Finances
Food Service
Team / Staff Cooperation
Students
Community Apathy
Yourself
Clearly, the inability of most schools to make their food programs solvent is a major obstacle. While the federal government does supply funding, it covers only minimal expense. Schools, already reeling from general education budget cuts, have little time or money to throw at a program that seems lackluster and inadequate in many respects. (How many teachers really eat in school cafeterias? If your school is the exception you are fortunate.)
In an effort to compensate for this financial shortfall, many schools serve junk foods and fast foods like burgers, pizzas, french fries, chicken nuggets, sodas and desserts that lack nutritional quality but are easy to sell. But in reality, aren't these efforts truly 'penny-wise and pound foolish?'
Such efforts sacrifice children's health, well-being and their emotional state at school. They influence children to believe that a healthy school meal is of marginal importance or perhaps even unnecessary and an imposition. As a result, students purchase of "healthy" school meals decline even further, school lunch revenues are set back, and the cafeteria continues its downhill spiral.
There is a reluctance to try new foods. Many food service personnel lack experience with new foods (having themselves been raised on pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers, french fries, white bread and canned fruit), and thus are not likely to want to prepare and serve foods they are unfamiliar with. They lack equipment, will need to change distributors, must re-evaluate the nutritional elements of new recipes, and have to spend extra time developing a routine based around these new foods. In the end...the big question remains -- Will the student's even eat them?
Teachers care a great deal for the health and well-being of their students. But they also must overcome many obstacles in providing adequate nutrition education and a healthy classroom environment to their students.
Do your teachers have a solid curricuuma for nutrition education? A good curriculum focuses on the healthiest foods, helps children understand the origin of food, and the health benefits and / or disease causing properties inherent in them. The lessons are hands-on, integrated, balanced, scientifically proven, and do not originate from a source that has a financial stake in developing certain eating habits in children.
Secondly, do teachers have the background and support systems they need to implement a healthy classroom environment? Do they have health-oriented posters, take-home materials, taste-testing facility, or a school garden? Do they have training and a team approach to good nutrition?
And finally, what example do they personally set? Do they serve ice cream, candy, soda and pizza in their classrooms for school parties and special events? Do programs they oversee reap benefits from vending machine sales? If so, how can we reinvigorate these programs to satisfy the children, raise necessary revenues, and provide foods and programs we can all feel proud of and satisfied with?
Students may not want to change their eating habits. It is relatively easy to become comfortable, or even addicted to, foods that are high in fats, sugars and salts. Many view unhealthy foods as "comfort" foods and believe that eating "what they want" for lunch gives them some control over their school environment. For these, and other reasons, it will not always be easy to encourage children to change their lifestyles and eating habits.
Yet, students actually do like healthy, hearty meals. The trick is to involve the students in food evaluation and change, to empower them to help you find healthy foods that they like and to challenge them to make a difference. By creating well-channeled ownership for students in their cafeteria environment, you will be cementing within their psyche the importance of healthy eating habits.
In general, most community members think little about school lunches. This is a reversal from the history of the school lunch program, which was built upon public involvement arising from the apparent need for students to have a hearty lunch at school. (Want to know more about the school lunch program? Click here.)
Perhaps this apathy has arisen because community members assume students are receiving healthy lunches, since parents pay for them, and the government supports the school lunch program. Or perhaps members of the community have lost interest in what is happening in our schools. The fact remains that students are not generally eating hearty, nutrition-packed meals. This needs to be addressed, and schools will need the support of parents, legislatures, farmers and other community members to fully turn the situation around.
Too often we look at the problems around us and feel overwhelmed, thinking that we can't really make a difference. In actuality, you can, with relatively little effort! As a leader in your school and role model in your community, your words carry weight. People will listen to what you have to say. Your determination will resonate with those around you, empower them to join with you in your commitment to make a difference for our children.
In conclusion, the more healthy eating habits and messages that good nutrition are built into our daily lifestyles through classroom, cafeteria, school event, home, and community experience, the more everyone will "hear" these messages, imbibe their spirit, and work cooperatively to make a difference.
Read on to see how this can happen....
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