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school lunches
Chicago School Bans Bag Lunches to Get Kids to Eat Less Junk Food
By Mara Gay - AOL NewsA push for healthier school lunches has led one Chicago school to ban students from bringing lunches from home altogether. Students at Chicago's Little Village Academy are required to eat the lunch provided to them by the school -- a policy that has cooked up controversy among parents and educators amid a national debate about the best way to promote healthy eating for children. "Some of the kids don't like the food they give at our school for lunch or breakfast," Erica Martinez, a parent at the school, told the Chicago Tribune, which first reported the story. "So it would be a good idea if ...
Top 10 Little-Known Washington Wins of 2010
By not in system - AOL NewsEveryone knows about health care reform, the tax cut deal, the end of "don't ask, don't tell." But in a contentious election year, Washington also managed to do much that, while it got little attention, will nevertheless make a difference in the lives of millions. So we asked our network of contributors on AOL's Seed to pore through the record and find the overlooked, underreported achievements. And here are the 10 best things Washington did in 2010 that you probably didn't know about. More Quiet Time By Chris Raphael It may not be Wall Street reform, tax cuts or health care, but ...
Obamas Pledge School Meals Will Be More Nutritious
By Dana Chivvis - AOL News
(Dec. 13) -- It takes a mere 6 cents per meal to increase the number of fruits and vegetables on the lunch menus of the nation's public schools, according to advocates of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law today at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, D.C. The legislation will provide that extra money -- amounting to a pledge of $4.5 billion over 10 years -- among other provisions, such as an extension of national nutritional standards to school foods sold outside cafeterias in places like vending machines and school ...
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act: 5 Questions Answered About the New Law
By J. Richard - AOL News(Dec. 13) -- President Barack Obama worked a little more bipartisan magic today by signing his nutrition bill into law, and that should help him when it comes to getting a good night's rest. Speaking from Harriet Tubman Middle School with first lady Michelle Obama by his side, the president joked that he would be "sleeping on the couch" if he couldn't pass the bill, called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, ABC News reported. Michelle Obama has made children's health and nutrition a priority as first lady. "At a very basic level, this act is about doing what's right for our ...
Child Nutrition Bill Backed by Michelle Obama Heads to President for Signing
By Lynn Sweet - Politics DailyThe House on Thursday passed a child nutrition bill that contains elements crucial to First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" anti-childhood obesity drive launched last February. The measure passed 264-157 after President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Pete Rouse helped calm Congressional Black Caucus fears that the poor will get shortchanged because of curbs in future food stamp benefits to help pay for the bill. The measure now heads to the president for signing. Mrs. Obama said in a statement, "I am so thrilled that the House of Representatives has passed "The Healthy, ...
Clever Cafeteria Layout Changes Can Transform Children's Nutrition
By Katie Drummond - AOL News(Oct. 26) -- Wrist-slaps, restricted options and "Big Brother"-esque monitoring systems aren't the only way to get kids eating healthier meals at school -- nor will the heavy-handed approaches prove to be the most effective alternative in the quest to push whole grains and salads over sodas and french fries. Instead, Cornell researchers, writing in this month's Atlantic, report that tiny tweaks to cafeteria layouts can make remarkable differences in what kids opt to eat. You can see a visual mock-up of their plan at The New York Times. Current efforts to revamp school nutrition often ...
Iowa Parents Revolt Over 'Big Brother' School Lunch Monitoring
By Katie Drummond - AOL News(Sept. 10) -- Talk about a food fight. Kids chowing down at Sioux City, Iowa, schools could soon see their mealtime choices recorded in a computer database, in a move that's being met with ire from parents upset over what they see as an overzealous effort to "Big Brother" the contents of cafeteria trays. The Healthy Kids Act, enacted in Iowa on July 1, requires schools to reduce the fat and sodium in children's lunches. The initiative will also eliminate carbonated soda and deep-fryers and replace white bread with higher-fiber options. Prudent steps all, and ones being initiated at schools ...
16 Million Hungry Kids, 1 New Idea for Feeding Them
By Judy Pasternak - AOL NewsWASHINGTON (Aug. 23) -- Acknowledging that the hunger faced by millions of American students during the summertime is "a catastrophe," the top nutrition official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to experiment with a totally new approach to feeding poor kids during the months they have no access to subsidized meals at school cafeterias. The idea: issue a seasonal electronic benefits card to families whose children are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches during the academic year. In an interview with AOL News, Undersecretary for Food and Nutrition Kevin Concannon said ...
Record Number of US Kids Facing Summer of Hunger
By Judy Pasternak - AOL NewsWASHINGTON (June 16) -- With the school year ending in communities across America, more than 16 million children face a summer of hunger. While classes were in session, they relied on free or discount cafeteria meals subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But they will not be reached by the patchwork summer food programs financed by the USDA, which feed fewer than one in five of the total number of kids poor enough to qualify. The children caught in the gap will likely spend the next few months cadging leftovers from neighbors, chowing down on cheap junk, lining up with their ...
Readers Respond: School Lunches, Taxes and Civics
By not in system - AOL News(April 15) -- Editor's note: Below is a sampling of reader feedback we received to op-eds published on AOL News over the past week. The comments have been edited for length and clarity. What's Wrong With School Lunches? by Laura Vanderkam I just wanted to say "thank you" for your article. People love to complain about school lunches, but they don't know anything about the regulations we have to keep. I have worked in school food service for about eight years. Every year the regulations and requirements increase. It is sometimes hard to understand, so the people who don't deal with it on a ...
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