As the season for holiday food begins, I can't help but think about the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act.
Every five years, this act sets the standards for national school lunch and breakfast programs that serve more than 31 million children.It was up for reauthorization in September, but an extension has most likely delayed legislative action until next year. As a result, we can expect to see a continued push for two types of improvement: more healthful school lunches and better access to programs for low-income families.Whole Foods Market got into the game by teaming up with Ann Cooper, the self-titled "renegade lunch lady." A chef and consultant, Cooper implements fresh, regional and organic foods into public school cafeterias. She's created thelunchbox.org to help schools ditch processed meals in favor of ones made from scratch.Slow Food USA -- a nonprofit that aims to ensure equity, sustainability and the pleasure of eating food -- also took up the cause earlier this year.Its "Time for Lunch" campaign started on Labor Day weekend, with nationwide meetings to discuss bringing more healthful food into schools.Fresno's event at First Congregational Church drew folks such as student gardeners from McLane High School, organic farmer Tom Willey of T&D Willey Farms in Madera, and Jose Alvarado, food services director of Fresno Unified School District.The push for more healthful food is all the more important after the latest Institute of Medicine report that looked at school meals. The report recommended new standards for these foods, including more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as well as less saturated fat and sodium.Of course, improving school lunches requires more money, and the Obama administration is proposing an additional $1 billion a year for the next 10 years, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in October.He cited the institute's findings that children don't eat enough dark green and dark orange vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat and nonfat dairy products."This trend puts our children at risk, serious risk, increased risk, for all kinds of increases in obesity-related conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure, he said. "These are all preventable conditions."If approved by Congress, the additional money wouldn't just improve school meals; it would feed more low-income students."For many children in schools today, the school lunch and breakfast program may represent the only healthy food that they can eat during the day," Vilsack said.At a time of year when we're focused on donations to food banks and minimizing weight gain from holiday treats, let's also remember the Child Nutrition Authorization Act.Any additional funding for these programs isn't just a good thing. In a country where more than 6 million families suffer from a lack of nutritious food, better school meals is an investment in our nation's collective health.