D.C. Public Schools in the last two years have taken in more than $1 million in corporate rebates–referred to by some as “kickbacks”–paid by giant food manufacturers as an inducement to place their brands on kids’ cafeteria trays at school.
Documents obtained by The Slow Cook through the Freedom of Information Act show that Chartwells, the company hired [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Tales'
Corporate Rebates: The Million-Dollar Elephant in the Cafeteria
July 12th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Tales, kids, school food
Tags: rebates
“Healthy Schools” with a Big Lump of Sugar
April 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Tales, Wellness, kids, school food
“Healthy Schools” legislation written by D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh comes up for its first committee vote today after months of deliberations and with one very conspicuous missing element: no regulation of sugar in school meals.
Removing the astonishing amount of sugar served to D.C. school children every day is probably the quickest and cheapest way to make school meals [...]
Tags: "Healthy Schools"·sugar
You Call This Food?
April 8th, 2010 · 12 Comments · Tales, kids
I was ready to have a perfectly civilized discussion–blog-to-blog–with Sam Fromartz over at ChewsWise on the subject of what we can do to get kids to eat better when I was stopped dead in my tracks by the lunch being served at my daughter’s elementary school here in the nation’s capital. Look at the photo [...]
Tags: school food
A Teacher Crusades for Better School Food and Gets Stomped
April 6th, 2010 · 49 Comments · Tales, school food
Mendy Heaps, a stellar English teacher for years, had never given much thought to the food her seventh-graders were eating. Then her husband, after years of eating junk food, was diagnosed with cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure and suddenly the french fries, pizza and ice cream being served in the cafeteria at rural Elizabeth Middle School outside Denver, Col., took [...]
Tags: teachers
Sorry, We Can’t Cook: D.C. Schools Say ‘No’ to More Vegetables
March 18th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Tales, Wellness, kids
In a move that could signal a serious fault line in the argument for more vegetables as a tonic for childhood obesity, drafters of “Healthy Schools” legislation pending before the D.C. Council have skuttled a push for additional produce in school meals after school officials said they cannot guarantee their kitchens can prepare vegetables that kids will [...]
New Study: Kids Who Eat School Food Are Fatter
March 16th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Tales, Wellness, food news, kids
A new study from the University of Michigan finds that kids who eat the food served in schools are more likely to be overweight or obese than peers who bring lunch from home, and also are more likely to suffer from high levels of “bad” cholesterol.
The study, which examined the eating habits of some 1,300 Michigan [...]
Tags: obesity·school food
School Lunch: Glycemic Bomb
March 10th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Tales, kids
Originally posted at the Better D.C. School Food blog.
Cheap carbohydrates are the favorite foods of school districts across the country. What’s wrong with carbs? Unlike protein and fat, carbohydrates turn into sugar (glucose) when you eat them, which signals the body to produce insulin. A powerful hormone, insulin is responsible for storing fat in the [...]
Tags: carbohydrates·insulin·school food
More Gardens, Less Sugar, Says D.C. Schools Chief
February 22nd, 2010 · 4 Comments · Tales, food news
D.C. Schools COO, Anthony Tata
Anthony Tata, a former brigadier general and career Army officer in charge of procurement in Afghanistan, is the chief operating officer for D.C. Public Schools, second in rank to chancellor Michelle Rhee. Tata was a close reader of our recent series of articles on the food served in D.C. schools–Tales from a [...]
We’re in WashPost “Outlook” Today
February 14th, 2010 · 9 Comments · Tales, kids
There’s been an impressive convergence of attention on school food recently, with “Healthy Schools” legislation introduced in the D.C. Council, then my series of blog posts, “Tales from a D.C. School Kitchen,” detailing the woeful food being served at my daughter’s elementary school, followed by the launch this week of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood [...]
Tags: obesity·press·school food·white house
Breaking News: D.C. Schools Looking for New Food Provider?
February 12th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Tales, food news
Bill Turque, education reporter for The Washington Post, reports in his online column, “D.C. Schools Insider” that schools Chief Operating Officer Anthony Tata is exploring a possible switch from current food provider Chartwells.
Chartwells is the company behind the six-part series I reported here after spending a week in the kitchen of my daughter’s elementary school [...]
Tags: Chartwells·kids·school food
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, about a mile from the White House.
