We Do that Really Well
September 30th, 2009We don’t have this challenge. The cooks in the cafeteria rock, and though much of it might be reheated, a ton is made by hand, and there’s usually something tasty made by someone with talent.
It matters. You would be amazed at the number of kids who walk into school hungry. When parents are gone before the bus rolls around in order to get to work, there isn’t much in the way of eggs and bacon waiting on America’s table-tops.
Fortunately, MRHS now allows food in the classroom to teacher discretion. I’ve never had a problem with it (though in a lab, that’s another story… let’s not get into the habit of putting things in our mouths in chemistry…) and it allows kids to snack when they’re hungry.
Which just makes sense. Every person I know brought something to munch on to class in college—especially those three hour long sessions.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Hmm…just throwing this out there…..
*Schools try and instill a sense of community, healthy living, and entrepreneurship.
*Local farmers are part of the community, are a cornerstone of healthy living, and are the original entreprenuer.
Farmers grow food.
Kids need to eat.
Therefore, maybe one of these days some genius will think to combine the two?
Unfortunately much of the food in our schools comes from the government, in weekly shipments. Our government subsidizes unsustainable, corporate owned “BigAgriculture”.
When people tell me that the government is in shackles my Big Oil, it makes me wonder a little, because much of our petroleum usage goes to BigAg. I wonder if the government’s “addiction” to Big Oil is just a side effect of what they’re really hooked on, CORN. Not the seemingly innocent sweet corn you buy at a stand down the road from your house, not just the creamed canned corn, or frozen nibblers. Not even just popped, or in chips. Corn is in EVERYTHING. And most of all subsidized(usually GMO) corn is in our school lunches. An alarming percentage of the carbon in our bodies is corn-derived. Chicken nuggets, crackers, salad dressing, CheezWhiz, ice cream, juice, ketchup…..the list is almost endless. The government doesn’t subsidize small farmers. They aren’t the recipients of the million dollar grants our leaders give out. Many family farms are going under because they can’t compete with the mutant-food in the grocery stores. Many things I hesitate to even call food anymore…”edible food-like substances” seems more accurate.
If our schools could decide whether to use the money the government gives away to BigAg in their own communities, would so many farmers be going under? Would our kids be healthier? Would our COMMUNITIES be better off?