By Wylie Harris
Text of Radio Piece
Aired on Touchstone Radio, KEOS 89.1
First aired August 24, 2004
Listen online at: http://www.rtis.com/touchstone/tsradio/static/cd41-09.html
Complaining about lousy cafeteria lunches is a time-honored tradition among schoolkids everywhere. As kids head back to class all across Texas this term, they'll be seeing – and tasting – a few changes. Last July, the state Department of Agriculture became the administrative agency for federal school breakfast and lunch programs. Now, in order to continue to qualify for the programs, districts have to comply with the guidelines in the department's new Public School Nutrition Policy, which took effect on August 1st.
Those guidelines are oriented toward feeding kids healthier fare than what they've been getting. In particular, they try to steer schools clear of so-called "Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value," including soft drinks, water ices, gum, and some kinds of candy. Under the new policy, elementary schools can't provide access to FMNVs until the end of the last class period, and no one's allowed to sell or give them away on campus. In middle and high schools, the restrictions are less severe. The new policy also frowns at fried foods and foods containing refined or added sugar; the size and frequency of servings of these foods are limited. Competitive foods, defined as those that compete with the school's operation of national breakfast, lunch, and snack programs, are also restricted to certain times and places, again depending on the level of the school.
The nutrition policy contains some proactive elements along with all these "don'ts:" do offer fruits and vegetables daily wherever other food is served, do offer 2 %, 1 %, or skim milk wherever milk is served, and do have all fruit and vegetable juices made from 100 % real juice by the start of the 2006-7 school year.
By and large, the response to this policy has been overwhelmingly positive, and with good reason. Texas has an even higher level of overweight obesity among school-age children than the national average, at 35 %. That's double the rate of 20 years ago. Children overweight at age 12 have a 75 % chance of remaining that way as adults, increasing their risk for a variety of diseases. With the state currently grappling with a budget shortfall, and spending $ 4 to 5 billion a year on obesity-related medical bills, the link between its economic health and the physical health of its future citizens is no imaginary one.
Still, there are a few of the inevitable naysayers. By shutting food vendors out of schools, their thinking goes, the policy cuts off a revenue stream for cash-strapped districts. At the same time, it requires them to buy new ovens so that they can bake rather than fry certain foods. But this ignores the fact that some of the $100 million dollars that the new policy keeps out of vending machines may well find its way into school cafeterias instead, and the cost of ovens is only pennies per taxpayer.
Meanwhile, another Texas Agriculture Department program for schools may offer a different economic boost to small schools and rural communities. This one's called "Farm to School," and it means what it says. Federal nutrition dollars get earmarked for fresh produce grown within the state to be purchased for local districts, providing nutritious fruits and vegetables for schoolkids, and a $2 million market for Texas farmers. Last year, 112 districts and over a million children participated in different parts of the state.
More information on both programs is available at the Texas Department of Agriculture website, http://www.agr.state.tx.us. Too often, Texas lags behind the rest of the nation. This time, Ag Commissioner Susan Combs and her staff deserve praise for setting a positive example.