National School Lunch Week: Presidential Proclamation, Great Resources & Personal Action

October 11, 2010 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

Did you know that this week is National School Lunch Week? Last Friday, President Obama issued a proclamation stating that he is committed to making sure that the National School Lunch Program serves “meals that will contribute to the health and well-being of a new generation.” This is a lofty goal and of course one that we enthusiastically support. President Obama and Congress: please help us reach this goal by getting a strong reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act passed.

With that goal in mind, this is a great week to check out some of the great resources that support healthy school food.

The School Nutrition Association has put together a fun new site for kids to engage them in healthy food and active lifestyles. Students who visit www.WhatsOnYourTray.org can take a personality quiz to reveal which of the site’s cartoon characters fits their personality the best. Each character comes paired with healthy eating tips, emphasizing the components of well-balanced school meals.

If you haven’t checked out Let's Move! in awhile, take a moment to do so. The site has expanded in the past months and it has great resources for parents, chefs, political leaders and kids — it’s all there.

The HealthierUS School Challenge is the USDA’s program to encourage physical activity and healthy diets. It’s a great program to involve a school’s whole community in the discussion of obesity and wellness. There are even grants available to schools who qualify. When talking about this program, we can’t neglect to mention Go for the Gold, HSC’s partnership with Chicago Public Schools to support schools in meeting the high standards for food, physical activity and nutrition education set by the HealthierUS School Challenge.

These resources will be of the most value when parents, teachers, school food service professionals, students and everyone else in the school community speaks up about what’s for lunch.

So on this week, what are your kids eating for lunch in school? Are they prepared to choose healthy options? What kind of changes are going on in your community to support healthy meals at school?

We’d love to hear what’s going on at your school, and encourage you to stay involved in the effort to make sure that school food truly contributes, in words of this week’s proclamation, to “the health and well-being of a new generation.”