Saturday, November 14, 2009

School junk food -- chicagotribune.com




School junk food -- chicagotribune.com:

"I am a pediatrician on Chicago's North Side and have two children who attend a Chicago Public Schools school, Inter-American Magnet. I became the chair of our school's fledgling parent nutrition committee this year.

Our committee hasn't even met once this year yet, but in trying to recruit members, I have been asked several questions by parents regarding the quality and selection of food offered at our school's breakfast and lunch."

One mom of a kindergartener told me that her child comes home with her home-packed lunch uneaten because she is bused to school and then eats Froot Loops and a doughnut for breakfast. As a parent, I rarely let my kids buy school lunch until another parent applied for and won a grant for our school that started a lunchtime salad bar.

Now my kids get salad bar twice a week and love it. (Mind you, they will not eat vegetables I pack from home.) I still do not let them eat the school lunch on other days as it is filled with what I call "carnival food": nachos, pizza, corn dogs. I have had discussions about the food selection and the point has been made that the intersection between healthy school food and food that kids will eat is very narrow.