Over the past year, business and school closings have resulted in families concerned about their children having access to nutritious meals. As two professionals committed to child health and nutrition, we see a clear, bipartisan way to help children return to school this fall: the Food and Nutrition Education Act in Schools.
Despite the rigors of the past year, it was inspiring to see the vital role the school nutrition community in Arkansas has played in ensuring our children have access to healthy food. Schools have served brown bag lunches and delivered meals since the pandemic began. In some cases, schools served students and their families three meals a day.
If you ask a school nutritionist how they did it, you might hear them talk about their great staff, community, and dedication to children. You can also mention the support of your school’s nutrition educators, such as FoodCorps service members, who teach healthy eating to children through hands-on lessons in classrooms and school gardens. These educators stepped in to help by handing out meals, harvesting school gardens to distribute fresh produce to families – and giving students access to safe outdoor classes.
Food and nutrition education has a direct impact on the life and wellbeing of students. An independent study by Columbia Teachers College found that children who received more hands-on nutrition education ate up to three times as much fruits and vegetables as children who received less. Through nutrition education, students learn to enjoy vegetables and keep them healthy for a lifetime. However, these issues are not given high priority in critical discussions about child health policy in Little Rock or Washington.
In Arkansas, where one in five children is starving, we are fortunate to have a legislative representative in Senator John Boozman.
The Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act prioritizes schools with high rates of free or discounted meals, which is a clear indicator of community needs. Inspired by the FoodCorps model, this bipartisan bill would provide these schools with funding to hire food educators.
The Food and Nutrition Education Act in Schools needs to be included in this year’s new Child Nutrition Approval, currently pending on the Senate Agriculture Committee, of which Senator Boozman is a senior member.
Food and nutrition education is so much more than the pyramid chart many of us grew up with. Here in Springdale we gave a lesson called Don’t Yuck My Yum. Children brought food that was of cultural significance to them – one child brought empanadas, another souvlaki – and we all tried the food. The idea was to celebrate the foods that kids eat at home.
Not all students may have the same opportunities, but through these classes we can build equal understanding and mutual respect for one another. With the generous support of Child Nutrition Director Gena Smith, the Springdale School District has four FoodCorps service members in eight schools teaching classes like this one. In the state, we have nine service employees who teach more than 6,000 children in Arkansas. Imagine what we could do with more of these educators!
Finally, nutrition educators can strengthen relationships between local farmers and schools. At Springdale, food educators support the farm to school effort by teaching kids about a different Arkansas grown food each month by participating in a Harvest of the Month program.
Nutrition education in schools is fundamental as we come back to school in the fall. Teaching healthy habits not only prepares students for success, but also protects them for a lifetime by giving them the tools to feed and care for themselves and their families. Students receive arts, music and physical education classes, and we urge our lawmakers to recognize the importance of food education for all children.
We urge federal lawmakers to help fund this important piece of legislation and come up with a plan to visit schools here in Arkansas to see how those responsible for nutrition education can help the students and you.
Mary Miller is the coordinated school health coordinator for Springdale Public Schools; Destiny Schlinker is an associate director of FoodCorps’ Arkansas program.
source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/for-healthy-kids/
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