Are Fatty Foods Addictive?

How can anything on my plate be compared to serious drugs like heroin and cocaine? How is it possible that we are feeding our children addictive foods and not expecting it to make a difference in their lives? How can we expect children to make a nutritious decision when faced with either a salad or a highly addictive cheeseburger?

These are some of the things I have been wondering when I hear both sides of arguments about school lunch reform. Of course the children are going to pick a cheeseburger over a salad if they are addicted to it. Cheese is a highly addictive food.read more:

http://plantingprogress.org/

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver's food revolution has been sweeping the country for a while now and it is obvious why. He is a leader in transforming the way we think about school lunches, health and nutrition. He seeks detailed answers for obvious questions like, why can't we make our school meals healthier? Jamie brings together people from all over the world to recognize our childhood obesity epidemic and help school lunch reform.

He states some pretty disturbing facts on his website (http://www.jamieoliver.com/school-dinners/facts-and-figures):

• One quarter of teenagers are already obese.

• 14% of boys and 17% of girls between the ages of two and 15 are overweight.

• Nearly one quarter of adults are already obese.

• Kids with fat parents are twice as likely to become obese.

• Kids who are obese by the age of 12 are 85% more likely to remain obese into adult life.

• Kids who are obese in their early teens are twice as likely to die by the age of 50.

This is part of the reason why we need school lunch reform! We need to educate our children about nutrition so they can begin to think for themselves and make healthy life style decisions. We are not being fair to our youth if we raise them on food that is bound to kill them.

Fruits & Vegetables

The USDA has started The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. It is a federally assisted program that provides all students in selected elementary schools either a free or reduced price of a wide variety of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables.

With the goal of improving children’s overall diet and creating healthier eating habits, to also impacting their present and future health The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program offers educational information as well federal assistance. They have created a tool kit which includes Webcasts, templates, PowerPoint presentations, fact sheets and resources from state agencies to help you build a successful Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program in your school.

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program works by granting each school participating in the program between $50.00 ‐ $75.00 per student for the school year.   Fresh fruits and vegetables are purchased to serve free to students with these funds during the school day.  However, there are some guidelines involved.  The fruit and vegetables are not included in either breakfasts or lunches and  must be served in times between meals.

Here you can find State and Local Resources for your school:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/FFVP/Toolkit/FFVPfindresources.htm

These resources include menus, nutrition information, lesson plans and other fun facts.