Pizza, tacos and burgers. Oh my!

How parents can demand organic in schools

By Amanda Kimble-Evans

Myth versus Fact

The roadblocks to sourcing locally-grown for school meals are not always what one might expect. “The biggest challenges we had were the preconceived ideas of me and my staff,” says Flock. “Many of the problems we expected never happened.” Some of the largest misconceptions Flock discovered were:

Myth #1: Working with local farmers will be a logistical nightmare. Food service management and staff often worry that farmers won’t be able to get the product from the farm to the school and in a format that they’re used to.

Fact: “The farmers we reached out to had established markets and were familiar with processing consumer-ready product. The local produce is actually the highest quality we receive. And distribution has never been an issue. The farmers have been very flexible about working out delivery agreements.”

Myth #2: Buying local and especially organic is impossible within the standard school food program budget.

Fact: “We looked at the program in total and worked out a game plan that would allow us to source not only locally, but organically, within our budget. We eliminated disposable products (plates, plastic ware, etc.) and moved to reusable and washable materials including silverware. There is a huge cost savings in that.

We also eliminated desserts, which is something that gets a lot of heat. But, we decided desserts just weren’t what we were about. It’s not like the kids won’t get sweets, but it is really not the function of a school lunch program to provide that meal component. And we’re using more USDA recipes and eliminating processed foods. There are obvious cost savings in scratch cooking.”

Our three-part series on school food highlighted the staffs and the farmers doing the good work getting organic and local foods into elementary, middle and high schools across the country. But, as a parent, is there a way to jump start a discussion at your child’s school?

“I always tell parents they can look at the school food programs and easily point out what they don’t like. But, the questions really should be about what you'd like to see: Can we feature some of our local produce on a salad bar? What would that take? ” says Paul Flock, child nutrition supervisor for the Olympia School District in Washington.

Flock was instrumental in launching a 2002 pilot program using local and organic foods in one of the district’s schools. The pilot was so successful, that within just over two years, every one of the 18 schools had a similar program up and running. “Last count, I have buying relationships with 10 regional farmers. And for two years running, our food costs have actually decreased as we’ve increased the amount of local and organic ingredients.”

Incremental steps are the key, according to Flock. He says the district is just now, in 2010, seeing the food program fully mature as it had been envisioned eight years ago. Here are some tips to help you inspire your school district to take that first step:

1. Have lunch with your child at school.

Make a point to really understand what the current state of the food system is in your district. See what is being offered, what the kids are actually eating and what the vending machine options are. Engage the food service workers in conversation about what they do, how they do it, and why. Ask where they think parents could help in improving both what the kids eat and how the system functions.

2. Open a line of communication...

...with the food services director, the principal, school board members and the PTA/PTO. Just a few one-on-one conversations about school food will give you an idea of where folks stand on the issue and who might be a strong ally later on. This is also a good opportunity to find out what the district’s policies are like. “Get the school food supervisor involved on the ground level,” says Flock. “They can really make or break an effort to bring local and organic foods into the system.”

3. Grow your circle of friends and supporters.

Organize a committee of like-minded parents, teachers, students, staff and community members to share ideas and research programs that have successfully integrated organic and locally-sourced food into their systems. This is a good time to reach out to stakeholders who have particular expertise or a working knowledge of the system, and who might be both interested and capable of building support for future changes from within. The student government organization and school newspaper are two great areas to focus some of your effort, too.

4. Start a letter-writing campaign...

...that outlines concerns and offers some solutions. Letters can go to administrators, the school board, elected officials and media outlets. And circulate a petition. Or, better yet, petitions. Not everyone will want to be a part of the committee, but there are few people who wouldn’t want better food in the schools.

5. Get heard at school board meetings.

Request time at an upcoming school board meeting to discuss the vision of your committee and the benefits of offering organic and local products as part of the school food program. And be tenacious. Having committee members at each open school board meeting even if the discussion isn’t on the food program is a good way to show involvement and engagement beyond a single issue.

6. Resolve to be collaborative and pro-active.

By setting a tone that seeks to work with willing people to find the next step toward a clear goal, you can avoid being perceived as an adversary. By enabling the good things in food everybody wants, you can be a hero to school officials who are used to getting complaints rather than encouragement. Gather strength to problem-solve the barriers.

Tell why you Demand Organic in your school and your kitchen.

Finding better ways to grow, market, buy and champion organic food is vital to growing healthier children. You can help us help farmers and families everywhere. Join here.

Resources:
See The movement to make school food better, Part 1 which lists information sources, campaigns and supporting groups at the end of the article. And read Part 2 and Part 3 for more on specific programs across the country and how they have succeeded in bringing local organic food into their schools.

Healthy school lunches (Olympia WA)

Submitted by Glen Buschmann (not verified) on Thu, 06/03/2010 - 17:20.

Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

Paul Flock, Olympia School District, deserves credit for being receptive to introducing healthier choices in school lunches. Parents and others should also know that it would not have happened had there not been a couple of determined parent advocates at an alternative school pushing for this, and being willing to prepare and work hard and offer Paul some strong collaboration. Paul could be receptive because people prepared a well thought out plan and were patient as well as determined.

That said, a big challenge in school mealtime is shifting focus to eating in a slower more deliberate way, where one is not in an endless line waiting for food and then pressed to eat quickly before hurrying off to play, classes, etc. What would lunches look like if each school hired an educator to link meals with learning, so that lunch was not an escape from schooltime, but rather the center of it?

Glen Buschmann, Olympia, WA