What's for Lunch? School Lunches Not Good Enough

What's wrong with this picture?

Children need nutritionally sound meals to nourish their growing bodies and minds. They also need healthy meals to help reverse the alarming trend we now see: more kids that are obese, have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases that used to be primarly found in adults.

A Healthy Lunch?
Sadly, most children and adolescents are getting very poor nutrition. Less than 1/4 of kids get the recommended number of fruits and vegetables per day and further, kids are eating way too much salt, fat and sugar - many kids consuming 23 servings per week - or 184 teaspoons sugar - of sugary beverages (the AHA recommendation is less than six teaspons per day).

The CEO of the American Heart Association, Nancy Brown, has a great piece here that talks in more detail about why it is critical that we do something, and soon, to improve the foods we feed our children. Lest you think it impossible, many countries already see the importance of feeding schoolchildren healthy and nutritious food. For an interesting look at what school children are eating beyond our borders, check here.

How you can help change this.

Right now the Child Nutrition Act is before the House, having already passed the Senate. This Act provides the federal authorization for funding schools nutrition programs. With nearly all states cutting funding for public schools, this federal funding is critical to ensuring that schools have sufficient funds to purchase nutritious food - which sadly, is often more costly than high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar foods. This Act also places a priority on healthy foods not just any food.

Join us in telling your legislator that this Act is important and needs to pass! Go here: http://www.capitolconnect.com/yourethecure/letter.aspx?AlertID=16216 and send an email to your legislator asking him or her to vote "yes" on this bill.