WASHINGTON — Usually it’s Mom and Dad talking up all things green and good for you. Wednesday at a Virginia elementary school, however, parents listened as Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explained why their children’s school meals would go lean as early as next school year.
“You asked for something better for our kids,” Obama told parents. “Kids can’t be expected to sit still and concentrate when they’re on a sugar high or when they’re stuffed with salty, greasy food – or when they’re hungry.”
Vilsack and celebrity chef Rachael Ray were on-hand to share specifics of the government’s plan for healthier school meals. Vilsack explained the United States Department of Agriculture’s just-released national standards for school lunches, and Ray debuted her ground turkey taco recipe, as an example of what schools will soon serve to comply with last year’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
All special guests moved into the cafeteria of Parklawn Elementary, a health-conscious Fairfax County school, where they were greeted by students cheering and waving about 100 miniature American flags.
Obama said schools should have no problem complying with the changes required by the law that she pushed last year. She said swaps like white for brown rice and whole for one-percent milk will make all schoolchildren healthier, and ensure those who arrive hungry do not stay that way.
“For many kids whose families are struggling, school meals can be their main or only source of nutrition for the entire day,” she said. “So when we serve higher quality food in schools, we’re not just fighting childhood obesity, we’re taking the important steps needed to fight child hunger as well.”
The USDA standards promoted at Parklawn will change what 32 million children nationwide eat at schools over the next three years, and mark the first significant change to school meals in 15 years.
Interactive Graphic by Rachel Morello
