by Meredith St John
Obesity accounts for $147 billion in health care spending per annum. This now oft-repeated figure has shifted the national conversation to the need for a more preventive approach to health. In his New York Times op-ed, Big Food vs. Big Insurance, Michael Pollan discussed reform in the context of health care and the food industry at large, saying we need both if we’re going to address chronic disease in America. Pollan touched on insurance company practices, farm subsidies, the agribusiness lobby…and school lunches. If we offered “more fresh produce and fewer Tater Tots” we might just be able to tackle rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Pollan’s suggestion will be topic of conversation come October when Congress is set to review the Child Nutrition Act – the law that governs the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The program, which provides meals for more than 30 million students every day, has been criticized for serving food and beverages that contribute to increasing rates of childhood obesity, rather than high quality, nutrient-dense meals that promote good nutrition and a healthy weight. Good nutrition is essential for proper growth and development among children and adolescents, and affects many facets of their daily lives, including school performance. We also know that overweight children and adolescents are likely to remain so through adulthood. Eating habits are established in childhood and can be quite difficult to change later in life, so ideally schools would model exemplary behavior.
The importance of proper nutrition in school meal programs is certainly recognized by Ellen Gustafson and Lauren Bush, co-founders of FEED Projects. Their organization supports UN World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding operations around the world through profits generated from their collection of FEED bags (n.b. they have donated more than 50 million meals since 2007). In a recent conversation with Gustafson, she talked about micronutrients for brain development in children and how significantly school meal programs improve cognitive function, citing the success of programs in Chile. When probed about her work with malnourished children in the developing world and how she views the obesity epidemic at home, Gustafson stressed that this “unbelievable dichotomy” is something FEED aims to address. “If the program (NSLP) we have is making people sick, then we have to work on our own system,” she said.
To date, FEED Projects have focused their efforts on developing nations, but American initiatives are slated for later this year. They hope to help correct the global food system imbalance through creative policy solutions, and creative design. Last week they launched their newest bag, the FEED/READ 3 tote bag available at Barnes & Noble. One tote ($24.99) provides one child with three meals and three local language books. FEED Projects’ work is particularly relevant in light of recent news from the WFP agency: the number of hungry people will pass one billion this year for the first time, and the WFP is facing budget shortages.
Budget considerations will also be topical when Congress reviews the NSLP – as it stands, Tater Tots are a lot cheaper than fresh produce. If giving children a healthy start and preventing disease is the goal, then globally, school meal programs are certainly a good investment.
***
To show your support for NSLP reform, sign the Slow Food petition. And if you’d like to help children internationally as well, purchase a FEED bag to support WFP school feeding operations.
http://www.feedprojects.org/
by Meredith St John
Obesity accounts for $147 billion in health care spending per annum. This now oft-repeated figure has shifted the national conversation to the need for a more preventive approach to health. In his New York Times op-ed, Big Food vs. Big Insurance, Michael Pollan discussed reform in the context of health care and the food industry at large, saying we need both if we’re going to address chronic disease in America. Pollan touched on insurance company practices, farm subsidies, the agribusiness lobby…and school lunches. If we offered “more fresh produce and fewer Tater Tots” we might just be able to tackle rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Pollan’s suggestion will be topic of conversation come October when Congress is set to review the Child Nutrition Act – the law that governs the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The program, which provides meals for more than 30 million students every day, has been criticized for serving food and beverages that contribute to increasing rates of childhood obesity, rather than high quality, nutrient-dense meals that promote good nutrition and a healthy weight. Good nutrition is essential for proper growth and development among children and adolescents, and affects many facets of their daily lives, including school performance. We also know that overweight children and adolescents are likely to remain so through adulthood. Eating habits are established in childhood and can be quite difficult to change later in life, so ideally schools would model exemplary behavior.
The importance of proper nutrition in school meal programs is certainly recognized by Ellen Gustafson and Lauren Bush, co-founders of FEED Projects. Their organization supports UN World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding operations around the world through profits generated from their collection of FEED bags (n.b. they have donated more than 50 million meals since 2007). In a recent conversation with Gustafson, she talked about micronutrients for brain development in children and how significantly school meal programs improve cognitive function, citing the success of programs in Chile. When probed about her work with malnourished children in the developing world and how she views the obesity epidemic at home, Gustafson stressed that this “unbelievable dichotomy” is something FEED aims to address. “If the program (NSLP) we have is making people sick, then we have to work on our own system,” she said.
To date, FEED Projects have focused their efforts on developing nations, but American initiatives are slated for later this year. They hope to help correct the global food system imbalance through creative policy solutions, and creative design. Last week they launched their newest bag, the FEED/READ 3 tote bag available at Barnes & Noble. One tote ($24.99) provides one child with three meals and three local language books. FEED Projects’ work is particularly relevant in light of recent news from the WFP agency: the number of hungry people will pass one billion this year for the first time, and the WFP is facing budget shortages.
Budget considerations will also be topical when Congress reviews the NSLP – as it stands, Tater Tots are a lot cheaper than fresh produce. If giving children a healthy start and preventing disease is the goal, then globally, school meal programs are certainly a good investment.
***
To show your support for NSLP reform, sign the Slow Food petition. And if you’d like to help children internationally as well, purchase a FEED bag to support WFP school feeding operations.
http://www.feedprojects.org/