But on a More Serious Note…
If kids at school get carrots in their lunch, there’s a pretty good chance that they’ve come from a can because the canned vegetables cost less, keep longer, and take less effort to prepare. Problem is, they’ve got lower quality (i.e. worse taste, which means kids will be less likely to actually eat them) and may come with excess salt for anyone who does eat them.
Federal reimbursement levels are set to $2.68 per student—including labor costs. If you’re wondering how anyone can possibly make a decent meal for that level of funding, the answer is that it’s pretty much impossible.
Congress is in the midst of updating the legislation that funds the school lunch program, and Slow Food USA is doing their part to make sure that our legislators understand the dismal state that the school lunch program is currently in. Please consider taking part in their email campaign and sending your representatives a note to let them know you want our kids to be served good food.
We’re not talking gourmet meals, by any means—Jamie Oliver will not be the “lunch lady” at your local school. But by providing increased funding to reduce the amount of processed [garbage] that is served in school cafeterias and sold in school vending machines, our nation could simultaneously offer students better nutrition, have a legitimate shot at reducing incident rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, and other dietary health conditions, and provide better education to students about where food comes from and what constitutes a balanced meal.
Please send your congressional representatives an email today.