Improving Student Nutrition

By Rachel P. Norton

San Francisco deserves a school meal program equal to the city's reputation as a food mecca. It's time for the district to lead a major initiative on improving the quality and freshness of meals served to students.

Of course, there is a great deal more to be done. San Francisco is a food mecca, and many people deplore the fact that meals served to students are largely made by a food processor in Illinois, then sent frozen by truck to be reheated at school sites. If San Francisco had a central kitchen or some other cooking operation, meals would be fresher and quality would be better.

For years, SNS Director Ed Wilkins and other concerned stakeholders working on school food have tried to find funding for initiatives like more SNS staff, an expanded breakfast program, and more choices for lunch. Additional recommended improvements to the program include:
--Hiring more area supervisors to improve the functioning of the department and quality control in the cafeterias;
--Adding an additional menu option and increasing staffing at the elementary school level; and
--Introducing universal breakfast in the classroom.

However, in today's budget environment, implementing any of this is a tall order -- especially since the nutrition program already runs at a considerable deficit, projected at $2.2 million in 2012-13. There are possibilities for additional revenues -- either through grants, partnerships or even a ballot initiative, but to realize those possibilities, the district will need to demonstrate vision and leadership.

Happily, based on the longtime advocacy for these projects by SNS staff and the Food and Fitness Committee, the interest from our new Superintendent, Richard Carranza, and the overall interest in improving school food that I see in the broader community, I think the time is ripe for the district to lead a major initiative on student nutrition.