Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Here is an interesting talk from Ann Cooper, The Renegade Lunch Lady, from Berkley, California.

She says:

We are feeding our kids to death.

The USDA cannot be the be all and end all of what we feed our kids. We cannot believe that they have our best interests at heart.

We are responsible, but big companies are ALSO responsible for what kids eat.

We have to teach kids that Coke and Pop Tarts is not breakfast. If they eat a diet of sugar, then they’ll go up and down like a crack addict.

We have to teach people to cook again.

One gourmet coffee costs more than what we spend on school lunch for kids for a WEEK.

She talks about the Farm to School Project. Here is a link to them to see if they are in your area.

• FarmToSchool.org Home Page

Here is her list of food guidelines for her school district:

Chef Ann Cooper : Food Guidelines

1. Made delicious, nutritious, seasonal and sustainable food a priority
2. Elimination of trans-fats and High Fructose Corn syrup as well as reduced and or eliminated where possible refined sugars and refined flours
3. Cooking non-processed foods from scratch while, eliminating all highly processed menu items
4. Salad Bars with a majority of fresh items in every school
5. Universal Breakfast at every school
6. Fresh fruits and vegetables served every day
7. Antibiotic and Hormone free or Organic milk served daily
8. Elimination of Chocolate milk & desserts
9. All hamburgers and hotdogs are hormone and antibiotic free as well as grass finished
10. Segued to whole wheat or whole grain bread and baked products
11. Segued from pre-packed lunches to buffet style service
12. All recipes in a data-base that tracks nutrition and will track costs
13. Purchasing with a high priority on local, regional and organic foods, as well as foods purchased from small local companies.
14. Swipe Card System installed at every school except B-Tech
15. Financial systems in place to ensure “real-time” accounting
16. Computerized purchasing system in place to ensure best practices in procurement, and the adoption of a Board Policy that allows for local procurement
17. New job descriptions to allow for skilled staff, and Executive Chef and Sous Chef positions added to ensure staff training
18. Reorganization of departments which made CNN part of Nutrition Services
19. Purchased refrigeration and heating equipment for all cafeterias to ensure safe food handling of non-processed foods
20. Worked toward implementation of the dining commons for student meals and as a Central Kitchen for the Middle & High Schools, as well as remodeling of the Central Kitchen