Reposted From “Nutrition In The Schools”
Originally Posted on Chef Ann Cooper’s Blog
Ten Reasons to Fix School Lunch and Save Our Children’s Future
Five Facts to Motivate Us
1. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that of the children born in the year 2000, one out of every three Caucasians and one out of every two African Americans and Hispanics will contract Diabetes in their Lifetime – most before they graduate high school.
2. The achievement gap, which is truly a social justice issue will never be shrunk unless we clearly understand that healthy food is linked to academic performance. Hungry or malnourished students cannot learn to the best of their abilities.
3. Studies have shown that a diet consisting of foods high in fats, sugars, food additives and artificial colors, and low in vitamins, minerals and other protective factors such as fiber and phytochemicals commonly found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains can negatively impact learning.
4. National Institutes of Health has stated that, of the six leading causes of death in the United States, four are linked to unhealthy diets. The gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor has widened by almost 50% in the last 20 years – much of that can be attributed to diet and exercise.
5. Exposure to pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals through our food supply is being increasingly linked to such conditions and ADD, ADHD, antibiotic resistance and early onset of puberty, as well as diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
Five Facts to Give Us Hope
6. Because Harry S Truman was right when he said; “No nation is healthier than its children or more prosperous than its farmers.”
7. A study done by Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the CDC of a school in New York showed that 80% of the children and or parents changed the way they cooked, ate or shopped because of the school’s food program.
8. A recent study in Berkeley CA done by the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health provided findings that children in the school districts program ate three times as many vegetables when eating school lunch as those students who brought their lunch from home.
9. A study done by Massachusetts General showed that children served a nutritious breakfast were better able to learn and had less behavioral problems.
10. Removing chocolate milk from schools could remove 4 – 6 pounds of sugar from children’s diet every year.
All facts attributable to Chef Ann Cooper and citations can be found on this http://www.chefann.com/