Parents Lead the Way in Healthy School Lunches

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Napa Valley Unified School District, (33.9% Latino) operates 32 schools within the district and now is working towards healthier and tastier school lunches as parents have come together to get the district to change what it offers for students lunches.

The lunch reform movement started in recent years with a passionate group of parents that were wanting to make a change in the high levels of pre-diabetic students, and the fact that students were not enjoying the school lunches that were part of the national lunch program.

Since then, members of the Napa City Council and the Napa County Board of Supervisors are supporting lunch reform and joined in participating in a recent Napa County annual Food Day celebration, to help focus on healthier school lunches.

The celebration included student and parent judges that were able to taste chef inspired school lunches that all cost around $1.25 per meal.

Napa Food Day increased awareness of needing affordable healthier school lunch offerings, where local news Napa Valley Register reported that supporters of the new lunches stated that 55% of county residents are pre-diabetic and obesity in low-income children has increased in obesity by 17%.

Dr. Karen Relucio, Napa County’s public health director told Napa Valley Register, “The Reason we want schools to have healthier meals is that children spend a lot of time in schools. That’s particularly important for low-income children who rely on free and reduced-price lunches “because otherwise, they won’t eat at all” some days.”

Teachers, parents, and community members are all working together to bring more awareness on this issue and figure out just how and what they want to be included in school lunches.

Researchers have found that Latino kids often are offered less nutritious options like fresh salad and fruit bars in majority-Latino schools, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Having healthier school environments is vital for healthier students. Latino students need healthy food options and physical activities in school.

Latino students, as well as all students, need healthy food options and physical activities in school now more than ever.

To learn how you can get involved in supporting healthier food and physical activity options in and after school for Latino kids, click here.