My interest in Nutrition, Health and Healing culminated during my senior year of undergrad when I successfully treated my own severe Depressive episode with diet and vitamin supplements. Since then, I have dabbled in the science of diet, learned how it affects mood, behavior and overall health. I went on and Mastered in Counseling Psychology and assist my clients in creating behavioral goals that include healthy eating habits. It turns out, no matter how hard you try, you just cannot separate mental/emotional health from the brain and the body. The two always co-exist and depend on a balance of nutrients for optimum functioning. I am always interested in (nosy about) what the students are eating at home and at school. I’ve had way too many successful interventions with sick, tired, dizzy or “otherwise affected” students with just a bowl of oatmeal or cup of hot tea! The obvious lack of adequate morning nutrition aside, lunch at our school had recently changed and I was excited to see it!
I believe that First Lady, Michelle Obama and Celebrity Chef/Activist, Jamie Oliver collectively generated successful change in the large, backward bureaucracy of LAUSD and our school lunches finally changed for the better! My excitement quickly shifted to disdain, despair and desperation when I saw all the fresh fruit, vegetables and milk they were being given piled up in trash cans! No, No, NO! This cannot be what these distinguished leaders had in mind!
I plead to our small batch of administrators and educators that we work together to do a better job to reduce waste and educate our students about healthy eating. The decision was unanimous, that the teachers save/collect all the unwanted perishables, give them to me at the end of each day and that I teach a Food & Nutrition Class for the summer session! Funny how your job description enlarges whenever you present as knowledgeable and passionate about something! However, it was a step in the right direction, and it could buy me some extra time to figure out how to appeal to the student population and teachers to change some pretty unhealthy habits.
The first obvious oversight was that portions of fresh vegetables were individually packaged and delivered in raw form. Spinach, carrots, celery, and broccoli mostly. I love all of these veggies and each is a wonderful thing to provide, but in raw form? Seriously? To Middle and High-Schoolers? Good. But certainly not good enough! I could not, in good conscience, blame the students for not going near these green giants once I realized that I wouldn’t even eat them raw, unprepared or without at least a little salad dressing!
So I decided upon and designed a curriculum for my Food & Nutrition class. For 4 weeks, three days a week, we would have interactive food activities (tasting), instruction and discussion. Since our small school lacks a kitchen and most all other essential supplies, it would not, could not be a cooking class, I’d have to prepare everything myself and teach the students how to prepare veggies in simple, appealing ways. Each prep session involving the school food left piles of produce, cellophane and other packaging (see photos). Certainly, this cannot be the most cost-effective, efficient, sustainable way of serving food.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution emphasises how far removed we are from where our food originates. Ignorance breeds in this kind of veiled environment. Out of sight, out of mind. Right now, our school’s staff drives to another school to pick up lunches delivered there from a centralized kitchen somewhere in Los Angeles (I have yet to figure out where this is). There are still so many questions about the food. Are the veggies being packaged there? Are they locally grown? Organic? How have they been washed? Are there any preservatives added? Why aren’t the veggies prepared into salads that are flavorful and appealing? Could schools be reimbursed for seasonings or salad dressings if they choose to prepare foods for students so that they will at least try them?
Please, feel free to write any comments you may have on this issue and stay tuned for more submissions from me on this topic. This is a discussion worth having and our kids need to hear more strong voices singing the praises of health and wellness. Our quality of life depends on it!