Lunches should look like this -- but it costs.

This is a guest post by Dana Woldow, SFUSD parent /advocate and parent volunteer chair of the SFUSD Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee.

Since time immemorial, students have complained about school food; now some students at San Francisco’s Abraham Lincoln High School are trying to do something about it. In difficult economic times, with more families struggling to put food on the table, school lunches are more important than ever.

Unhappy with the quality of their cafeteria lunch, these students voted to take on a project for their American Democracy class to try to make things better. They did some research and learned that the federal government pays the school district just $2.59 for every free lunch served in the cafeteria; that the vast majority of meals served are to students qualified for free meals; that labor and food each take about 44% of the school meal budget, with overhead (pest control, garbage collection, delivery costs, etc.) taking the remaining 12%. The conclusion they reached is that the federal allotment is just not enough to pay for the fresher, healthier food students would like to eat.

Students also discovered that the Child Nutrition Act, which appropriates money for school meals and sets the reimbursement rate, is now before Congress for reauthorization for the next 5 years. Hoping that Congress might feel that better school food was as least as important as, you know, bailing out manufacturers of cars no one wants to buy, or money managers who lost billions of investor dollars, these students have been writing letters to their elected officials asking for help getting more money for better school food.

Some excerpts from their letters:
As a constituent I am writing this letter requesting that you please vote to increase per student federal funding for school lunches from $2.59 to $4 or $5. I would like you to consider with the cost of labor we are left with approximately $1.30 to cover the cost of the food, condiments, utensils, etc.”

You need to help us increase federal funding for our school lunches from $2.59 to $5.00, because $2.59 does not provide enough energy for students to learn. The food may have reached the required nutrition facts, but does not provide enough for a full stomach. Students are constantly complaining about still being hungry after eating lunch.”

As a public urban high school, it is understood that not all families are able to provide their child with a healthy and fresh lunch to school. Not only that but some students rely on school lunches as their only source of food for their entire day. Lastly, it has been statistically shown that having a better lunch will show better performance in school.”

As a student, I feel the need to help fight for healthier school lunches for my school mates as well as other students from different schools. It is my last year in high school and I only have so little time to do my part with me moving on to college. I feel the urge to try my best to inform people about the problem that their children face. I do not wish to waste your valuable time, but I do ask for your support and assistance in providing healthier lunch.”

 

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