“America is overfed, yet undernourished. Are your kids?” - Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D, author of “Disease-Proof Your Child”

Keeping the Redwood City School District Healthy

March is National Nutrition Month, and a great reminder to keep our kids munching on fruits and veggies. Let’s celebrate by checking out what our very own community has to offer! My kids often grab some extra grub at snack time from the school cafeteria, though since we’re vegan (we don’t consume meat, eggs, or dairy) their options are pretty limited. Our personal preferences aside, 64 percent of kids in our district (most qualifying for free and reduced lunch) rely on the school lunch program - many eating more than half their daily calories on campus. So how are the schools working to keep kids healthy?

Anna Lague, a Registered Dietitian and our Redwood City School District Wellness Coordinator, is center stage on this topic. She’s employed by Sodexo,  the company that supplies food for our district, and by the school district itself (they  partner with Sodexo). She’s the woman behind the pen, responsible for planning the menu each month.

Anna was gracious enough to meet with me and fill me in on all the delicious details, and just let me say - since my  own school girl days in the cafeteria, we’ve come a long way, baby! Gone are the days of mystery meat and tuna surprise, and welcome to the table whole grains - buns, spaghetti and rice are found throughout Redwood City in a beautiful shade of brown, which conveniently sit next to the fresh all-you-can-eat salad bar!

With 16 schools and providing around 5,650 meals a day, Anna’s got one tough job. Juggle this with teaching knife safety to her staff, planning meals that teachers, kids, and parents can agree on, and projects through the Wellness Committee, it’s amazing she has any time to eat at all! (And yes, she does eat lunch in the school cafeterias). Many of the foods offered are largely controlled by the government, which supplies 79 percent of funding for our lunches, and heavy on commodity foods (foods bought from farmers by the government to provide nutritious meals to children and to support the nation’s agricultural producers).

Listening to Michelle Obama

This means, while the First Lady is promoting the “Let’s Move Initiative” and healthier eating (which the Wellness Committee has recently adopted, yay!), we’re feeding our kids within very realistic financial constraints (sounds like my home!)  

The most heavily subsidized foods - beef, cheese, chicken, peanuts, and pork - are the least expensive for our schools . Fruits and vegetables are subsidized also, however come with a subset of challenges, such as perishability and unreliable crops, and aren’t always available.  This all makes planning difficult, and the Wellness Committee that much more important to the health of our kids.

The Wellness Committee, made up of district staff, community organizations, community members, parents, and youth, meets once a month to “bring and promote high quality wellness education, initiatives, programs and services to the students, families, and staff of the district resulting in improved health of all those participating.”. While they have several goals they strive to meet, and I was especially excited to hear about the nutrition integration planning for  our classrooms. By and large, the past few generations have been undereducated when it comes to what we put into our bodies, and bombarded with marketing, fast foods, and convenience eating. It’s time to educate our kids for health! While there is not time carved out of most school days for food education, the Wellness Committee is working on making it a part of already existing programs, such as language arts, gardening and science. Awesome, right?

One of my favorite programs offered in every RWC school is the Taste Test Program, where each month a different, fresh, seasonal fruit or veggie is brought around the cafeteria at lunchtime for kids to check out. This month was avocados, in the form of guacamole, which my daughter discovered she loves (and would never try at home!) Ask your kids what they’ve tried - they might surprise you!

The system isn’t perfect, but it’s darn good. As Anna said to me, “Changing the eating habits of our society is a process. Improvement will come over time”.  So, who’s joining their kids for lunch next week??

Keeping Your Kids Healthy at HOME

It’s excellent to have the help and support of our schools, but we’ve all heard that good nutrition starts at home.

Living in Redwood City, we’re lucky to have easy access to inexpensive, nutritious foods for our kids. If I had my way, the Kiwanis Farmer’s Market would run year round, but I am crazy excited for April to bring it back! If you haven’t before, definitely check it out. I give my kids a “Farmer’s Market Allowance” when we go, so they get excited about buying their veggies and practice math skills at the same time – a parenting dream for sure. Redwood City Kaiser also has a Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays, May through September from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

When I can’t get to the farmer's market, my very favorite store is Whole Foods, which can be hard to pull off with a super-strict grocery budget. Luckily for my purse strings, this week I met with Karen Tara, the Marketing Team Leader at our local Redwood City Whole Foods who shared these fabulous tips:

• Use your “value mind” when you shop. If you have a strict budget, watch out for getting tempted by all the specialty products offered! You might spend less other places just because they don’t have those pricey items.
• Look for the orange “Great Buy!” signs. This means that item is priced matched - you won’t find it anywhere cheaper. (Trader Joe’s is a main competitor they price match against).
• The 365 Brand is your best bet for affordable quality.
• Check out the bulk isle, and don’t be intimidated! You can save a lot because you choose the amount, and aren’t paying for marketing and pretty packaging.
• Check the coupon books and weekly specials fliers in front of the store.
• Buy by the case and save 10% off your frequently purchased items.
• Visit on Fridays, during their 1-Day Sales, where you’ll find amazing prices on speciality items.
• Buy local seasonal fruits and vegetables to save some money. These are clearly marked.
• Choose sale items, and build your meals around them instead of planning a menu before you shop.

As Karen said, “At Whole Foods, you can spend as little or as much as you want”. Know what your budget is and shop the sales!

Other local favorites are Signona’s Farmers Market on Middlefield, which never lets me down with their rows of absolutely gorgeous produce. Grocery Outlet is great for the budget, but doesn’t always have local or organic fruits and vegs – but, they always have amazing prices, and are definitely on my list of frequent trips as they carry tons of vegan/vegetarian/organic goodies at wildly discounted prices.  

If you’re crazy busy (really, who out there is thinking “I’m not”?! And if you are, I don’t believe you!) other options are our local CSA’s – Community Supported Agriculture businesses. These are great in so many ways! The produce is grown at local farms, and usually delivered the day it was picked. There are tons of options (a quick Google search of “Redwood City CSA” produced lots of results), and I recently signed up for a delivery service, which I will shamelessly promote because they are AMAZING. I’m using Farm Fresh to You, so every other week I get a box of beautiful, locally grown fruits and veggies delivered to my door. Hard to find excuses not to eat them when they’re literally left on your doorstep!

Whatever works for your family, DO IT. Take advantage of  and appreciate the vast amount and quality of fresh and delicious produce available in our community!