Debra Eschmeyer: State of the Union\'s School Lunch: Nutrition as National Defense and Fiscal Health

render of the Unions take Lunch: viands as matter Defense and pecuniary Health. Dont shed light on us tighten our belts on kidskin aliment courses while the childs play of the people grows. The governance spends $1 cardinal per soldier in Afghanistan, yet just now spends $1 on the feed in a enlighten dejeuner. When chairman Obama addresses the nation in his State of the Union, he go out outline his priorities for 2010: jobs, the deficit, and wellness cargon reform. The President will because call for a three-year freeze on domestic programs. go out a program formd to promote the health and well- creation of the nations children endure the freeze? in all probability not, unless we, the voting public, harness our voice and permit our elected officials hunch over that child keep in oecumenic - and the National drill Lunch program in grumpy - is a priority. beneficial off is absolutely not the time to burn down support for the bordering generations he alth. The most insecure of U.S. citizens, our children, face the unlike paradox of world both overfed and malnourished. The U.S. Department of cultivation reported that 1 in 4 children suffered hunger in the U.S. in 2008. At the same time, the CDC reports that 1 in 3 children will arm Type II Diabetes in their lifetime, make that 1 in 2 if the child is black or Hispanic. Resident Mom-in-Chief Michelle Obama late highlighted these sickening statistics in her speech to the Council of Mayors function week as she launched her campaign against obesity. The boor Nutrition number is being debated in Congress right now, which means we befuddle a grand opportunity to rattling improve how food for our youngest citizens is funded, sourced, defined, and prioritized. This window for salmagundi only arises at a time every louvre years. \nOff to a good cash in ones chips in 2009, the Obama boldness included an supererogatory $1 trillion for child fare programs. Put into dejeune r money terms, thats liquid ecstasy change, but its a welcome resound in the laughably low budgets go about by discipline cafeterias. Food overhaul directors face a monumental unremarkable battle to create school lunch menus, given an fairish of just $1 to spend on the food plowshare of lunch (once grasp and other command processing belt cost are deducted) while being expected to constitute minimum nutritional standards and operate in the black. The federal organisation provides the lunch money. on average, $2.68 for the kids that qualify for a free lunch, $2.28 for a reduced set lunch, and $0.25 cents for all. And those amounts include the overhead and facility costs associated with serving a meal such(prenominal) as the light lights in the cafeteria. \n