WHAT'S WRONG WITH FOOD SERVICE IN OUR SCHOOLS

What’s wrong with food service in our schools?

Let me start by saying I’m no expert but I am a parent of two school ages kids and also own Organic Vending which provides over 30 school districts with organic and natural snacks and beverages. So I’ve worked with a few food service directors and can add that perspective to this piece.

Many food service directors care about what the kids eat. Many don’t and just respond to pressure from parents by making a halfhearted attempt to do a healthy meal, which is doomed to fail just so they can say they tried. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “The kids just won’t eat that crap” Wrong. They won’t eat crap but they will eat organic and natural if you do it right.

The food service directors I have worked with are wonderful and really do care about what the kids eat. They realize that food affects behavior and learning. These links provide some good information on the subject.

www.wanttoknow.info
www.cspinet.org


I worked with a few school districts to offer Amy’s organic burritos in the high school as a lunch option. We were able to price it at under $3.00 and we promoted it to the students with signs letting them know it’s available. They sold out. I would have loved to continue that program but I just was not set up to do frozen foods in large quantities and the Sysco and US foods of the world just don’t carry anything like that.
Let’s talk about price. Many school food service directors feel the price of organic food is too expensive and they would have to sell it for a price the kids won’t pay. In regards to full meals they are right. Organic and natural is too expensive for any program to use it on a regular basis. This of course is the heart of the problem.

The problem lies not with the food service directors per say but the school boards and superintendents that don’t put what the kids eat as a priority. The pressure on food service directors to make money or at least have the program break even is enormous. I’ve actually heard some of them say the making a profit for the program is the #1 priority. You can have wellness committees and policies but they are in my opinion meaningless unless what the kids eat is at the heart of what they do.

Think about this. I think sports are of course very important. Many schools fund programs like football and soccer and budget for costs related to those programs and they should but the one thing that effects ALL of the kids, what they eat in school, is not considered by many boards as being something that should be subsidized.

Please keep in mind this is my experience in dealing with many school districts. There are those out there that are finally getting it. We need to do more.

I can tell you that trying to get all the kids snacks changed to just veggies and fruit is a difficult task. I think of course these should be options but kids want to snack. They want chips and cookies and popcorn. Healthy is not just low fat or low carb. It’s also products without artificial flavors, Colors, Preservatives, Trans fats and hydrogenated oils or fructose corn syrup. There are many wonderful organic and natural snack options that kids love and are without all the chemicals. I know because in the schools where Organic Vending is the kid’s love the snacks and beverages.

If you are a food service director or wellness committee member or just a concerned parent I would be more that happy to make snack suggestions to your food service directors about what the kids will eat that they can also sell for $1.00 or less. I can help them source the product at the best price (not from me) and provide information they need to sell the program to the powers that be. My E-mail is Bobwolf@theorganicwholesaleclub.com

I would also like your comments and suggestions. Please post them here.

Thank you!
Bob Wolf
Partner
Organic Wholesale Club
www.organicwholesaleclub.com