The Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago Public Schools agreed on Wednesday to implement a universal, in-class breakfast program for all of its 410,000 students. Here in Houston we’ve already implemented the same program district-wide, and for those unfamiliar with it, “in-class breakfast” means just that: children receive a free breakfast (regardless of economic need) and [...]
{ 11 comments }
Yesterday I hastily posted about the USDA’s proposed new regulations for school food, but because I was burdened with a lengthy To-Do list and a doctor’s appointment that ran late, I don’t think I did this topic justice. So let me lay it out in terms that will get your attention: The new school food [...]
{ 12 comments }
Well, the first annual “Janet Poppendieck Day” on TLT is drawing to a close. The festivities are winding down, and the clean-up following the ticker-tape parade is underway. Tomorrow I’ll resume the usual kid-and-food blogging, but for now I’ll leave you with one last bit of JP goodness – her recent interview with Charles Stuart Platkin, [...]
{ 0 comments }
Ever since I started the The Lunch Tray, I’ve wanted to share with you the provocative central thesis of Janet Poppendieck’s book, Free for All: Fixing School Food in America, which is that school food should be universal and free, regardless of students’ economic need. Upon hearing this idea, most people shake their heads at [...]
{ 8 comments }
Last Friday, Janet Poppendieck had a thought-provoking piece in the Washington Post entitled, “Five Myths About School Food,” in which she takes on five common misunderstandings about the school lunch program, namely that: School meals are free for the children who really need them. Most students who don’t participate in the National School Lunch Program [...]
{ 5 comments }
In case you haven’t checked your calendars this morning, it’s Janet Poppendieck Day here on TLT! Who is Janet Poppendieck? She’s a professor of sociology at Hunter College, City University of New York. But regular TLT readers know that she’s also my BSLG (beloved school lunch guru) and I can truthfully say that I would [...]
{ 3 comments }
Last week I toured a Houston middle school for the first time with my husband and daughter. Now, ever since I started blogging about school food, I’ve been hearing from middle school parents, “If you think elementary is bad — just wait!” As I fretted over the availability of “a la carte” ice cream sandwiches [...]
{ 11 comments }
Yesterday, TLT guest blogger and Recipe for Success founder, Gracie Cavnar, called for a school lunch boycott this week to send a message of protest regarding the current state of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Gracie and I clearly support the same goals — improved school food and the elimination of junk food on [...]
{ 9 comments }
[Ed. Note: Recently a Lunch Tray reader asked a very basic question -- how can one parent begin to change school food? I responded to the reader in a series three posts: Part One offered advice for bringing about change at the classroom level (e.g., teacher rewards and snacks); Part Two dealt with changing the school-wide food culture (fundraisers, [...]
{ 4 comments }
Last week I chose a random day to visit my children’s cafeteria and here’s what was being served: To the right is pepperoni pizza, to the left is Frito Pie, and both were served with mashed potatoes, green beans and an apple. (The child on the right had declined the potatoes and had purchased an [...]
{ 10 comments }
