Food for Thought
Food for Thought, the Ojai Healthy Schools Program, is addressing a couple issues at the School Board meeting tonight, where next year's Nutrition Services program and budget are on the agenda.
The meeting begins at 7 pm and is held at Ojai Unified School District Board Room, Room #1, 414 East Ojai Ave. - across from Azu, behind the Chaparral Auditorium.
A letter from Food for Thought after the jump:
Dear friends:
We at Food for Thought request that you book the evening of June 26 to attend the School Board meeting, where important aspects of next year's Nutrition Services program and budget are up for discussion.
There are two things we hope to address for which we want your support: (a) modifications to the District's Wellness Policy which Suzanne Lugotoff will be proposing in order to reduce her Department's deficit; and (b) aspects of the lunch. We have a small team assembled to speak on a number of specifics, but we want parents and concerned citizens to be present to demonstrate to the Board members community support for our concerns and approach. If anyone wants to speak, that's fine too.
Nutrition Services is working off a $120,000 deficit from this year, projecting a $160,000 deficit next school year. Basically, we expect Suzanne to request changes in the Wellness Policy that would allow for increased fat content (from 30 to 35%), that would increase the size of allowable Gatorade containers in vending machines at secondary from 12 to 20 oz. bottles, that would allow the sale of snacks at the elementary lunch including "vegetables" (chips), and increase the size of the breakfast baked goods.
Our argument in response is going to be a package of themes: (a) we have a health crisis in this country and this district derived from what we eat; sacrificing our children's future health is not an appropriate response to a situational deficit; (b) there will be some specifics on the health impacts of the proposed policy changes; (c) we're going to argue that the way to deal with the deficit is to create a lunch program that can be marketed to district families and thereby increase participation.
Please plan to attend the Board meeting; please also let us know if you will attend and if you would like to speak. (Reply to Lori.) As we get closer to the date we will let you know more specifically what time our topic will come up.
Thank you very much.
| Permalink | author bio | 
Comments (1)
I just learned more about the history of the food/lunch programs in California and Ojai, and why they are facing deficits, etc.
Here is "The Skinny" as I understand it:
*The Nutrition Services of Ojai schools has a big deficit this year and is projected to incur an even larger one next year. There is a long history of why and how this came to pass but it is an inherited system that was based on reimbursments given to the school for children who can't afford the lunch program. Now, through a new tallying system, it is realized that less kids than thought are receiving aid so the school is in turn receiving less.
*The schools have limited ways in which they can make money due to certain laws and propositions.
*A "Wellness Policy" was instituted in all in US schools that set nutritional guidelines for what food can be available in schools.
*The schools are following the Wellness Policy but could do much better nutritionally.
*There is the possibility the Wellness Policy will be relaxed, i.e., even less nutritious items might be sold on campus in order to make more money to help pay off the deficit.
*Food For Thought is working on a plan that has the potential to pay off the deficit by making lunches more nutritious and exciting to students and parents and ultimately attracting more paying lunch customers.
*Food For Thought is hoping Ojai citizens will show up at the meeting in support of their program.
*Food For Thought wants to work in harmony with the Board so positive goals can be met.
If you want to learn more about the menus currently served in ojai schools, here is a link:
http://www.ojai.k12.ca.us/Default.aspx?tabid=571
Here is the location and time of the meeting. This item is early in the meeting so I was told 7:30 pm would be a good time to show up.
*Meetings begin at 7 pm and are held at Ojai Unified School District Board Room, Room #1, 414 East Ojai Ave. -- across from Azu, behind the Chaparral Auditorium.
Comment #1 Posted by: kate | June 26, 2007 12:07 PM