Sustainable School: What's for lunch?

Reporting Update: Sustainable School: What’s for Lunch in Bay Area Schools?

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In many aspects of Bay Area life, the sustainable food movement is taking over. From restaurants to grocery stores to fast food, we’re seeing “organic,” “local,” and “natural” food options everywhere. But if you swing by a local K-12 school around lunchtime, you’ll see mostly processed and packaged food. What exactly is being served and where does it come from? What are the challenges in introducing more nutritious meals? That is what Spot.us is working to investigate in the “Sustainable School: What’s for Lunch?” pitch.

I have taken on the pitch along with Fionnola Villamejor, award-winning journalist and concerned mother, who will be the peer-review editor for the story. So now that the team is in place, we’re proud to announce that reporting is underway!

So far, I am researching school districts in Santa Cruz County, an area rich in agriculture and localist values. How much of the region’s abundant produce and sustainable ideals are incorporated into local schools?

Last week, I interviewed Nicole Meschi, Director of Food Services at Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which runs 32 National School Lunch sites in Santa Cruz County. I learned that while Pajaro Valley has made a lot of progress in serving healthier meals by cutting out candy, soda and fried foods mainly as a result of the passing of Senate Bills 12 and 965, which set requirements for food and drinks in 2005, there are still many obstacles in introducing healthier, more sustainable menu items. From my early research, the main challenges seem to revolve around the following issues:

BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS

Food services departments at K-12 schools work on tighter budgets than any other type of food programs in the nation, according to a sustainable food specialist who conducted an extensive review of the Santa Cruz City Schools district.

“Even prisons spend more money on food than schools do,” she said, “so schools are really the most challenged in their feeding programs.”

As a result, a large portion of school food is supplied by the government commodity surplus program, which provides allocations to districts based on the number of reimbursable meals served. Commodity and purchased food items usually come from large suppliers like Sisco, Ed Jones, IBC and Pepsi that fulfill the district’s bidding calls.

In addition, Pajaro Valley pays a processing company like Tyson to turn all their raw chicken and beef into finished products like patties and meatballs. The district used to prepare meat itself but no longer has adequate man power or food preparation facilities to do so.

“It’s definitely a value to us because our labor is the biggest cost,” Meschi said. “Space is another issue. Even if we did have enough money to pay every body, a lot of our kitchens are like closets.”

Further challenges have resulted from the state budget crisis, which has cut state reimbursement for meals from about 22 cents to only six cents per meal, slashing the department’s budget from about $53,000 to only $15,000 for last May and June. Consequently, the department has lost five employees and the remaining food service workers are doing more with less to accommodate the increasing number of kids on free and reduced lunch.

MISSING NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Pajaro Valley’s most popular menu items are chicken, pizza, grilled cheese, breakfast-for-lunch and nachos. While some would argue that the menu still looks similar to that of a fast-food restaurant, the director said it’s mainly an effort to serve what kids like.

“We really try to menu stuff that kids like because we want them to eat lunch,” Meschi said. “For some of the kids, that’s the only meal they’ll have for the day.”

There’s also a vegetarian option every day and each meal is served with milk and a choice of fruits and vegetables, which often end up in the trash, especially at the elementary level, she said.

That’s where nutrition education comes into play to teach kids what different fruits and vegetables are, how they’re grown and why they’re good for the body.

The district does have a fresh fruit and vegetable grant at two schools, where they’ve been serving every thing from leeks to collar greens.

“Saying these are all the ways you can prepare it, these are all the ways you can eat it, this is where it comes from, there’s more buyin about [eating fruits and vegetables],” Meschi said. “That’s really the missing link–the nutrition education.”

One program trying to address this growing need is the national farm-to-school program. Pajaro Valley tried to implement the program as a district several years ago, but it fell a part due to delivery issues and committed teachers who left.

DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION PROBLEMS FOR LOCAL FARMERS

So why can’t schools just get contracts with local farmers to supply more fruits and vegetables? Seasonal availability, liability insurance and lack of distribution networks are just a few things standing in their way.

Meschi mentioned strawberries grown in Watsonville being shipped to Sacramento before being distributed back to Watsonville. This is just one small example of the complicated distribution process for shipping to local schools, which we are investigating further.

NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM LACKS NUTRITION GUIDELINES

The current National School Lunch program requires that a district either adopt a “food-based system” or a “nutrient-based system,” neither of which enforce nutrition standards. Pajaro Valley has a nutrient-based system, which ensures that children receive the right number of calories. Children must choose three out of five items from different various food groups to get funding for reimbursable meals.

The National School Lunch Program is up for renegotiation this fall and nutrition guidelines are something Meschi hopes will be addressed.

Stay tuned to learn more about Pajaro Valley Unified School District and other districts grappling with how to offer healthier meals amid budget cuts and rising food costs.

If any one has any ideas, tips or leads about this story, please leave comments here or on the Sustainable School pitch page. The story is $380 shy of its goal, so pass this update along to any one you think may be interested in donating to make this piece possible.