Initiative for a Healthy Lifestyle through Food: Think Global, Eat Local

INITIATIVE FOR HEALTHY LIFESTYLE THROUGH FOOD: ‘THINK GLOBAL, EAT LOCAL’ KATIE CUMMINGS, ALICIA HALE, ANDREA HATLELI, ABBI LACARTE, UFRA MIR
INTRODUCTION
The topic of nutrition and its relation to health has been looked at for many centuries. However, because of the recent rise in obesity in the United States, it has become a main topic for discussion and research. According to Emily Sohn’s (2005) article “Generation XXXL”, obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980. In children ages six to 11 the rate has tripled. Children have little control over what they eat; school breakfasts and lunches are outside of even parental control. This has caused a great amount of research to be done on the nutrition of school lunches. Researchers have looked at the nutrition of the lunches and how to make lunches more nutritious, which has led to changes in government regulations that contribute to better lunches. The recent W. K. Kellogg foundation for food and fitness initiative has put Decorah in a place to make changes through the help of the Northeast Iowa Community Coalition. We feel that Decorah schools, while taking the step to healthier school lunches by abiding by federal mandates, could improve hot lunches by introducing more fresh fruits and vegetables.
However, choices for healthy foods are not always easy when in school. Many high schools have a la carte lines that offer a wide array of unhealthy snacks. Mary Story, Karen Kaphingst, and Simone French (2006) looked at the food system in schools. They noted that while hot lunches are provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are hence subject to government nutrition regulations, the snack bars and lines are not. The schools are forced to sell “popular but nutritionally poor foods” in order to keep financially afloat (p.109). These authors suggest reducing the fat content in the snacks and making more vegetables and fruits available.
In the 2002-2003 school year the USDA implemented the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program that provided 25 schools in four states with fresh vegetables and fruits as well as dried fruits. Fruits and vegetables could be purchased from any venue, and many schools chose to use local farmers and organic growers. Each school received approximately $94 per student with the condition that the foods would not be presented during the traditional meal period. However, many schools received additional funding to offset additional nonfood costs such as prepared fruit trays. The program was an overall success. School staff reported that students were more aware of healthy food options, brought less unhealthy snacks from home, and reduced nurse visits. The only setback to this study was that most schools could not maintain the program without the additional funding provided (Buzby, Guthrie, & Kantor, 2003).
Because fresh fruits and vegetables in schools can decrease unhealthy calorie intake and thereby reduce obesity and overweight, our group felt that it was in Decorah’s interest to take a step in the direction of more fresh fruits and vegetables. A variety of foods may raise children’s awareness to the many options of healthy and satisfying snack options available. It may also increase their knowledge about the ties between health and eating. Our group therefore felt it necessary to use this knowledge to help the students of Decorah schools. As the USDA pilot study showed, including these foods could be pricey and therefore unobtainable. However, there is a great market for local fruits and vegetables available at comparable prices to those being currently purchased.

Luther Suggestions According to Luther’s Sustainability Coordinator, Caleb Mattison, incorporating more local foods into schools is a fairly viable concept. The best way to approach initiating a local foods program into schools is by starting with a small, realistic goal. Mattison first suggests introducing one to two items into the menu versus an entire meal. By starting with just a few items versus the entire meal this reduces both the time and work it takes to process whole foods, i.e. a frozen chicken or potatoes, and thus creates a more feasible approach. The next step to ensure that the one or two local items chosen are in a similar price range as those items bought from the processing distributor, such as apples and pears (see chart for more price comparisons). By starting with small steps and realistic goals introducing a local foods program into the Decorah schools is an achievable task. PROS:- Local food has more nutrient value because of the freshness. Local food consumption would increase the local economy by increasing demand. Parents are satisfied in knowing where their children’s food is coming from. Students can improve their diets when good options from local farms are available. Foods such as apples and pears are of equal monetary value compared to distributors. They also require little preparation to use. CONS:- Processing some food could be time-consuming. For example potatoes need to be cleaned and peeled or chopped. However, availability of a wide variety can combat this problem; for instance, one could easily consume lettuce which just needs to be washed before consuming. Some items may be costly to purchase, but others are not. Current funding may also be used towards local foods. It is advisable to start small at first, which would be economically beneficial. References Buzby, J. C., Guthrie, J. F., Kantor, L. S. (2003). Evaluation of the USDA fruit and vegetable pilot program. Retrieved October 24, 2008, from http://ers.usda.gov/publications/efan03006/efan03006.pdf Caballero, B. (2004). Obesity prevention in children: opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Obesity, 28, S90-S95. Abstract retreived October 3, 2008, from PsychINFO database. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2005). About BMI for children and teens. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_BMI/about_ childrens_BMI.htm Ellis, N. R. (2008). The effect of nutrition knowledge on food choices and body mass index percentile rankings of elementary school children: results from an in-school nutrition education program. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 68(8-B), 5145. Abstract retrieved October 3, 2008, from PsychINFO database. Olver, L. (2004). Food timeline-American public school lunches. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodschools.html Preston, S. H. (2005). Deadweight? – The influence of obesity on longevity [Electronic Version]. New England Journal of Medicine, 352, 1135-1137. Sohn, E. (2005). Generation XXXL [Electronic Version]. Minnesota Monthly. Story, M., Kaphingst K. M., French, S. (2006). The role of schools in obesity prevention. TheFuture of Children, 16(1), 109-142. Abstract retrieved October 3, 2008, from PsychINFO database. ABSTRACT Eating locally is one way to help support local economy. Implementing locally grown fruits and vegetables into the schools of Decorah will help our community and its farmers thrive and grow. By presenting an informational binder to the food coordinator of the Decorah public schools we were able to provide facts dealing with the pros and cons of eating locally, suggestions from Luther about how to get started, along with funding and contact information. Hopefully this provided information will be beneficial and be put to use in order to implement locally grown foods into the schools within the next five years.

Initiative for a Healthy Lifestyle through Food: Think Global, Eat Local

by iowafoodandfitness on Jan 13, 2009

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