Community Food Security - read the Hunger Commission's food access study and download free food access study materials including curriculum for nutrition education workshops.

School Meals

Prospects for improving school meals also hinges upon support from the state government. State support for each student's lunch has not been increased (from $.11) in twenty-five years. Excessive paperwork and bureaucracy involved in qualifying schools to receive reimbursements for free and reduced price meals significantly obstructs Sac City Unified School district from improving food options.

Concerned nutrition advocates in California have made positive progress with school food policy and regulations that eliminate unhealthy foods from California's public schools. However, focus needs to also be directed towards getting quality foods in to school cafeterias. The health and happiness of our young people depends upon quality school food. Extremely limited finances and the size of the bureaucracy surrounding school food are the largest constraints to making positive changes to school food quality. Some California school districts have been able to overcome these barriers by moving to universal feeding; eliminating the paperwork and time involved with free and reduced meal qualification. This has also eliminated much of the stigma associated with getting meals for free, increased participation in the school lunch program, and freed some resources to be spent on improving food options. Farm to School programs are one such option that bring fresh delicious foods into cafeterias and may increase meal participation. School gardens are another great option that not only improves food quality, but also provides an opportunity for nutrition education to be correlated with the origins and production of food. These options should also be considered for schools in South Sacramento.

Other items that need to be considered include: staggered lunch periods at Hiram Johnson High School and Will C. Wood Middle School in order to reduce the length of lines that deter students from eating; set time periods for elementary school lunches so kids are not encouraged to eat as quickly as possible to go to recess; beverage options other than milk for lactose intolerant students of color. Teachers also need to set an example for students by not consuming foods or beverages that are not allowed for students.

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