"Who knows what this is?" Jamie Oliver asks a class of first-graders while holding up a batch of tomatoes on the premiere of the reality show, "Food Revolution." One 6-year-old guesses potatoes. The other students admit they don't know. The show was filmed in Huntington, W.Va., and if you think these responses would be different in your town, think again.
I received similar responses from my students at Browns Mill Elementary in Lithonia over 11 years ago when I launched the sugar free zone program, now Healthy Kids, Smart Kids. The program was designed to reduce childhood obesity, improve behavior and increase academic performance. We worked to improve school foods and beverages and increase physical activities and wellness education and the results have been phenomenal. In our first year, nursing referrals decreased by 30 percent, discipline concerns fell by 23 percent and students slimmed down and earned higher test scores. It comes down to this simple philosophy: "When kids know better, they do better." For several years I thought I was alone in my efforts, but help may soon be on the way.
Any day now, Congress will vote on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, a 1966 law that grew out of the recognition that all children deserve nutritious meals that will improve their health and academic success. The law oversees the school lunch program, which provides daily meals to almost 31 million children.
It's time to face the facts. One-third of America's children are overweight or obese, putting them on track for diabetes, high blood pressure and a host of other issues as adults. If we are serious about combating this epidemic, the place to start is with quick passage and robust funding for the Child Nutrition Act.
As part of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign, the White House has proposed increasing funding for the Act by $1 billion per year to reach more children and provide healthier foods. This is especially critical since some children consume half their daily calories at school.
This funding would be used to improve the nutritional value of children's meals. A recent Institute of Medicine study found that many school meals contain more than the recommended amounts of fat, sodium and sugar.
At a time when Americans are divided on many important issues, it is refreshing to see the overwhelming support from Democrats, Republicans and Independents to increase funding for the Act. Seven out of 10 Americans also support increasing funding, according to a poll released by the Child Nutrition Initiative.
It's not just children who would benefit from fully funding the Act. The reauthorization also creates an opportunity to support partnerships between schools and local farms that provide healthy fruits and vegetables, while boosting the regional economy. Farm to school programs are already springing up around the country and are playing a vital role in teaching children to develop healthy eating habits.
As the ranking Republican member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, our own Sen. Saxby Chambliss along with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), committee chairwoman, have demonstrated what can be accomplished when we set our differences aside for a much greater cause --- our children.
By passing a fully funded bill we will send a strong message that nothing is more important than the well-being and health of our children. And years from now, when this chapter is written in the history books, it will speak volumes about the members of the 111th Congress.
Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler is founder of Healthy Kids, Smart Kids in Atlanta.
Copyright 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution