Between 2011-13, I undertook the misguided and exhausting project of writing and administering two blogs at once: The Lunch Tray, which then featured daily posts, and a second blog devoted exclusively to Houston ISD school food news.
In naming the second blog, I decided to use an iconic symbol of today’s school food – the flimsy plastic spork:
To my mind, the spork represents so much of what’s wrong about school meals these days: the emphasis on highly-processed, better-for-you junk food items eaten by hand (e.g., nuggets and pizza) versus whole foods that require a knife and fork; ever-shorter lunch periods, which also encourage the serving of hand-held food; and the environmental waste generated by the widespread use of polystyrene trays, plastic sporks and plastic serving cups.
But the era of the spork may now be coming to a close, at least in larger districts around the country.
Last week, the Washington Post reported that the Urban School Food Alliance (USFA), a forward-thinking group of six large urban school districts, is using its considerable joint purchasing power to replace the spork with compostable forks, spoons and knives, a change that reportedly will affect 2.8 million children in 4,500 schools.
Earlier, important USFA initiatives have included switching from polystyrene trays to compostable round plates and imposing an antibiotic-free standard on its chicken suppliers. The hope in all of these cases is that as USFA uses its influence to shape supplier practices and prices, other, smaller districts will be able to follow suit.
That trickle-down process is likely to be accelerated by a new partnership (announced in October, but somehow I missed it) between the USFA and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to expand the USFA’s influence on food manufacturers by bringing thousands of smaller districts into the fold. According to the Alliance, the two groups plan to their combined $3 billion in purchasing power to:
Challenge manufacturers to formulate food that ensures students receive nutritious AND delicious meals, meeting, and even exceeding, USDA guidelines.
Challenge vendors to schools to create new food-related supplies that incorporate green practices that strengthen the health and wellness of students and preserve our environment.
Work with vendors, farmers and related organizations to join the effort and increase local procurement of fresh quality food and supplies, while reducing our carbon footprint.
Create easy-to-use procurement tools and resources to allow districts engaged with the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program to access this unprecedented purchasing power.
Develop a training and mentoring program that will allow the Urban School Food Alliance to share its tried and true best practices with all the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program districts.
This is all excellent news for school districts and school kids. I’ll keep you posted here.
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