Advocates of school nutrition standards use high-school chefs' competition to show that food can still taste good

The higher school-food standards required by the Child Nutrition Act expire this year, and Republicans are continuing their efforts to roll back some of them. Democrats and advocates of the standards used a student cooking event on Capitol Hill to generate support for the standards, apparently to counter arguments of some school nutrition directors that some of the healthier options are more difficult to prepare and serve.

In the final competition, the top nine high-school teams served their winning dishes to lawmakers. The dishes had to follow their cafeterias' budgets and the national standards: To win, students had to include products rich in whole grains, low in sodium and a half-cup of fruits and vegetables, Whitney Forman-Cook reports for Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter. She doesn't list any of the dishes, but they're listed with the winners on the "Cooking Up Change" website of the Healthy Schools Campaign.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., hosted the event. She said that she and Senate Agriculture Committee Chariman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who has vowed to roll back some of the standards, have been discussing the issue, and she would like to pass a bipartisan bill by Sept. 30, when the current law's authority ends. One standard Stabenow doesn't want to compromise on is the requirement for a half-cup of fruit and vegetables; Michigan is a big fruit and vegetable state.

Stabenow said the Department of Agriculture "is very willing to work with schools where there are issues" in meeting nutrition requirements. (Read more)

Event at UK library features discussion of Kentucky food traditions, how they are changing and how to capitalize on them

Story and photo by Melissa Landon
Kentucky Health News

Local food experts gathered at the University of Kentucky April 9 to discuss how Kentucky food tradition is changing and how to develop local food culture through businesses and other means.

"From Plows to Plates: A Journey Through Kentucky Foodways" was an event sponsored by the UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center. It included a panel discussion, book signings by local food authors and food samples. Panelists included anthropology professor John van Willigen, author of Kentucky's Cookbook Heritage: 200 Years of Southern Cuisine and Culture; Ouita Michel of Midway, chef and proprietor of several restaurants; Tiffany Thompson, horticulturist and manager of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Community Supported Agriculture program; and Kristy Yowell, marketing manager of the Good Foods Co-Op in Lexington.

"I want to elevate Kentucky food culture way above restaurants," Michel said. "Restaurants are not food culture." She said Kentucky is known for its chain restaurants, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, but she wants to focus on helping young chefs and small businesses succeed.

Emma Yetter talks about vegetables via community supported agriculture.

Yowell said, "We want to make affordable, healthy food for everyone. That shouldn't be a privilege."

Thompson said Kentucky's history has had a lot to do with tobacco, which is becoming less prominent. He said community supported agriculture, in which local residents agree to buy produce in advance, has much potential. "What can Kentucky agriculture do to positively influence health? Make more vegetables! CSA is growing, and I'm really excited about it."

The college's CSA Vegetable Program allows people to sign up to receive weekly seasonal vegetables throughout the spring, summer and fall. It costs $19 per week for the smallest "share" of vegetables, which is enough for a single person or a couple, said Emma Yetter, who works events and does deliveries for the program.

Associate Dean of Libraries Deirdre A. Scaggs, author of The Historic Kentucky Kitchen, said at the event that her inspiration for the book came from working in the Special Collections Research Center. She found old recipes, many of which were hand-written, and decided to try them out. She collected over 100 recipes, tested them and modified some of the instructions so a modern audience could understand them.

Survey shows satisfaction with after-school programs aimed at helping children's health and physical fitness

Kentucky Health News

A household survey for the Afterschool Alliance shows that after-school programs may be key in preventing childhood obesity in Kentucky and across the nation. The "Kids on the Move: After-School Programs Promoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity" survey showed parentswere generally satisfield with the programs, which are aimed at health and physical fitness.

The great majority of parents (78 percent in Kentucky and 72 percent nationally) report that after-school programs give their children snacks, drinks and/or meals, and 80 percent in Kentucky say that the sustenance provided is healthy. Eighty-six percent of Kentucky parents report that their child's afterschool program provides opportunities for physical activity. To see the rest of the statistics, click here.

"Afterschool programs are a proven, but sometimes underappreciated, weapon in the battle against childhood obesity and physical inactivity," said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant.  "The healthy habits afterschool programs help instill can last a lifetime."

Key national findings from Kids on the Move:

• Older youth are less likely than younger children to attend an after-school program that offers food and less likely to be physically active in their program.
• Providing healthy food during after-school programs is especially important to low-income, African-American and Hispanic parents.
• Opportunities for physical activity are important to African-American, Hispanic and low-income parents.
• Many parents are unaware that standards for healthy eating and physical activity exist for afterschool programs. The Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Standards recommend best practices related to food and activity, including at least 30 minutes of morning or after-school program time for physical activity (60 minutes for a full day program).

Kids on the Move recommends that providers of afterschool programs make sure they are aware of policies that support such programs. Findings from America After 3PM show that in the last 10 years, afterschool program participation has risen from 6.5 million to 10.2 million, and 19.5 million parents said they would send their children to an afterschool program if one were available.