Better School Food

Although my own kids are not yet school-age, I've always been interested in trying to figure out how to provide kids with healthier food at school. Perhaps because I remember all too well being 12 and using my lunch money to buy a cup of lemonade and two nutter-butters for lunch!

One organization, Better School Food, is working to bring healthier lunch options to school across the country. Below is their "Top 10" list of changes we should make to ensure that all kids have healthier options, and can make better choices, for food at school. The organization also has a Community Action Plan (PDF) with ample statistics about childhood obesity and other health problems associated with poor diet.

Top 10 List for Better School Food

1.	Eliminate All Products Containing Partially Hydrogenated Oils Trans fats increase harmful LDL cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol, which can contribute to heart disease.
2.	Eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has a high glycemic index and converts to fat more than any other sugar. It increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, strokes, and cancer. Americans consumed on average 62.6 pounds of HFCS in 2001 according to the USDA. Many of the products on the market containing HFCS are geared towards children.
3.	Pay Attention to Portion Size Researchers have found that portion size matters as much as taste when it comes to overeating. A recent study showed that large packages and containers prompted people to eat more than the actual recommended serving size regardless of taste. These oversized packages can be especially confusing to children, who may not look at nutrition labels regarding varying portion sizes - especially worrisome because children and teenagers are getting a greater percentage of their calorie intake from snacks.
4.	Serve More Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Many U.S. school children are consuming more calories daily than needed, as well as choosing foods and snacks that are low in nutrients. In order to achieve normal growth and development of children and to reduce the risk of various chronic diseases, nutrient recommendations must be linked to keeping calories under control. With nearly 50% of the calories of children being consumed outside the home, it is imperative that schools offer nutrient-dense foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables in order to obtain the USDA daily recommendations.
5.	Support Local Farms / Set up Farm-to-School Programs Farm-to-school programs, through which locally grown foods are served and promoted, are beneficial for a number of reasons. Fruits and vegetables sourced locally are fresher, so they taste better, resulting in kids eating more of them. The purchase of locally-grown foods supports the local economy and strengthens the local food system. Farm-to-school programs allow students to learn about, as well as appreciate, the sources of the foods they eat and to understand the importance of local agriculture. Farm-to-school programs benefit the environment by cutting down on the amount of fossil fuels used to transport food from the farm to the consumer.
6.	Offer Vegetarian Options Daily As the quality of mass produced animal protein sources comes under scrutiny based on the amount of residual antibiotics, hormones, steroids and saturated fat content, vegetarian meals are wholesome options to be incorporated into school lunch on a rotating basis. Institutional foods, as purchased by many schools, may not always provide the most wholesome sources of animal protein. Vegetarian meals, not only wholesome and nutritious, also tend to be more economical, assisting the food budget.
7.	Serve More Whole Grains & Beans The body needs carbohydrates mainly for energy. The best sources of carbohydrates are whole grains because the body cannot digest them as quickly as highly processed carbohydrates. This keeps blood sugar and insulin levels from rising, then falling, too quickly. Better control of blood sugar and insulin can keep hunger at bay and may prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. Eating whole grains may also make kids feel more satisfied for a longer period of time.
8.	Discontinue Use of Poor Quality Oils Partially hydrogenated oils used for frying and food preparation, which are usually industrially processed oils such as soy, corn, cottonseed and canola, are derived from genetically modified food sources and extrapolated into oil using high heat and chemical processes, thus denaturing the oil and making it difficult to be utilized properly by the body. This phenomenon is linked to many diseases.
9.	Give Adequate Time for Students to Eat Lunch Students need adequate time to eat to meet their nutritional needs, which is essential for optimal student health and performance. Students who aren't rushed can relax, make healthier food choices, and enjoy their food more. Food served but not eaten does not contribute to nutritional health. Allowing enough time for students to eat can also prevent transient hunger that hinders attention and learning.
10.	Decrease Refined Carbohydrate Foods & Snacks Highly refined carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed into the body, much like ingesting simple sugars, resulting in a spike in glucose levels. This causes individuals to still feel hungry or to become hungrier sooner, only to consume even more food. This repetitive pattern is believed to contribute to the obesity epidemic. It also increases the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

If I could add a #11 (or perhaps this should be #1): Drink WATER. Nothing else is as good for the body, not even milk or fruit juices, and yet too many kids--and adults--drink anything but water.

Buying Organic Needn't Be All or Nothing

If you are anything like me, you live somewhere in between the ivory tower of eating all-organic, all-local foods made by the loving hands of a commune of grandmothers and the 7th circle of processed fast foods that contain no traces of actual vegetables except perhaps for the oils they are deep-fried in. While I'd love to make sure that everything that enters the temple of my body--and my kids' bodies--be nothing less than pure, natural, and delicious, the unfortunate reality of cost and supply often derail the organic train.

So, given somewhat limited means, what organic products should we buy and which are a waste of money?

Happily, Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have some very helpful recommendations. Overall, there are three priorities:

1. Produce from the EWG list (12 most important organic produce buys detailed below). Some fruits and veggies, even after thorough washing, still retain much higher levels of pesticides than you would want to be ingesting on a regular basis.
   
2. Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy. Animal products should be an organic priority because of the risk of diseases such as mad cow, and due to the antibiotics and hormones used in conventional animal husbandry.
   
3. Baby food. Not only are babies' small bodies less well-equipped to filter out the bad stuff, they systems are still developing and therefore more likely to be damaged by pesticides/hormones/etc., and because processed baby food purees often concentrate residues off all that bad stuff. (Of course, another option would be to just make your own baby food, which is more more fun and much easier than you could imagine!)
   

I must confess, meat and eggs are two things that I have not been buying organic. In fact, of the fresh food my family eats most often (tomatoes, lettuce, onions, eggs, milk, plain yogurt, cheese, ground beef and chicken), all of those except tomatoes and onions are on the "must buy organic" list, which means I need to seriously re-think what has been until now a very loose attachment to buying organic food.

Produce to Buy If At All Possible
These 12 fruits and vegetables contain the highest amount of pesticide residues:

peaches
apples
sweet bell peppers
celery
nectarines
strawberries
cherries
lettuce
imported grapes
pears
spinach
potatoes

Buy Conventional (Non-Organic)...
These are the 12 with the lowest pesticide residues:
onions
avocado
frozen sweet corn
pineapples
mangoes
frozen sweet peas
asparagus
kiwi
bananas
cabbage
broccoli
eggplant

I am a LOHAS!

Who are we?

Did you know that we are an ever-growing, aggressively courted market? Nope, I didn't either. Falling as we do in between the aging force-to-be-reckoned-with known as the Baby Boomers and the yet-to-be-reckoned with "Millenials" (born 1982-2000), I always figured us Generation X/Yers (born 1963-1978/1981, depending on definition) were destined to be lost in the middle. Perhaps not!

According to the magazine Fast Company, the LOHAS market segment (for "lifestyles of health and sustainability"), is

"a $227 billion domestic market for goods and services focused on sustainable living, social justice, and alternative health care. These are the consumers, in other words, who are eating organics, driving hybrids, and buying fair-trade morning lattes. And there are 63 million of them out there, making up 30% of the American market. They are not necessarily wealthier than other Americans, but they have proven themselves willing to spend up to an astounding 20% premium on clean, green products over the non-sustainable alternatives." Source

A 20% premium for clean, green products? That figure astounded me, until I did a little looking at my own purchases lately.

Gallon of Whole Milk...................$2.65 at Costco (DC Metro)
Gallon of Whole, Organic Milk........$3.45 at Wegmans (Fairfax, VA)
.....................................................30% difference

3 Plastic Gerber Baby Bottles...........$3.75 (Amazon.com)
3 Glass Evenflo Baby Bottles............$8.00 (ingeling.com)
...................................................113% difference


Granted, there are many other ways in which we do save money. But, clearly, even though we're just as tight with finances as any other young family with two kids under 2, we do choose to spend a little more when and where we think it matters.

Why does this matter?

Just think of the possibilities...in a world where women age 25-44 are being so aggressively courted by both traditional venues (child- and household-care) and, increasingly, non-traditional (automobile makers come to mind), we hold the buying power!

What do you think? Are you a LOHAS? (LOHASer?) Is it all just marketing hype? Or do we Gen Y/X women really hold not only the buying power, but the power to change the world?

The New Organic: Eat Locally?

Did you know that 80% of all tomatoes harvested in the U.S are picked while green?

Did you know that, while 40 cents of every food dollar spent by consumers in 1910 went back to the farmers, in 1997 only 7 cents of every food dollar spent went to farmers?

Did you know that North American produce typically travels a minimum distance of 1,500 miles to get from where it's grown to your plate?

Did you know that, of the 30,000 edible plant species in the world, 90% of the world's food comes from just 20 species? (All from the 100 Mile Diet stats page.)

I didn't know any of this--until I started looking. And the more I look, the more eating locally looks better and better.

"Organic is great for the environment and the health of workers and I'm all for it...But the first priority is buying local, supporting economies around you, and trying to keep local farms resisting industrialized farming and real estate pressures." (Corby Kummer, senior editor and food columnist for The Atlantic Monthly and author of "The Pleasures of Slow Food" (Chronicle).

Alton Brown of the Food Network casts his vote in favor of eating locally, on his blog, What Every Good Cook Should Know. Environment aside, local foods simply taste better and are safer for us, he says. (he cites recent e. coli outbreaks in spinach).

Not only is it better for you, it's better for the environment. According to The New American Dream, "Buying local food not only helps local farmers thrive, it reduces energy consumption. Estimates on how long the average food travels from pasture to plate range from 1200 to 2500 miles. A lot of energy is expended freezing, refrigerating, and trucking that food around. Eating locally grown food means less fossil fuel burned in preparation and transport." See full text here.

Hooked? Check out the 100 Mile Diet's 13 Reasons to Eat Locally.

Of course, the real question is: How does this work for a busy family with small (picky!) children! The first step is to hit all the farmer's markets popping up (see here for a list of local-to the DC Metro area-markets). Or, consider supporting a local farm or collection of farms buy purchasing a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) venture, where the produce comes to you. Once you're enjoying the fruits--and veggies--of eating locally, why not explore local dairy, egg, meat, and poultry options?

Is eating locally easy? Of course not, if "easy" means "available from a little window without setting foot in a kitchen or even getting out of my car." Just as eating healthy in general isn't always easy. But, for us and for our kids, isn't it worth it?

Organic, Grass-Fed, and/or Free-Range Meat & Poultry

Why Switch to Grass-Fed Beef?

Nutritional scientists report that by switching to grass-fed beef you will lose weight, have a healthier heart, reduce your risk of cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and allergies and improve mental clarity. The reasons involve fundamental nutritional differences. Compared to grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef has higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), more Beta Carotene, more Omega 3 fatty acids, more Vitamins A and E, and lower levels of saturated fats. See here for a great article on the history of fats in the American diet and why grass-fed is better.


What About Organic?

The problem with sorting through the options at your local supermarket is that so many foods can claim to be "all-natural," "organic," "free-range" without providing good definitions of what that means. "Certified Organic" means different things in different countries, but generally involves avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc) and genetically modified organisms; use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more); keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail); maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products; undergoing periodic on-site inspections. (From Wikipedia). Sounds complicated? You bet, and expensive too. That's why many local farms, while following the spirit of organic farming, are often not allowed to call themselves certified as organic. The joy of buying locally, however, means that you get to ask them just how they grow their crops, how they house their chickens, and what they feed their dairy cows. Because what goes into their crops, chickens, and cows is what goes into you--and, lest we forget, into your kids.

Local (DC Metro) Options:

• Polyface Farms delivers to Arlington, and if a number of people are interested they may add another drop off point in the area.
• The Organic Butcher
  6712 Old Dominion Drive
  McLean, VA 22101
• Mount Vernon Farms also has local drop locations.
• Golden Farm in Middletown, Virginia carries grass-fed beef and lamb, as well as eggs and organic vegetables in the summertime. No growth hormones used. Orders can be placed at 540/868-2765 or 540/868-2389.
• South Mountain Creamery - delivers milk, eggs, cheese, meat and poultry
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation: "There are no hormones, antibiotics or pesticides in our beef. Our cows graze healthy pastures eating only grass, the natural feed for ruminants like cows. As a result the meat is lean and clean and good for the environment." For more information contact Michael Heller or Rob Vaughn at 301.627.4393 or mheller@cbf.org.

Online Sources:

• Here's a great listing of small, independently owned farms at the EatWild website, "your source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork and dairy products."

As always, let me know if you have any suggestions! I'd love to hear about other, healthier, meat options out there.

Local Produce: CSAs, Home Delivery, and Farmer's Markets

The idea behind Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is that a consumer pre-purchases a “share” of the harvest for the season—thus creating a relationship between local farmers and community members.

The good news is that you'll get a nice variety of fresh veggies and fruits. Some farms offer the option to get eggs, dairy products, and herbs as well. Some places will deliver your share to a central pick-up location, some farms offer "you-pick" times in addition to the shares, and most farms welcome visitors/helpers.

The bad news is that farms won't have exactly the vegetables you want exactly when you want them. Plus, being a smaller entity, they are more subject to the whims of Mother Nature than the supermarket down the road.

Bottom line: a CSA share is great for someone who is willing to try new foods and to adapt their recipes to suit the vegetables available that week. Just like people had been doing since the dawn of time, right?

However, the "surprise!" aspect of CSAs just doesn't appeal to everyone. If you have a picky child--or spouse, for that matter--maybe you want to be sure to have certain foods on hand for them. Say, all things orange. Farmer's markets offer much the same freshness as you'd get through a CSA delivery, but with a little more choice on your part--don't like the kale or collard greens? On to the next stand! Many markets offer diary, eggs, meat, and poultry stands as well. Although some fall during the week (Rosslyn, Virginia's is mid-days on Thursdays) most are on Saturday mornings, and if you can drag yourself out of bed to be there when they open, then you get the best pick of the available fruits and veggies. Don't be afraid to ask if they'll let you sample something unfamiliar!

• Here's a list of Farmer's Markets in Virginia. I've personally tried the Saturday morning markets in Falls Church (300 Park Avenue, Contact: Howard Herman, (703) 241-5027) and down in Fredericksburg (in the commuter parking lot on Route 3 West). The Falls Church market is a great location--the parking lot of the community center--and we've gotten some pretty food vegetables and fresh bread. Prices seem ever-so-slightly on the high side, but perhaps that's just in comparison to the abundance of very reasonable priced veggies to be found at the Fredericksburg market. If you like to head out of the city on the weekends, I highly recommend taking a trip down to Fredericksburg to catch this market--great tomatoes all summer long, delicious varieties of peaches and other stone fruits towards the end of the summer, and fabulous sweet corn. There are also several stands with dairy, meat, poultry, and breads.
• In Virginia, check out Virginia's Assocation for Biological Farming for a listing of CSA Farms.
• In DC, check out the Washington Post list of DC farmer's markets
• Find markets all across Maryland, and search by county, here.
• If you're looking specifically for organic, here's a list of organic food sources (farms, farmer's markets, stores) in the DC metro area.
• For a great list of farmer's markets, family farms, CSAs, and other "sustainably grown food" vendors across the country, try the Local Harvest website.
  

Local Farms that offer you-pick or delivery:

• Great Country Farms & Foggy Bottom Vineyard in Bluemont, VA. 540-554-2073.
• Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
• Washington's Green Grocer offers home delivery of a large or small box of either all-organic or mixed organic and conventional produce.
  

I hope you enjoy exploring all the options for healthy local eating! If you know of any other resources that should be included here, please let me know!