 Dear Dr. Susan,
As you may know, March is National Nutrition Month®. Most
schools across the country are doing something to highlight this
important theme.
Here are a few fun ideas that you can use in your community or at home.
Math Quiz! Have students calculate the amount
of sugar in 20 oz. bottles of cola, lemonade, orange soda, sports
drinks and those silly "water" drinks.
It's tricky! First you have to figure out that you need to
multiply the grams of sugar on the label by the # of
servings ( 20 oz bottle is 2.5 servings), then you have to convert
grams to teaspoons ( 4 grams = 1 teaspoon). Teachers assure me that
this is a 4th grade level math problem.
Taste tests are always fun. Try tasting organic strawberries vs. conventional, can kids tell the difference?
Carrots and rasperries work well too.
Another fun taste test: try bottled water vs. filtered
water. This is a great place to talk about environmental impact of
bottled water. Where do all those bottles come from and where do they
go?
How much water do we use to make a bottle of water?
 Some schools are having a "no junk food week".
If your school is participating in no junk food pledge, encourage your
food service manager to agree to NOT sell chips and all the other
packaged snacks for the week. Have them sell real food instead: fresh
fruits and vegetables.
We want to know what you're planning for National Nutrition Month®. Please send us
your success stories and share with us your obstacles. We are here to
support you in advocating for better school food every month of the
year.
Have a great month!
Dr. Susan Rubin, Founder, Better School Food
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What's New at BSF
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BSF is proud to announce that two great companies: Teich Garden Systems and DietDectetive
have both, very generously, decided to donate a portion of their
profits to BSF. Teich Garden Systems custom designs and installs
sustainable earth friendly gardens of all sizes, shapes and budgets.
DietDectective.com sells healthy living products that are cute,
creative, stylish and healthy!
Spring is on the way. This is a perfect time to plan a garden. Where to start? Participate in our Teleconference on March 6th featuring Organic Gardener extraordinaire Mimi Edelman, or begin by checking out our new School Gardens
page for some excellent resources. If space or land is scarce there's a
solution: Earthbox®. They provide special garden programs for educators
with Pre-K-12th grade standards-based curriculum support packages.
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Research
corroborates that students who participate in school garden projects
discover fresh food, make healthier food choices, and are physically
more active. Teachers relate that students eat what they grow. Evidence
shows children who plant and harvest their own fruits and vegetables
are more likely to eat them.
Finally, are foods being used in
your child's school to reward or punish behavior? We put together
some alternatives to replace sweet treats used to entice our kids in
school, and at home. Download "Food Rewards" under the Supplies section on our website.
 
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FoodNews:
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| Two states find that, contrary to popular believe, kids embrace change. A University of Minnesota study
has found that school lunch sales don't decline when healthier meals
are served, and that more nutritious lunches don't necessarily cost
schools more to produce. Data for 330 Minnesota school districts
were analyzed to derive recommendations for improving the nutritional
quality of school lunches.
The study also pointed out that
school districts are allowed to charge their lunch programs for
indirect costs such as electricity or janitorial services for their
cafeterias. The authors said that can be abused by cash-strapped
districts charging their lunch programs high overhead; they recommen ded tighter limits on those charges.
The state of Oregan passed the Healthy Foods for Healthy Students bill. Starting in the 2008-09 school year, the law will get the worst junk foods out of schools by specifying nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold in vending machines, student stores and a la carte lines in school cafeterias.
Many school districts aren't waiting until then. These days, students at Astoria schools have a much broader range of food selections to choose from. Meanwhile, sugary a la carte drinks have been replaced with natural fruit juice, water or other low-calorie beverages. Burgers and hot dogs now
come on whole wheat buns. Twinkies and donuts are gone. Made-to-order
sandwiches include fresh bread baked daily, and food service workers
are making more home-style meals from scratch. Even elementary school
students have expanded options with two choices instead of one, and a
salad bar.
Participation rates - and income - are up. The
average number of meals served at the high school has climbed from 343
per day by this time last year to 465 this year, even as districtwide
enrollment decreased. In all, the district has sold 58,358 lunches this
year compared to 55,627 last year. When meal counts are up, revenues
are up, creating a much healthier bottom line in the food service
budget.
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Community Spotlight: Yorktown, NY
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Yorktown Central Public Schools District gets an "A" for wellness as they name Laura Tolosi Director of Wellness Programs.
In
this newly created position Laura is reporting directly to the
Assistant Superintendent of schools, and her position is funded through
the school lunch program.
Her list of duties include
working with the wellness committee and the district's food service
director on policy implementation and evaluation as well as setting new
goals. In addition she is working with the teachers, students and
parents, to support and sustain a healthy school food environment to
maximize learning potential.
Tolosi has initiated a big push
for employee wellness, an area of great interest according to recent
survey results. "Without strong support from the administration and
school board this position would not exis t.
I am extremely fortunate to be living and working in a community which
is committed to wellness and understands how it impacts every aspect of
students health, behavior and future potential as responsible members
of our society," she said.
To find out more about Tolosi's responsibilities please join us for the BSF Teleconference scheduled for May 15th, click here to register.
If you have a school food success story to share, please send it to: info@betterschoofood.org.
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Events
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- BSF Teleconference: March 6 , 2008 @ 1:00pm EST.
Featured guest speaker: Mimi Edelman, Organic Gardener, Consultant & Horticultural Therapist
Topic:
School Gardens
The Power of Gardens and How to start a
garden at your
school.
- BSF Teleconference: April 10, 2008 @ 1:00pm EST. Featured
guest speaker: Maya Shetreat-Klein, Pediatric
Neurologist
Topic: The connection between ADD/ADHD and food.
Dr.
Shetreat-Klein will illustrate with some case histories the significant
improvements she has witnessed in some of her patients.
- SCHOOLS FOOD & COMMUNITY
Friday April 11th - Saturday April 12th, 2008
Co-sponsors: Baum Forum and the Nutrition Program, Teachers College Columbia University New York, NY
For more information go to: Baum.org
- Whole Child 2008 Spring Conference: April 12 @8:00-5:00pm
NYC Seminar & Conference Center, 71 W 23rd Street, NYC.
Lawrence B. Palevsky MD FAAP will be speaking.
For more information go to wholechild.info
- BSF Teleconference: May 15, 2008 @ 1:00pm EST
Featured guest speaker: Laura Tolosi, Director of Wellness Programs, Yorktown Central School District
Topic: Wellness from within the School Administration
The ins and outs of the evaulation and implementation
of a Wellness Policy year-round.
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Disclaimer
Information in this newsletter is not intended as medical advice or
information to replace the services of a health care provider. Any
medical question, general or specific, should be addressed by a
qualified health care professional. Any application of the
recommendations set forth or implied is at the reader's discretion and
sole risk. Better School Food does not advocate any particular way of
eating. |
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Better...?
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143 Million pounds of beef was recalled last week. The largest recall in history. 30 to 40% of that beef - 50 Million Pounds - had been send to our schools and has been consumed by our children.
How come nobody is asking why the poorest quality meats end up in our schools?
BSF advocates for a better food environment.
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Our Mission
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Is to raise awareness of the connection between food and children's health, behavior and learning.
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Support
Better School Food
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Ingredient Facts
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"Natural Flavors"
The
word "natural," often used on food labels, particularly in combination
with the words "flavor" and "flavoring," is meaningless. It only
means that the ingredient started in nature, regardless of how it was
processed and what it was processed with. If the ingredient is
from a laboratory, the word "artificial" is used.
Recently, the
FDA issued a regulation that requires the disclosure of monosodium
glutamate and/or hydrolyzed protein, if used in a flavor or
flavoring. However, there are many other ways for a producer to
introduce a "hidden" source of MSG into their flavors and flavorings,
and, to the knowledge of Truthinlabeling.org, the FDA has never
analyzed flavors and flavorings to determine if they contain free
glutamic acid.
Truthinlabeling.org estimate that over 80% of the flavors and flavorings being used in processed foods contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG).
You can find more hidden sources of MSG as well as other BSF research documents available to download for BSF members on our website |
| The movie about the movement |
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Links We Love
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Eat Local, Local Food, Sustainable, Green. |
Food Facts
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"The
world is changing in a way that is going to push all of us, reluctantly
or not, towards being at least semivegetarian; our current rate of meat
and fish consumption simply cannot be justified, and that's not going
away."
Mark Bittman from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"
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About BSF
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About Better School Food
Founded
in 2005, The Coalition for Better School Food (BSF) is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to improving school food for a positive impact
on children's health, behavior and learning.
BSF founder Susan Rubin,
DMD, HHC, is a dentist, holistic nutritionist and parent of three who
has been advocating better school food for over a decade.
BSF gives parents inspiration, information, and resources to help improve school food. |
Contact info:
287 E. Main St. #231
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