years, childhood obesity percentage in United States has been tripled. According to National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES), approximately 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents in United States aging from 2 to 19 years are considered obese. This problem even topped drug abuse and alcoholism as the main issue of concern among parents. Obese children are most likely to develop risk for cardiovascular diseases such as high cholesterol level or high blood pressure.
In order to lessen the possibility of developing such diseases, children must develop a healthy lifestyle habit which includes eating organic foods during every meal time at school.
One of the best programs offered in school is the idea on organic lunches. This is viewed to be safer for children since in addition to childhood obesity, high level of exposures to toxic environment is present. The daily lives of children include air pollution and pesticide exposure through intake of commercially processed foods available especially in school cafeteria and vending machines. Organic foods consumption is vital for a child’s chemical free living.
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are working hand in hand on the syllabus “Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010”. The proposed plan recommends three key points for a healthy diet for children. These are the following:
a. Lower saturated fat consumption (<7% of total calories)
b. Lower sodium consumption (<1500 mg per day)
c. New red/orange vegetable subgroup.
Furthermore, the well known Good Earth Natural Food Organic School Lunch Program holds the highest degree of organic standards and produces its foods using over 95% organic ingredients.
One very famous Chef and social activist Alice Waters has originated the idea on organic school lunches. Waters is the pioneer of Edible Schoolyard started in Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, California.
Edible Schoolyard is one of the programs that change quality of foods in school. Berkeley Unified School District recently adapted the said program. Model garden and kitchen programs are provided in every school zone which enable students to learn the importance of taking fresh and healthy food rather than processed foods available in the cafeteria. The said program encourages schools in United States to have contact with local farmers and learn more on organic farming and gardening methods.
There is significant number of states that successfully initiated organic school lunch program. These are the lists of states; Seattle, Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Palo Alto. This does not only focused on school cafeteria but also suggested that schools must remove vending machines that are not offering organic drinks to students. In addition, excessive levels of sodium and saturated fat in meals will drastically eliminated and help to meet up children’s calorie requirements.
Lastly, this revised pattern is also recommended and supported by the Department of Agriculture under the agency Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
The right to have healthy food during meal time is the right of every child. Since a significant number of children spend several numbers of hours at school, serving healthy lunches must be part of its program. Lunchtime gives opportunity for the children to gain enough energy to finish all the activities during school days. Why this matter is at most importance nowadays?
For the past 30 years, childhood obesity percentage in United States has been tripled. According to National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES), approximately 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents in United States aging from 2 to 19 years are considered obese. This problem even topped drug abuse and alcoholism as the main issue of concern among parents. Obese children are most likely to develop risk for cardiovascular diseases such as high cholesterol level or high blood pressure.
In order to lessen the possibility of developing such diseases, children must develop a healthy lifestyle habit which includes eating organic foods during every meal time at school.
One of the best programs offered in school is the idea on organic lunches. This is viewed to be safer for children since in addition to childhood obesity, high level of exposures to toxic environment is present. The daily lives of children include air pollution and pesticide exposure through intake of commercially processed foods available especially in school cafeteria and vending machines. Organic foods consumption is vital for a child’s chemical free living.
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are working hand in hand on the syllabus “Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010”. The proposed plan recommends three key points for a healthy diet for children. These are the following:
a. Lower saturated fat consumption (<7% of total calories)
b. Lower sodium consumption (<1500 mg per day)
c. New red/orange vegetable subgroup.
Furthermore, the well known Good Earth Natural Food Organic School Lunch Program holds the highest degree of organic standards and produces its foods using over 95% organic ingredients.
One very famous Chef and social activist Alice Waters has originated the idea on organic school lunches. Waters is the pioneer of Edible Schoolyard started in Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, California.
Edible Schoolyard is one of the programs that change quality of foods in school. Berkeley Unified School District recently adapted the said program. Model garden and kitchen programs are provided in every school zone which enable students to learn the importance of taking fresh and healthy food rather than processed foods available in the cafeteria. The said program encourages schools in United States to have contact with local farmers and learn more on organic farming and gardening methods.
There is significant number of states that successfully initiated organic school lunch program. These are the lists of states; Seattle, Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Palo Alto. This does not only focused on school cafeteria but also suggested that schools must remove vending machines that are not offering organic drinks to students. In addition, excessive levels of sodium and saturated fat in meals will drastically eliminated and help to meet up children’s calorie requirements.
Lastly, this revised pattern is also recommended and supported by the Department of Agriculture under the agency Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
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