Food and Fun

When I went to school, I brought a lunch daily except for one Wednesday a month. A fruit, vegetable, and jelly sandwich was packed. Each day I excepted the offerance of white 2% milk during the lunch break. We sat around our desks eating enjoyably, telling jokes, and sometimes laughing so hard that my friend Nicki would have milk squirting from her nose! One Wednesday of the month was our special day...Hot Dog Day. One or 2 parents would volunteer to come in to make the hot dogs. We had sign up for treats as well.

Now schools serve a hot lunch. This lunch is meant to successfully serve all students. Affordability is key. The more popular it became, the more school kids needed to be fed, the less money the schools had to spend on quality food. Now it is a rarity to have some type of "fresh food" on the tray. Chicken nuggets, pizza, and hamburgers are the main course. Fries are a vegetable. And if you get a fruit, it must have come from a can.

Once my children went to school they no longer liked the food at home. They would be asking for chips, cereal, or sausage for snacks. They would try to bypass the fruit bowl. They became particular about which veggie they liked. If not asked about, they would have taken chocolate or strawberry milk up to twice daily!

I certainly have not yet developed the complete raw foodist approach to dietary intake but I am passionate about conscious healthy eating. I'm a huge believer in the Ellen Satter recommendations of parent versus child responsibility- Parents are responsible for 1. what foods are offered, 2. when the food is offered, and 3. where the food is offered. The child is responsible for 1. what they eat that is offered and 2. how much they eat that is offered. Simple. I realized I had thought that the school was going to be the "parent". My fault!

In our country, obesity has tripled and diabetic rates quadrupled since the 80s. Food consumption needs to change. It's like the cigarette of the 60s. We started to get it in the 80s but too late now, Lung Cancer is the #1 cancer killer. Luckily our cigarette consumption rates have plummeted but we needed government to take major steps for that to happen. People complain about the government being involved too much yet McDonald's has a drive through line 10 cars deep each am for that "must have mocha whatever it is" and packed in the restaurant each evening for the super size whatever you can meal. 20% of cancers are obesity related...now...what about in 10 years when our obesity rates are 40% or 80% rather than 20% (overweight rate is currently at 65% in Washington County).

A movement has started in our small town of Kewaskum. A group of parents, health care professionals, and educators have been assembling over the last 6 months. We now call ourselves "B.U.F.F" which stands for Better U Food Force. Our 2 main goals are 1. To provide education regarding food to our school aged children and 2. To improve the food consumption of food at home and at school for our school aged children. One of our current projects has been cultivating information on school gardening. We are excited how easy this may be done at one of our local schools. Success is seen when kids participate from start to finish. Eating, selling, and creating the foods from their own garden would be a thrilling curriculum for them to learn.

A strong presence at my children's school is the PTO. Under the expert guidance of Lisa Sullivan, many Friday evenings are "free family fun nights". This Friday we had a "Food and Fun" night. The turnout was a tremendous success. When each family walked through the school door, they were handed a "passport" to help them navigate from place to place. Vibrant Life/Vibrant Child (www.naturesgardenspot.com) was there with the "Tasting Safari". Small samples of foods like jicama, raw pumpkin seeds, and pineapple were sampled for all to enjoy. I volunteered to make hummus with the kids while Matt made delicious banana/peanut butter smoothies to try! Sarah helped each of the kids "pledge" to never start smoking and took their picture to prove it to them later! Mr. Meinen, the school physical education teacher, stayed after a long days work to help out with an obstacle course. We had the local community garden growers there. Bonnie proudly mentioned that a family signed up to plant a plot this spring. Patti and Christine, our caring YMCA reps, helped with nutrition education puzzles and literature for the parents. Ali and Barb, local chicken farmers, brought in some of their beautiful eggs to show the kids they come in all different shapes and sizes. We had the Wii there so many could try our Dance Party 2 action. To top off the evening another YMCA rep, Lori, led a group of kids and adults (good for you parents!) to a Zumba class. Lisa did an amazing job with door prizes and giveaways!

This was a nice event. The parents saw that their kids do eat good healthy foods when given the chance. There was exercise, even sweating...and a little bit of butt wiggling. It was a creative way to give back while having fun with food and dance.

After an interesting week for educators in Wisconsin, it sure was nice to end with such a meaningful school event. I so appreciate the hard work the community does to help raise our children. Ms. Molebash, Principal of 2 elementary schools in our area, puts in a lot of time beyond the school hours for these kids. She is wonderful and has a desire to help our children be well. Thank you.

Namaste Good People...Namaste.
Paula