I remember my school lunches…fondly. The freezing cold cafeteria which always smelled kind of funny, those long tables that we all had to squeeze into and, of course, the delightful food. I had a few favorites like the pizza and the chicken patty sandwich, but for the most part I was pretty scared of the offerings. The green beans were never green (more of a tan color), the hamburgers were usually on the gray side, and I was especially terrified of the “rib-b-que”. Don’t even get me started on those awful sporks we had to eat with! Thinking back, I don’t remember many healthy options at all. Most of the meals were fried or covered in cheese, and even though there was a salad bar, it was practically a wasteland.
From what I’ve read, things haven’t changed much in school cafeterias across the country, but Chicago Public Schools is trying to change this by overhauling their menus in an effort to meet the guidelines for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Healthier US Schools Challenge. Some of the changes that will be implemented are serving whole grains daily, reducing the amount of sodium in the meals by 5%, adding more dark green or orange veggies and limiting starchy vegetables to only once per week. They are also removing doughnuts, Pop-Tarts and other sugary, dessert-type foods from the breakfast menus.
I hope that other cities will follow their lead. Childhood obesity is affecting more and more children everyday, and our country needs all the help it can get in this regard. We’ve been talking about Jamie Oliver and the wonderful things he is doing to encourage change. In the latest episode of his show, he was able to get 1,000 people (including quite a few children and teens) in the city of Huntington to take a cooking class with the help of a food flash mob. The positive changes in Chicago Public Schools are a step in the right direction, but it’s still imperative that we educate children so that they can make the right choices outside of school. I think cooking classes are a great way to do this.
Alas, while the sporks may still be a staple in school cafeterias, it’s encouraging to hear that the rest of my cafeteria memories could be a thing of the past. Hopefully, my future children will only hear of the “rib-b-que” through my horror stories!
I think I'm weird. School lunch is weird. It's crappy-tasty. Does that make sense? A little part of my heart is breaking that they are going to change it up. But. I know they should-gotta do it.
...and then there's that time in 4th grade when my friend at my cafeteria table barfed all over. I will NEVER forget it.
I think I'm weird. School lunch is weird. It's crappy-tasty. Does that make sense? A little part of my heart is breaking that they are going to change it up. But. I know they should-gotta do it.
...and then there's that time in 4th grade when my friend at my cafeteria table barfed all over. I will NEVER forget it.