Lunch Program: What Will Happen Next Year? by MacKenzie Lebeau

(Opinion)

As of right now, the lunch program is under fire and jobs could be lost. As lunch prices have been rising over the past few years, so has the concern for a healthier local lunch. In my opinion, school lunch is not supporting our local community, nor is it providing health benefits to the individuals eating it. The School Board is reviewing changes to take place next school year. As of right now, all lunch staff jobs will be cut on June 30, 2010 (B. Hall 2/2/10). Different ideas are being considered right now: either outsourcing to another bid or reorganizing the program we have now. Something drastically needs to be done to provide a healthier lunch. Either way, changes will be made for the 2010-2011 school year.

One consideration is to hand the lunch program over to The Abbey Group, a catering company in New England. I don’t agree with that plan because we live in Vermont, where we have farmers all around us. Why can’t we provide a healthy local lunch at school? During a meeting I had with one of the lunch ladies, I proposed the idea of switching to Monument Farms milk and converting to dispenser systems instead of cartons to save money and reduce trash waste. Mrs. Curtis replied, “They had looked into dispensers from Hood and it was a proposed idea.” Most Addison County farmer’s milk goes to Cabot or Monument farms which are both local. So why are we buying milk from Hood and not supporting our local farmers in Addison County?

I think the best bet would be to continue growing the Mount Abraham Union High School (MAUHS) garden as well as buying shares of local farmer’s crops from surrounding vegetable and fruit farms. If we turned the lunch program local, it would help out the local economy as well as cut down on expenses. I personally feel the only logical thing to do is keep as much money local as we can to support the community and in return the community will keep supporting the school. MAUHS has an obesity rate starting at 25% (2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey) for this year’s seniors and juniors, and with every class proceeding, the obesity rate rises more than the grade before. Something needs to be done; we need to restructure the lunch program to provide a healthier lunch, supporting the fact that healthy does taste good. If we could show kids at a younger age how to eat healthier we could instill life long eating habits into America’s youth. I feel there are so many positive changes that could take place in the next school year that we should do all we can. Brain research has shown that the better foods children eat, the better they perform on tests and in focused situations like school. Foods high in antioxidants help people perform better (Global Health Center). With NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) scores showing that Mount Abraham is in the bottom ten schools in Vermont, we should do everything we can to boost brain function. With healthier eating habits, teenager’s self image problems, brain function, and lifestyles can all be improved for the better.