Lunchline Lunchlady: Envisioning a Different Lunch Program World

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Envisioning a Different Lunch Program World

How did we get here? When did we get rid of all the kitchens that cooked food from scratch and how will we ever go back? This is not an easy problem to solve. The evolution of the school lunch food industry is a tale that is hard to understand and incomprehensible to the average person looking to make sense of the food their child eats at school. USDA commodities dump cheap agricultural products into the school food system, virtually free food that is sometimes fresh and healthy, sometimes not. It would be interesting to see how much cheese is passed onto the schools in the commodities program--cheese, cheese everywhere.

School lunch contracts can involve government refunds for the number of students who "participate" in the school lunch program, making selling those meals a priority so that budgets can be met. And like most capitalistic markets, the cheaper the food that is bought, the more the profit that is made by the school and the food service provider so there is no incentive to sell BETTER food that might cost more. Until now.

Parents around the country are stepping up to do the research to find out how their school food service systems work. So are chefs, nutritionists and self-made activists of all walks of life. Many companies in this industry are realizing the trend toward healthier eating includes institutional food, especially where children are concerned and are proactively looking for ways to progress with this effort. Any food service provider who doesn't get this soon, will probably be asked not to have a contract renewed within the next five years if the grassroots efforts around the country continue as they have been.

Alice Waters, Toni Liquori, Ann Cooper. Google these women and see what they've done. Jamie Oliver in the UK. Lunch programs in Rome. These are the warriors in this revolution. Children need to eat food that is made as close to its natural state as is possible. So do adults. With patience, time and a good amount of brainstorming, we'll figure out how to move school food to a new future. The lunchlady promises it. Sending your kid to school with a brown bag lunch won't change what's ailing us as a society. It takes a community to make change happen. Join us.

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2006 Princeton Packet Editorial--Farm markets fill the void of Jersey past

June 16, 2006: Back in the days when New Jersey really was the Garden State, you couldn't drive more than a few miles without coming upon a friendly roadside stand offering corn, tomatoes, blueberries and other fresh produce in abundance. Even today, there are pockets of farmland around the state, particularly in South Jersey, where passers-by can pick up fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the source. In some cases, the roadside stand sits right on the farmland — and customers are encouraged to head out into the fields themselves, baskets in hand, and gather their own bountiful harvest. But here in Central Jersey, much of the farmland that once graced the landscape has given way to suburban sprawl — and what little agriculture is left doesn't readily lend itself to a bustling roadside business. Instead, many of the remaining farms have transformed themselves into boutique businesses, specializing in organic products — which, loosely translated, means they're generally healthier (and more expensive) than what you get in the supermarket. If the days when one could pick up a couple of dozen ears of sweet Jersey corn for a buck are long gone, the opportunity to shop for farm-fresh produce here in the heart of suburbia has, fortunately, come knocking in recent years. First in West Windsor, and then in Montgomery, one of the region's least attractive sights — an idle parking lot — has been turned once a week into a thriving farmers' market, offering a wide array of fresh goods to a steady stream of satisfied customers. The West Windsor Community Farmers' Market began its third year of operation about a month ago. Open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the market is located in the southbound Vaughn Drive parking lot of the Princeton Junction train station off Alexander Road. This year, the West Windsor market features 10 farms selling conventional, organic and specialty Asian vegetables, bedding plants, fruit, fresh-cut flowers, grass-fed beef and pork, eggs, poultry, pot pies and other farmer-produced products. Also available are fresh and locally made breads, pastries, tarts and croissants from an area bakery, as well as hot coffee, cold drinks and sandwiches. The Montgomery Friends Farmers Market opened Thursday. Now in its fourth year of operation, the market is located in the parking lot of the Princeton North Shopping Center, just south of Route 518 on Route 206. It is open from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and will run through Oct. 26. The Montgomery market features fresh fruits and vegetables — both organic and conventionally grown — as well as flowers, honey, bread and baked goods, poultry, organic popcorn and sweet and savory pies. The market plans a number of special events throughout the summer, including Kids Celebrate Summer, Red White and Blue Barbecues, special recipe days, special guest days, coupon days and more. These markets do more than turn acres of unsightly asphalt into fertile fields of fresh food. They promote New Jersey agriculture, which helps keep farms in business — which, in turn, helps keep farmland out of the hands of developers. Perhaps more important, they help provide a sense of place, a communal island in a sea of subdivisions, a spot where friends and neighbors can come together — or just bump into each other — and share a few moments in a pleasant outdoor setting. Fast-growing suburban municipalities like West Windsor and Montgomery have too few such places, which is a large part of the reason West Windsor is seeking to redevelop the area around the Princeton Junction train station, and Montgomery has similar designs on the former North Princeton Developmental Center, now known as Skillman Village. But those projects are years away; in the meantime, these seasonal farmers' markets are a welcome enterprise — doing their part, in a small way, toward building a sense of community. And doing so, we might add, most tastefully.

Lunchline Lunchlady

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Envisioning a Different Lunch Program World

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Check out New Jersey's seasonal chart for what's in season

2006 Princeton Packet Editorial--Farm markets fill the void of Jersey past

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