The headlines about proposed changes to the nation’s school lunch program have been about whether pizza sauce should be counted as a vegetable and Congress’ move to block rules that would add more fruits and green vegetables to school menus.
What goes unstated is this: Nothing is stopping local schools and districts from adopting healthier menus now.
In fact, a lot of them do. Greeley, which recently began cooking more nutritious meals from scratch, is a prominent local example.
We are all for broccoli. And whole grain bread. And oven-baked chicken, fresh from the kitchen. We’re getting hungry already. But we’re uncomfortable with the idea of the federal government mandating what ought to be on school lunch menus.
Don’t accuse us of being shills for big food interests. That’s how the issue is being painted at the national level – that healthy food advocates were steamrolled by the industry. In our minds, this is about choice.
We would prefer a Race to the Top approach to school lunches. Don’t laugh. We’re serious.
If the government wants to coax school districts into offering freshly prepared, healthier foods, then find a way to offer schools a financial incentive – above and beyond the traditional school lunch subsidy – if they go the healthier route.
A lot of them would probably leap at that chance, which would be great.
The school lunch issue came to the fore earlier this week when Congress blocked rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Lawmakers decided to bar the department from using government money to implement the school lunch rules.
Yes, big food companies such as ConAgra and Del Monte Foods had lobbied against the proposed changes. We suppose they had their financial reasons for doing so.
But they were right about one thing: It doesn’t make sense to force schools to serve food that a lot of kids could end up tossing into the trash.
Making healthy food that tastes good takes commitment, skill and the right facilities. Who among us hasn’t seen string beans cooked until they were mushy and army green? You’d have to be pretty hungry to eat those things, but no matter how unpalatable, they’re still a vegetable.
We’d rather see a local district decide to offer healthier school lunches with the full backing of parents and administrators. Such efforts to transform school lunches can work, as evidenced by the efforts of many schools around the country, including those in Boulder Valley and Denver.
Greeley, where 60 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price meals, got some grant money to make the switch. But mostly what they had was something you can’t require – the inspiration to make healthy food that tastes good.
That’s crucial because all the government mandates in the world cannot change this simple truism: It’s not nutritious if they don’t eat it.
