Congress may say pizza is a vegetable, but that doesn’t mean your kids have to rely on it for healthy lunches.
Last fall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced new rules for school lunches that no longer would have counted most pizza slices as vegetables. The rules were aimed at producing lunches with more fruits and green vegetables in an effort to reduce childhood obesity.
Kids who are obese are more likely to be obese as adults, a condition that can lead to many unhealthy results, including cancer.
But in November, Congress overturned the new rules under pressure from the food industry. They said the new rules would be expensive, and that children wouldn’t eat the healthier food.
“It’s a shame that Congress seems more interested in protecting industry than protecting children’s health,” Margo G. Wootan, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told the New York Times.
But many schools in Indiana aren’t waiting for the government to force them to serve better lunches. Nine schools in the state have been cited by the Agriculture Department for improving nutrition and exercise for their children.
Diana Hagler is a teacher in Indianapolis and the mother of three. She said she looks at the monthly school lunch menu and packs lunch for her kids on those days the menu isn’t as healthy as she’d like it to be.
“Your brain functions better when it is fed and this helps to stay focused and learn better,” said Hagler, 43. “I recommend keeping the children involved with making lunch choices and empowering them to make choices later in life. It is also a way to know that the children are eating the meals instead of going all day with not eating.”
Like Hagler, parents can help their children make good choices in the school cafeteria. Here’s how:
– Look over the cafeteria menu together, and recommend healthier items.
– Ask about foods like chips, soda and ice cream. Find out if and when these foods are available at school. Talk with your child about limiting these kinds of foods.
– Encourage kids to take a lunch from home at least once or twice a week. Try to include a combination of fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains. For example: A turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, baby carrots with salsa, an apple or banana.
Linda Ellis, Indianapolis correspondent for the Ozioma News Service, contributed to this story.
Ozioma provides minority media outlets with information about cancer risks, treatment and prevention with a focus on taking action to improve health in African-American communities.
