High School Students Bring Healthy School Lunch to DC
Students Prepare Healthy Lunch with White House Chef Sam Kass at HSC Briefing on Future of School Food
“When we created this recipe, we never dreamed that we would be able to share it with so many people,” said Rafael Ruiz, a Chicago high school student whose team developed the winning school lunch in HSC’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest: a tasty meal of stuffed green peppers, carrot quesadillas, and fresh refrescante salad.
On Tuesday May 5, more than 40,000 students across
the US ate the healthy lunch in their school cafeterias; Congressional leaders and their staffers enjoyed the meal in the House of Representatives cafeteria; and at the same time, Ruiz and his teammates Alvaro Aguilar, Marquice Kent, Mike Martinez, Emmanuel Sandoval and Jose Tena prepared the lunch with White House chef Sam Kass at an HSC briefing on the future of school food.
The briefing and nationwide lunch events were part of HSC’s advocacy to urge our Congressional leaders to support a strong, well-funded reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act that will make this type of healthy meal a daily reality in our nation’s schools.
“This was a remarkable opportunity to celebrate the hard work of these students and highlight the important issue of serving high quality school meals to our kids. It’s also an opportunity to emphasize the need to make the financial investments that America’s school lunch program desperately needs to ensure that all kids have access to nutritious, fresh food,” said HSC founding executive director Rochelle Davis.
The tasty lunch and talented student chefs brought national media attention to the movement for healthy school food: The Washington Post and CNN posted stories, and the Obama Foodorama blog covered the event with great detail and photos.
At the briefing, CPS food service director Louise Esaian, Illinois State Board of Education chair Jesse Ruiz and high school student Rafael Ruiz spoke along with Davis about the need for increased funding for school food, particularly in light of the challenges facing large urban school districts. More than 30 million children eat lunch at school every day and many who rely on the National School Lunch Program – those who are at risk of hunger, qualifying for free or reduced-price meals – are also facing skyrocketing rates of obesity and related diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.
Please join HSC in speaking up for a robust and adequately funded Child Nutrition Act. Click here to take action.
Plus: Check out HSC's blog for the lunch recipes, video of the students getting ready for DC and more »
Cast Your Vote for School Food Memories
Voting for School Food Memory Contest Closes Next Week
Kids and adults from across the country have been sharing their most vivid memories of school food in the Fresh Voices for Fresh Choices contest – and now the voting is in full swing!
Be sure to check out the great stories, poems, drawings and photos, and cast your vote for your favorites!
Each time you vote, you’ll be entered to win delicious prizes – while helping spread the word about efforts to make fresh, healthy school food the norm.
Adults can win a Panini party package from Applegate Farms and T-fal, while students can win a healthy, tasty breakfast for their school and see their winning entry printed on more than 50,000 grab-n-go breakfast bags from Notables. All entries and votes make an important difference as part of a collective voice to change the future of school food.
|
