Two days ago, the Los Angeles Times ran an opinion piece by Robert Gottlieb, director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, with an update on school food in the Los Angeles Unified School District. While the piece is notable for its failure to make any mention of Jamie Oliver (who made LAUSD his target on last season’s “Food Revolution”), it does offer an overview of recent, promising changes in the district:
. . . a new food procurement approach was established. Instead of relying as much on commodity foods from the government and single-item purchases, new vendors or suppliers were selected in part on the basis of their ability to increase the portion of fresh fruits and vegetables supplied by farmers operating within a 200-mile range. Costs for the food purchased with this goal in mind turned out to be lower.
Even more dramatic have been the menu changes introduced this fall. Out are the canned cherries and apples that went into sugar-laden desserts. Flavored milk is no longer offered. Cafeterias now feature fresh local apples and strawberries and plain, low-fat milk. Hyper-refined mac and cheese and fatty, cheese-laden pizza have been replaced with more healthful entrees. And the new menu items reflect the region’s cultural diversity, with offerings such as tamales filled with vegetables,vegetarian sushi and Greek salad.
What was disheartening to me was the reaction to these changes in some quarters. According to Gottlieb:
Some critics have accused the district of creating an “elitist” menu. One principal complained that it was a “chef’s menu,” while a parent argued that the food was “better than what the students should be getting.” Attempting to develop more cultural diversity caused one parent to complain that the district was not serving “American food,” while another argued that the food was “too much what the people in Los Angeles look like.”
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I e-mailed Professor Gottleib yesterday asking for more details on his statement in the op-ed that early indications showed students embracing the new menu; still waiting for a response.
Meanwhile, this blog offers a different perspecive on the LAUSD cafeterias; the comments are kind of discouraging.
http://tinyurl.com/6ybngb3
Thanks for linking my blog post over, Dana! When I wrote it, I was laughing about how pathetic my blog was for writing out school lunch choices! After I saw the Op-Ed piece this past Sunday, I realized that maybe my post had some greater relevancy.
One thing I learned from the comments on my blog was that LAUSD provides the same lunch to everyone, whether they be a 5-year old kindergartner or an 18-year old high school senior. I hadn’t realized that! My main beef with the new lunches was that the menu was too exotic for the younger palates. My 7-year old feels the food is just too spicy!
I’m all for LAUSD trying to improve the quality and healthiness of the food it serves! That’s great! But it’s also important for the kids to eat it.
I also don’t think chocolate milk is the root of all evil. I don’t. My basic feeling is if healthier nutrients come from it, the extra sugar is better than kids tossing out unflavored milk that wasn’t consumed.
Anyway, I’m pleased that a link to my post made it’s way onto your blog. I was so disappointed that Robert Gottlieb didn’t interview me on my insightful post for his Op-Ed piece. Although I can’t say that I was surprised!
Nevertheless, I think my concerns were a tad bit more constructive than the ones he posted in his piece.
I’ve sometimes wondered what the perception meals would be if school meals were free for everyone (proposed in Janet Poppendieck’s book – “Free for All.”… if there’s concern when the cost is $1, would people be happy that the meal was provided or even more wary because there would be a perception that it would be even worse if free?
I wrote more on this here:
http://tinyurl.com/3ckb2fo
My 5 year old too complains that more often than not that the food is too spicy and not just the ” Wings of Fire” they frequently serve and I do feel like they are trying to cater to just the Latino population … I don’t know who to voice my concerns to or if it will even be heard so looks like we will be brown bagging it still…at least i know exactly what goes in her lunch
Kiki – thanks for your comment. It’s interesting to get feedback from someone in LAUSD, since I’m writing from Houston ISD and readers of this blog come from all over. If you do want to issue a complaint, there is likely a number you can call for LA USD food services. I know we have a help line like that here in HISD and it is, supposedly, paid attention to.