A new study indicates a link between school food and overweight/obesity, as discussed by Ed Bruske in today's Cafeteria Confidential article. (Ed Bruske also wrote an excellent series on cafeteria meals, Tales from a D.C. School Kitchen.)
I pulled this quote as I felt it said so much about this issue:
But this latest study points to something even more ominous that should occupy the attention of federal lawmakers: a growing bifurcation of the food system wherein poor kids are routinely subjected to cheap processed food that damages their health, while kids from wealthier families get access to the best our local farms have to offer. That is the underlying message of the growing Farm to School movement: that all kids deserve fresh, wholesome food, not just the ones whose parents shop at Whole Foods or the farmers market.
More studies like this one will undoubtedly show that school food quality is a social justice issue that demands immediate attention. And while some politicians might be loathe to pay for improving it -- that is, if they think about it at all -- it is also a health issue with potentially devastating consequences for the national budget.
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