By Kim Porter
Sustainability Studies student
My children attended a parochial school for their elementary school years. They didn’t have a cafeteria in which food was provided; I would pack a sack lunch. Although I knew that people in the community had a need for food, I hadn’t experienced it first hand until my son transferred to a public school starting in 6th grade. He had made so many friends, and one in particular had befriended him and our family very early into the school year. Aaron first started coming over after school, and my daughter and Austin would take him home after we had dinner while I cleaned the kitchen. Soon, Aaron started to spend the night on Fridays. When he said that his family didn’t go to church, he asked if he could also spend the night on Saturdays and go to Sunday Mass with us. I didn’t object. Austin and Aaron got along so well together, he was always polite, always put his plate away, and kept his clothes neatly in a plastic sack. It wasn’t until my girlfriend opened my eyes that the reason that Aaron wanted to come over so much, especially weekends and throughout the summer months, wasn’t just because he liked our family, but we had food and a lot of it compared to his household. I thought that he loved my cooking, but the fact is I could’ve cooked shoe leather and he probably would have eaten it.
Even if Aaron’s family had the extra money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, the two grocery stores that were within walking distance had closed and the nearest store was approximately 2 miles away. The lack of grocery stores within one mile isn’t uncommon throughout the United States in low income neighborhoods. According to the USDA, 57% of low income families have a limited access to a grocery store. Because the lack of good, nutritious food is unavailable, and more fast food or convenience food options are readily available, this causes food insecurity among the poor and middle class.1 So what is food insecurity? The USDA defines food security as having “access to food, by all people, at all times, for an active, healthy life.”2 This lack of accessible food in a neighborhood has been coined a “food desert.”3 Instead of walking to a store to buy fresh food, a Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Arby’s provides fast food meals at a lower cost than taking the bus, lugging the groceries back to the home, and then fixing the food. It is too inconvenient. Convenience stores have groceries available at a higher cost than the supermarket or grocery store and fresh fruits and vegetables are not usually available.
So if buying food from a grocery store is difficult for an adult, just think of what children go through when there is no way of getting food. This is where our school systems have picked up the tremendous slack. I never had a reason to make inquiries about the lunch programs that are available through our school system until now. So, I made a few telephone calls and was able to speak with the Nutrition Education Facilitator for the South Bend Community School Corporation, Karen Case. Without surprise on my part or hesitation on hers, she told me that the percentage of children without food is extremely high among all 30 schools in the South Bend Corporation. Thank goodness there are several programs available to these children to meet their dietary needs in school and also when they are not in school.
The first program that she explained, called the National School Reduced Lunch Program, was implemented in the 1940s. The school lunch program is available to low income families that can show their need for assistance by filling out an eligibility form. Once the criterion has been evaluated for eligibility, those students have a reduced lunch cost of $0.40. In the 1990s, the breakfast program was added with the same criteria which made breakfast available for $0.30. In approximately 10 of the 30 schools in South Bend, 70% or less of the student body is receiving some assistance for food. The other 20 schools (approximately), have more than 70% of the student body receiving assistance for the school’s reduced breakfast and lunch programs. When you put that into perspective, 7 out of 10 children are hungry and do not have food security at home. Because of the overwhelming need, another program, called Provision 3, grants all students, (regardless of need), free breakfast and lunch, and is available in these 20 schools.
Unfortunately because the need is so great, there are several other programs that have had to be implemented so that every category is covered. For those students that are staying after school through an after school program, a healthy snack is provided. For those students that will be participating in activities that will cause them to remain at the school up to or past 6:00 p.m., a healthy dinner will be provided. (The latter is only for the Provision 3 students). Another program for the younger students of primary school age, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program has been implemented. In the five primary schools in the South Bend Corporation, Tuesday through Friday, samples of fresh fruits and vegetables are given to the students to try. This may be the only time that they will be able to taste a variety of fresh produce. The backpack program gives children food to take home for the weekend and during the summer, and the School Corporation works with the South Bend Parks Department to distribute lunches.4
With all of these programs, you would think that these children are well taken care of by “the village.” However, without education of where food comes from, how it is grown, and how to prepare the food, we collectively as the village are doing a disservice to these kids. The cycle to eat convenience food or fast food will be all that they will know and will continue into their adulthood. But don’t fret, because another program is starting to grow (pardon the pun), and I mean literally. Community gardens are now being incorporated into the school curriculum. Starting with the primary schools and continuing through the high school years, students are learning how to grow, harvest, and prepare the foods that are grown in the garden.
An example of a successful program is at the McKinley Primary School. Through the efforts of the teachers and students, McKinley was one of two schools in the state of Indiana that won the Healthy U.S. School Challenge Award, which is the highest award in the country.
This was no easy task. A Community Garden was planted which allowed teachers to incorporate a learning lab to teach the science of the plants grown in the garden. The school also had to revamp menus and incorporate an aerobic exercise program into the curriculum. By teaching these children a healthy lifestyle at an early age, they will surely carry this into adulthood and hopefully educate their families along the way. An added plus is the community gardens that are helping the neighborhoods. By allowing neighbors to help themselves to fresh fruits and vegetables, they too are learning to care for the land, care for each other and take care of their bodies by fueling it with natural foods instead of processed foods. This has a ripple effect. By eating healthy and exercising, the chances of developing diseases associated with poor eating practices of fast food dining and convenience foods is lessened. This in turn lowers health care costs.
In conclusion, what the South Bend Community Schools has done is reduce the barriers that surround these children and their families so they may be part of a sustainable society; a society where people have access to healthy, fresh foods for themselves and their families; a society where communities can feel pride again and reverse the deterioration that has plagued them. What society has created, (the haves and have not’s), the teachers and administration, with the help of the government programs are trying to unravel so that these kids can be viable contributors to society physically, mentally and socially. 5
Citations:
1. & 3. Hesterman, Oran. “The System and Its Dysfunctions” (pg. 18,) Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable, Food System For All. New York: Public Affairs, 2011
2. USDA Economic Research Service. www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx#.UmRalXCkqMM
4. Case, Karen. South Bend Community School Corporation Nutritional Education Facilitator. (574)283-8063
5. United States Sustainability Primer, Step by Natural Step, 2009. “The Big Picture” (pg. 5)
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