Paper Plates Campaign in the News!
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | No Comments
Check out the web version – with photos and a slideshow – here.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
S.F. students ask Pelosi for better school food
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
Something is wrong with my lunch!
The veggies are brown and have lost their crunch!
We want good food to munch!
We need healthy foods to learn and grow,
corn beans, and potatoes, ya know?
Please, please, please, please, etc.,
help us have better food.
Thank you,
Derek Kong
This is one of the many messages written on the paper plates S.F. public school students adorned with requests to improve public school food and presented yesterday to the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).
Students from 25 schools decorated over 2,000 paper plates with poems, splashes of paint, Chinese characters, illustrations of dancing fruit and vegetables–all heartfelt cries for better food in schools.
Lena Brook, a parent at Grattan Elementary and founder of the SF School Food Coalition <sfschoolfood.org> , organized the effort, and yesterday Brook brought all the plates to Jose Ortega Elementary School where the children’s art was handed over to Nancy Pelosi’s deputy district director Melanie Nutter at a special assembly.
The assembly kicked off with Jose Ortega P.E. teacher Michael Gomez leading the audience — some 260 kids, including my own daughter who attends the school — in jumping jacks, making the point that exercise is an important part of being healthy.
“Every one jump as high as you can,” Gomez called out.
The gymnasium seemed to be filled with giant frogs as the kids leaped high into the air.
Jose Ortega students Shania Dubose and Guenne Sarmient want to see fresher foods in S.F. public schools.
With a fresh head of lettuce and a loaf of organic bread in their hands, fifth graders Shania Dubose and Guenne Sarmient got up on stage and made their case for better food at school. “As members of the student body council we think the school should serve healthier food that kids want to eat,” one of them said.
And the Jose Ortega nutritionist Megan Blanton made a speech, “The food choices you make now will help you set a pattern for life-long healthy habits,” she said.
Next, Brook made a presentation and explained that she organized the Paper Plate Campaign because The Child Nutrition Act is moving through reauthorization in the coming weeks and months. The funding for school meals programs is allocated through the Child Nutrition Act. This is how San Francisco pays for the over $5 million meals served to the city’s public school children every year.
SFUSD’s food is provided by Chicago-based Preferred Meal Systems <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?blogid=46&entry_id=50855> , and while it meets the USDA standards and is considered “healthy,” it’s a far cry from the fresh-tasting meals that many students, parents and administrators would like to be served in local schools.
“By creating a strong and well-funded Child Nutrition Act, Congress has the power to give school districts and food service directors the resources they desperately need to improve school meals,” Brook said. “First and foremost, we ask that reimbursement levels be increased by at least $1 per child in order to improve food quality. Second, it is crucial that the 2010 Child Nutrition Act improve access to school food for more children by increasing reimbursement levels in high cost areas and revising income eligibility requirements to reflect the widely differing costs of living throughout the country.”
Currently, the Federal Government reimburses the district up to $2.70 per meal for those who qualify for free or reduced lunch–roughly more than half of all students in the SFUSD qualify. Unfortunately, only $1.75 of that money is actually spent on food. The remainder is used to fund operational expenses.
The assembly ended with Nutter accepting the bags brimming with paper plates and a board showing off 15 especially creative ones. “I will hang this in Pelosi’s office and she will see it when she’s back here in April,” Nutter said.
“Although it is a tough fiscal environment for all issues in Congress, the Speaker will continue to work with her colleagues to move the Child Nutritional Reauthorization Act soon since improving children’s health is one of the Speaker’s top priorities,” Nutter added. “I will make sure the Speaker knows of my visit here today and will relay your messages about the Child Nutrition Act to her.”
STUDENTS ASK PELOSI FOR BETTER SCHOOL FOOD
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | No Comments
March 9, 2010
SF School Food Coalition Press Release
Contact: Lena Brook, Founder, SF School Food Coalition
415-601-0504 | sfschoolfood@gmail.com
STUDENTS ASK PELOSI FOR BETTER SCHOOL FOOD
SAN FRANSICO – More than 2,000 paper plates created by SFUSD students from over 25 elementary schools and adorned with requests to improve public school food were presented today to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).
Students at Jose Ortega Elementary School in the city’s Ingleside district gave the plates to the Speaker’s staff at the school during an assembly about health and nutrition.
The plates are part of campaign to increase federal funding and improve nutrition standards for public school meal programs. Known as the “Paper Plates for Pelosi” campaign, the drive was launched last fall by the San Francisco School Food Coalition (SFSFC), a group of volunteers working to improve the food in the city’s public school system. The SF School Food Coalition (sfschoolfood.org) is a coalition of parents and advocates committed to creating a school food program that connects student health, academic achievement and positive behavior to eating fresh, high quality and good tasting food from sustainable resources.
“The fiscal and structural limitations of our National School Lunch Program has left food service directors with little choice but to serve low-cost, processed food.” Lena Brook, founder of the SFSFC and parent of a 1st grader at Grattan Elementary School said. “We are asking for Speaker Pelosi’s leadership in ensuring that the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act results in at least $1 in additional funding per child as well as revised nutrition standards based on recent recommendations presented by the Institute of Medicine.”
More than 25 schools within the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) participated in the campaign. Students decorated the plates with original art and messages, in three languages, about their desire for better tasting food. Some included artwork of fresh fruit and vegetable while others wrote poems about what kinds of food they’d like to have at lunch. Photos of the top 15 entries are available on the SF School Food Coalition’s website.
Currently, the Federal Government reimburses the district up to $2.70 per meal for those who qualify for free or reduced lunch—roughly more than half of all students in the SFUSD qualify. Unfortunately, only $1.75 of that money is actually spent on food. The remainder is used to fund operational expenses.
The funding for school meals programs is allocated through the Child Nutrition Act, which was originally authorized in 1966. The bill is up for reauthorization this spring.
“In addition to increasing resources for school meals, the 2010 Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act should also improve access to school meals for more children by increasing reimbursement rates and expanding eligibility for high-cost areas like San Francisco,” Brook said. “Congress has a golden opportunity before them to support health prevention by bringing healthier food to the children who need it most. San Francisco students are counting on their leadership.”
March 9th Media Advisory: Paper Plates for Pelosi Campaign
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
SAVE THE DATE
SAN FRANCISCO STUDENTS MAKE CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION A PRIORITY TO SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI’S DISTRICT STAFF
WHAT: NEWS CONFERENCE AND PRESENTATION OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENT-DESIGNED PAPER PLATES IN SUPPORT OF IMPROVED SCHOOL FOOD TO SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI’S DISTRICT STAFF WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK AND THE SAN FRANCISCO FOOD COALITION
WHEN: 8:30-9AM, TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010
WHERE: JOSE ORTEGA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 400 SARGENT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132 (Map )
The San Francisco Food Bank, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending hunger in San Francisco and the SF School Food Coalition, a coalition of parents and advocates committed to creating a school food program that connects student health, academic achievement and positive behavior to eating fresh, high quality and good tasting food from sustainable resources are pleased to inform you about a media opportunity that will take place tomorrow at Jose Ortega Elementary School at 8:30 AM. An assembly will be held to raise awareness of an issue that is mobilizing communities here in San Francisco and across the nation: the improvement of school food programs.
This spring, Congress is expected to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, which funds the National School Lunch Program. Thousands of SFUSD students decorated paper plates for Speaker Pelosi, asking for her leadership in securing more resources for better school food. This includes a more streamlined application process, additional funding for reimbursable meals, the expansion of cost-of-living adjustments, the passage of new food guidelines, and raising the eligibility income ceiling in high-cost areas like San Francisco. All of these improvements would expand access to the school meal program and bring in millions of dollars of much-needed government funds for healthy, higher quality food. SFUSD serves about 28,000 daily meals that qualify under Child Nutrition Act programs.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco School Food Coalition convenes at Jose Ortega Elementary to present the paper plates, while two staff members from the San Francisco Food Bank deliver samples to Nancy Pelosi’s office in the Capitol.
We would like to invite you to attend the paper plate presentation at Jose Ortega Elementary School. Additionally, your affiliate station in Washington D.C. may also find this to be a relevant topic as this issue is one of both local and national significance. It may make for an interesting segment to connect affiliate stations that cover both the San Francisco as well as the DC events.
For more information regarding the San Francisco event, contact:
Lena Brook, Founder, SF School Food Coalition/Grattan Elementary School parent, sfschoolfood@gmail.com
For more information regarding the Washington, DC event, contact:
Stacy Newman, Media Manager, San Francisco Food Bank, 415-282-1907 x270 or snewman@sffb.org
Photos of the top 15 entries are included below. All are available as high-resolution JPEGs.
SFUSD Meal Prepayment System Launched
Posted on | February 27, 2010 | No Comments
This news comes from SFUSD Student Nutrition Services. Thanks to SNPAC Member Caroline Grannan for the post.
It’s lunchtime: Do you know where your student’s lunch money is?
Now you will. SFUSD school cafeterias are launching a prepayment program called MealpayPlus that will increase convenience for families and speed up lunch lines. Student Nutrition Services is encouraging families to prepay for students’ school meals by the month, by the week or on their own schedule.
MealpayPlus allows families to register at www.mealpayplus.com and prepay by credit card, debit card or electronic check online or by phone. Families may also pay by check or cash at school, or may choose to send checks by mail. MealpayPlus will also allow families, including those who qualify for National School Lunch Program free or reduced-price meals, to view their students’ history of purchases in the cafeterias, so parents can see what their child is eating.
Other benefits of MealpayPlus include eliminating the need for children to carry cash to school, reducing cash losses, and helping the district meet all requirements set by the National School Lunch Program. The technology is now up and running at all SFUSD middle and high schools, and is going online at several elementary schools a week. It will be completed in all San Francisco public schools by the end of the school year. For families with children in more than one school, you will be notified by the school when the program is online. Schools will also send out forms for cash and check prepayments.
Jamie Oliver’s 2010 TED Prize Speech: Teach Every Child About Food
Posted on | February 15, 2010 | No Comments
Earlier this year, Jamie Oliver was awarded a 2010 TED prize honoring him for his food advocacy.
His wish for this prize is “… for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”
Here is a link to the video of his acceptance speech, where he speaks eloquently about the damage that obesity is doing to our youth and to the crucial importance of transforming school food environments. There is even a great visual about sugar-laden milk in schools.
Check it out below:
When it comes to school food…
Posted on | February 10, 2010 | No Comments
A picture really is worth a thousand words. Ever since I became involved with SF school lunch advocacy, I’ve been scheming to figure out a way to visually tell our story. To create first-hand visual narratives about what SFUSD students eat on a daily basis, about the challenges cafeteria workers face, and about the small successes emerging at schools where changes are being implemented like Balboa High School. In the meantime, as those plans develop, here are two compelling blogs that do a really nice job bringing to life images of school food.
The first, Fed Up: School Lunch Project, is a personal account of an Illinois teacher’s experiences as she eats school lunch on a daily basis in 2010. The year is still young but already, her chronicles are compelling, and the photos very worthwhile to peruse.
American Lunch Room is another blog dedicated to the visual representation of schools meals. Though this is also a relatively new effort, started in summer 2009, it is building an important archive of both unappetizing and pleasing school lunches. No submissions of SFUSD are on the site as of yet but the lone California representative – a Berkeley lunch of chicken tacos – does look delicious.
Tainted meat a continued risk for school lunch
Posted on | February 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
There doesn’t seem to be an end to the bad news when it comes to industrially-produced beef these days, and sadly a lot of the concerns intersect directly with the National School Lunch Program. Here are SFUSD, according to information provided by a member of the District’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee, we can feel slightly more at ease because our school lunch vendor, Preferred Meal Systems, has systems in place such as microbiological testing at all stages of production from incoming ingredients to finished products to ensure the safety of the food. This is apparently outlined in their bid proposal. They also say they have systems in place in the event of a recall of an ingredient like the beef, to ensure no product is tainted and that in the event such a product did exist, it would be swiftly recalled, hopefully long before it reaches the lunch trays.
SFUSD, like most other Districts in the country, is working hard on the user end to ensure that our kids are not sickened by tainted meat. This is too much responsibility for school districts to bear. The NSLP cannot continue to be a dumping ground for the meat industry’s dregs. With reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act upon us, there needs to public pressure to improve standards nationwide. And most importantly, increased budgets for higher quality meat when it is served.
My colleague Charles Margulis at the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland recently posted this piece on the Generation Green blog. If you are as compelled – and grossed out – by his excellent summation of all that is wrong with beef these days, read the rest here:
Hamburger Helper? Slime, Ammonia and Cow Shit
In our ongoing series “There’s WHAT in My Food?”, we submit for your reading pleasure (though probably not while you’re eating) our comments on a stunning New York Times investigation that exposed how an ammonia-treated beef filler used in 50% of the nation’s ground beef (possibly up to 80%, according to one industry source) has repeatedly been found contaminated with deadly e. coli and salmonella, despite claims that the ammonia-bathed product would actually eliminate the harmful bacteria.
Meat maker Beef Products Inc (BPI) created a product the beef industry loves. Prior to BPI’s innovation, the slimiest, nastiest slaughterhouse scraps were used primarily for pet food (while the fatty bits were rendered for various oil-based food and non-food products). But in the late 1990’s, BPI began experimenting with ways to take these dirty, feces-stained scraps and turn them into, well, dirty, feces-contaminated burger filler…
http://generationgreen.org/?p=661
SF Gate: Corn syrup removed from SFUSD chocolate milk
Posted on | January 15, 2010 | No Comments
An update on recent changes to SFUSD’s chocolate milk, written by Amy Graff at SFGate.com:
“The cartons of chocolate milk served in San Francisco Unified School District cafeterias will no longer contain the highly debated sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). A product containing sucrose will be offered to students beginning the first week in February.
Berkeley Farms, the dairy that supplies milk to SFUSD, decided to reformulate the chocolate milk due to multiple requests from the district’s Student Nutrition Director Ed Wilkins.
“Indeed there is a great deal of controversy regarding HFCS and its potential contributions to Type 2 Diabetes and childhood obesity,” Wilkins says. “The parents in this district have had major concerns about the additive for several years. I began working with our primary food and beverage suppliers a couple of years ago to eliminate or at least substantially limit HFCS in any products used in the SFUSD school meal program. I am grateful to Berkeley Farms for their proactive response to this important issue.”
Both plain and chocolate milk are available to kids who get lunch in the cafeteria in San Francisco public schools. As part of the National School Lunch Program, the district is required to provide two milk options, according to Wilkins. The district’s Student Nutrition & Physical Activity Committee has said that chocolate milk could be one of the two options, and the district made the choice to offer it.
While Student Nutrition Committee member Dana Woldow has concerns about the chocolate milk with sucrose still having too much added sweetener, she was happy to learn the news. “At least the concerns related specifically to HFCS have been eliminated,” Woldow says. “Just this week a study was released linking Monsanto’s genetically modified corn with organ damage in small mammals. Since most high fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn, this is just another example of why parents are so opposed to this substance being added to their children’s food.”
HFCS is cheaper than sucrose, and so it has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods, from breads and cereals to yogurts and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average, according to USA Today.
HFCS is highly controversial. Some people view it as a nutritional villain along the lines of trans-fat. Others argue that it’s no better or worse than sugar.
The actual research on high fructose corn syrup is fuzzy and insufficient, and a huge chunk of the money spent on researching HFCS has come from companies who make products with the ingredient. “But there’s more science coming out to say it’s an unhealthy ingredient,” says David Wallinga, a director at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “The American Society of Nephrology recently came out with a study indicating that HFCS consumption increases the risk of developing hypertension.”
But while there’s a trickle of studies indicating that HFCS could be harmful, some experts are saying that the sweetener is no different from sucrose. They argue that HFCS is not poison and that it’s simply sugar in a liquid form. The body metabolizes HFCS and sucrose in the same way, some experts say.
While the debate over HFCS is sorted out and new studies get underway, the American Medical Association has decided that “because the composition of HFCS and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that HFCS contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose. Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated the potentially differential effect of various sweeteners, particularly as they relate to health conditions as obesity…”
No matter, many San Francisco parents are happy about the removal of HFCS from their children’s milk. “I do see it as a slight victory,” says Maren Nymo, who sends her child to a public school in San Francisco. “I think its a great chance to reinforce the belief that foods ‘closest to the source, or earth’ are a better option than those that are made in labs. Its definitely a step in the right direction.”
While the HFCS-free milk is a step in the right direction, some would like to see an even bigger step taken and chocolate milk removed all together. “The quick response to SFUSD’s request from Berkeley Farms indicates that our District has significant leverage in the marketplace in terms of buying power, which can hopefully continue to be used to our advantage,” says Lena Brook, founder of the SF Food Coalition. “I commend Ed Wilkins for his responsiveness on this issue and his dedication to creating a healthy food program for SFUSD students. But I continue to have concerns about SFUSD students having daily access to beverages with added sugar. There is a significant body of research demonstrating the negative impact of various forms of sugar on health.”
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, encourages San Francisco parents to continue to fight for better food in their children’s schools. “It’s great that the public schools want to do something about the healthfulness of the school lunches and I know that many people believe that high fructose corn syrup is the worst thing ever,” says Nestle, “but it’s really just sugar and the switch to sucrose is about marketing, not health. If parents really want the lunches to be healthier, they need to work on cutting down on all kinds of sugars and start serving kids real food.”
Because SFUSD is required to serve two milk choices, you might think the district could simply offer 1-percent white milk and skim or 2-percent white milk. But getting rid of chocolate milk isn’t that easy. In fact, it’s rather complicated.
SFUSD is restricted by countless regulations that dictate what goes into public school children’s mouths. USDA sets minimum calorie levels for school meals, and limits on the amounts of fat and saturated fat. Because SFUSD has focused on reducing fat and empty calories in cafeteria items, the meals are now very close to the USDA minimums, and are based on a meal which includes either 1-percent white milk or skim chocolate milk. “Replacing skim chocolate milk with skim white milk would cause the calorie count of the meal to drop below the USDA-mandated minimum,” says Woldow, “while offering 2-percent white milk as the required second choice would exceed the fat content limits.” Again, it’s complicated.”
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=55267#ixzz0ciyLifd7
New Hope in the New Year
Posted on | January 12, 2010 | 1 Comment
Just before the holidays turned our collective attention to food in a somewhat different context, the Budget Committee of the SFUSD Board of Education met to hear reports from several District departments. Student Nutrition Services was one of them, and a group of parents and advocates – including two members of the SF School Food Coalition – were on hand to testify in support of retaining a strong budget for school food .
Nancy Waymack, the District’s Director of Policy and Resource Management, presented a very interesting PowerPoint to Board Members, outlining exactly what Student Nutrition Services provides as well as an update on the department’s fiscal circumstances.
Though by now, our brains are finely tuned to glaze over whenever the dreaded PowerPoint rears its ugly head, I have to say that I was riveted. Three main threads stood out for me and provided much inspiration as I contemplate what is on tap for our work in 2010.
First and foremost, what quickly emerged from the presentation was that we already have data proving that when investments are made in our school food program, student participation – the holy grail when it comes to success – rises. Better food and a well-managed program can be a reality and a win for all. This is great news!
Second, the SNS department spends A LOT of money on labor. To the tune of an average $92,714 per FTE (including benefits) – and we have less than 74 staff to manage the entire food program, at over 100 schools. What opportunities does this provide in terms of the future? Do we need more staff to run a strong program? Can we create higher-skilled jobs with this level of expenditure? This will be interesting to consider.
And finally, our Board members are getting behind the concept of change! Jill Wynns, Budget Committee Chair, asked Ms. Waymack to have the facilities department evaluate the feasibility of a central kitchen. Budget Committee member Rachel Norton spoke about the need to prioritize high school lunch participation. Sandra Fewer, Chair of the Curriculum and Program Committee, talked about creating a long-range plan for substantially improving school food and growing food for schools at schools!!!
Please continue to spread the word about the SFSFC – and join our monthly meetings, held in the Mission the 3rd Wednesday of each month (the next is January 20th). Contact Lena Brook at sfschoolfood@gmail.com for meeting details.
Sign-on letter in support of school food – for 12/15 Budget Committee Meeting
Posted on | December 11, 2009 | 5 Comments
The SFUSD Board of Education Budget Committee is meeting on Tuesday 12/15 at 5pm (555 Franklin St.) to discuss the Student Nutrition Services department budget, among other items. I highly encourage those of you who are able to make it to voice your support for SNS. Comments will be limited to 1-2 minutes and talking points can be found in the letter below.
This item will be heard between 5:30-5:45pm.
For those of you who will not be able to attend the 12/15 meeting in person, please consider adding your name to this sign-on letter. My goal is to gather as many signatories as possible by 12pm Tuesday, so please circulate this to your school communities as well. I will send this to the entire School Board and to Superintendent Carlos Garcia on Tuesday afternoon.
SEND YOUR NAME AND SCHOOL AFFILIATION TO SFSCHOOLFOOD@GMAIL.COM!!!
Download of copy of the letter HERE.
Please voice your opinion about chocolate milk in school lunches!
Posted on | November 20, 2009 | 7 Comments
The issue of chocolate milk being served at school lunch, like anything related to school food, in seemingly simple but in reality complex. Immediate change is unlikely, but the Student Nutrition Services department wants to respond to concerns that have recently emerged. This presents an excellent opportunity for the SFUSD student, parent and teacher community to voice your priorities on this issue.
I have set up a poll to generate more information about community opinion. If there is a standout response in any direction, the SFSFC will generate a letter regarding this issue to be shared with Superintendent Carlos Garcia, the Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee, and school Board members.
The poll will close in one week. Please spread the word!!
What is your opinion about chocolate milk in school lunches?
- Chocolate milk does not belong in the school lunch program. Phase it out next year. (41%, 13 Votes)
- If we can serve a higher quality chocolate milk with less hig fructose corn syrup/sugar, let's keep it as an option. (31%, 10 Votes)
- It is better for kids to drink chocolate milk than no milk at all. (28%, 9 Votes)
Total Voters: 32
Loading ...SFUSD students to Speaker Pelosi: Please improve school food!
Posted on | November 8, 2009 | No Comments
The paper plates are being collected all over the district, and they look fabulous. I am impressed with the thoughtful, cogent messages our students have for Speaker Pelosi. We are planning to deliver them en masse in early December. Stay tuned for more information! And in the meantime, here is a sampling of paper plates from students at Rooftop Elementary.
SFUSD Salad Bar Program Evaluation
Posted on | October 23, 2009 | 2 Comments
The SFUSD salad bar program was created in response to several high priority issues. The program was funded by the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families and the Mayor’s Office. Salad bars were rolled out at 25 schools during the 2007-2008 school year, including eight elementary schools, six middle schools, and six high schools. An evaluation of the salad bar program was conducted recently, as a joint effort across several agencies and non-governmental organizations.
For those interested in learning more about SFUSD’s salad bar program, the project evaluation can be downloaded here.
Compliance issues with SFUSD School Lunch Program
Posted on | October 21, 2009 | No Comments
“Since April, the school district has had to pony up the $1.5 million monthly cost of the lunch program for low-income students after state inspectors on a surprise visit found violations they deemed so serious and recurring that they cut off the flow of federal reimbursements.”
Today’s SF Chronicle (and sfgate.com) brought attention to the fact that SFUSD has been cited for serious violations of the National School Lunch Program, enough so that federal reimbursement has been withheld for six months. From where I sit, this is a sympton of a decades long decline in investment in this program, in combination with what appear to arcane and arbitrary rules put forth by the program architects at the USDA. I am hoping that when inspectors return to our schools this fall, they will find us back in compliance and reinstate reimbursements. And that this experience sparks the much needed culture change around food at SFUSD.
You can find the article here.
What do you think? What can parents do to help?
“Paper Plates for Pelosi” – Great Start!
Posted on | October 20, 2009 | 1 Comment
Our Paper Plates for Pelosi campaign is off to a great start, with close to 20 schools participating! I am really excited to show Speaker Pelosi how strongly SFUSD students feel about healthy, fresh food at school. More and more evidence emerges nearly daily about the need for both reform of the program and a substantially greater allocation of resource. Thank you to all the volunteers, and parent coordinators!
Keep spreading the word and supporting the teachers, principals and garden coordinators who are making idea a reality!
We are planning to collect the decorated plates during the week of November 9th. Stay tuned for more details.
The following schools are working on Paper Plates for Pelosi:
Buena Vista; Monroe; Rooftop; Grattan; Flynn; Sunset; RL Stevenson; Ulloa; Francis Scott Key; Commodore Sloat; Fairmount; Jefferson; McKinley; Sunnyside; Creative Arts Charter; Miraloma; Claremont; Argonne; John Yehall Chin;