Organic Fresh Fingers

Boys & Girls Club of Salem to Serve Fresh n' Local Lunches

2011-08-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Every day of the summer and every afternoon during the school year, the Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion & Polk Counties provides free lunch to children and youth throughout Salem and Keizer. For many of the youth, this may be the only substantial meal they receive during the summer or after school.

This year, the organization set a goal to have a meal program that provides fresh and healthy food as well as food and nutrition education. To meet their goal, the Boys & Girls Club is joining forces with Organic Fresh Fingers.

Leaders at the Club realized that their meal program didn't reflect the holistic approach that they strive for in all areas of their program, and decided it was time to make a change. “We wanted to offer our Club members meals that were filling and good for them and that would teach them what a balanced, nutritious meal looks and tastes like,” said Sue Bloom, Director of Operations. “The hot meals allow us to serve comfort food to the youth and replicate a family-style meal as they sit down and eat together.”

Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc. will provide a Fresh n' Local meal program to the Boys & Girls Club starting in September. Lunches will be hot, handmade entrees served with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables every day.

“I am very excited about getting hot meals in the fall because I really enjoyed the pot pie and am looking forward to eating some more,” said Tamra, a ten year old member of the Swegle Branch in Salem.

The program also includes a strong educational component, including an educational curriculum, field trips to local farms and orchards, and assisting with on-site gardens.

“We are most excited about the educational aspect of the program,” said Tim Sinatra, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk Counties. “We really wanted to take a 360 degree approach to meals and nutrition, and Organic Fresh Fingers is able to provide us the comprehensive program we are looking for.”

“We are delighted to partner with the Boys & Girls Club of Salem,” said CEO and President of Organic Fresh Fingers, Evann Remington. “It is our belief that every child should be able to eat fresh, healthy food, and we can't wait to start serving the Boys & Girls Club. We're looking forward to taking the youth on field trips to local farms and teaching them about healthy food choices.”

The Boys & Girls Club serves approximately 10,500 youth in Marion and Polk Counties through their Clubs, athletics, and outreach programs. Last year, the Clubs served 81,730 meals and snacks. All youth from first to twelfth grade are welcome to become a member.

Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc. works with schools, non-profit organizations and childcare facilities to provide fresh, local, natural and organic hot lunch programs.

Hiring Sous Chef and Kitchen Assistants

2011-07-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Organic Fresh Fingers is hiring! We're currently looking for one sous chef and two kitchen assistants. A short job description of each position is below. If interested, please submit a resume, references and cover letter to alexis@organicfreshfingers.com. Please call 503-371-1108 if you have any questions.

Sous Chef: Full-Time, Hourly Position, Start immediately

The Sous Chef will serve as an assistant to Organic Fresh Fingers' chef. Sous chef will assist chef with preparation of all entrees. Sous chef will also assist with research and development, and help to direct kitchen staff. Must have or obtain current food handlers card. The interview process will include a cooking demonstration to display knife skills, cooking ability, and ability to quickly and carefully follow directions. Food service experience is required. USDA certifications in CACFP and NSLP preferred, but not necessary. Must have or obtain current food handlers card.

Kitchen Assistants: 2 Full Time Positions Available, Hourly Position, Start Date in August

Food Preparation staff will work in the kitchen to assist the chef and sous chef with all aspects of food prep, including cleaning, preparing and packaging of fruits and vegetables. Will assist with general cleaning and maintenance of kitchen area. Must have or obtain current food handlers card. Food service experience is preferred.

15,000 restaurants order healthy new kids meals

2011-07-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

USA Today.com; By Nanci Hellmich

Hold the fries and pass the carrot sticks.

Beginning today, kids will find some cool new choices on their restaurant menus — choices that will make their parents happy, too.

More than 15,000 restaurants in the USA representing 19 chains, including Burger King, Cracker Barrel, Chili's, Denny's and IHOP, are participating in a voluntary new initiative called Kids LiveWell.

It's being unveiled today by the National Restaurant Association and Healthy Dining, the company that runs healthydiningfinder.com.

Many meals that fit into the program will carry an icon of a red apple. They must include an entree, side dish and beverage and contain 600 calories or less, plus meet other nutritional criteria. Some meals that meet the guidelines:

•Burger King's breakfast muffin sandwich with fresh apple fries (slices) and fat-free milk.

•Corner Bakery Cafe's half turkey sandwich served on harvest bread, with a side of baby carrots, fruit medley and low-fat milk.

•Cracker Barrel's kids' chicken n' dumplings with organic apple juice.

These and other meals "meet the gold standard in terms of nutritional content," says Anita Jones-Mueller, founder of Healthy Dining.

"Kids can eat french fries, hamburgers and fried foods some of the time when they are eating out, but not all the time."

Some restaurants have only a couple of kids' meals that meet the criteria now, but they are working on developing more, Jones-Mueller says.

Dawn Sweeney, president of the National Restaurant Association, says the group is planning to expand the program to thousands more restaurants in the coming weeks.

Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest says offering healthier kids' meals at restaurants is important because children are getting about a third of their calories from eating out, and eating out is a big contributor to obesity. "Kids' meals have become synonymous with junk. They are usually a hamburger, a slice of pizza or fried chicken tenders with a side of french fries and a soda.

"We need to get to the point that the kids' meals are the healthiest meals, because kids are growing and developing and forming eating habits that are going to affect their health for the rest of their lives."

Find Kids LiveWell meals on healthydiningfinder.com.

"This is an exciting beginning for parents who eat out a lot. This is opening the door to much healthier cuisine.

"This (program) is just going to make it easier to eat healthy when you eat out, and for those of us who eat out a lot that's an important for living a healthy lifestyle," she says.

"Almost every restaurant we talked moved very quickly to identify foods that meet the criteria, and some modified their menu items to meet the nutrient guidelines," Jones-Mueller says.

The meals that qualify were reviewed by a team of registered dietitians from Healthy Dining.

Restaurants can get kids excited about eating healthfully, and letting them enjoy the fresh, healthful taste of foods.

What Makes a Healthy Kids' Meal?

Meals in the Kids LiveWell program must meet the following nutrition criteria:
-- 600 calories or less
And less than:
-- 35% calories from fat
-- 10% calories from saturated fat
-- 0.5 grams trans fat
-- 35% of calories from sugar
-- 770 milligrams sodium

Among the restaurant chains participating in the Kids LiveWell program:

•Au Bon Pain

•Bonefish Grill

•Burger King

•Burgerville

•Carrabba's Italian Grill

•Chevys

•Chili's Grill & Bar Restaurant

•Corner Bakery Cafe

•Cracker Barrel

•Denny's

•El Pollo Loco

•Friendly's

•IHOP

•Joe's Crab Shack

•Outback Steakhouse

•Silver Diner

•Sizzler

•T-Bones Great

•American Eatery

Family Meals Remain Important Through Teen Years, Expert Says

2011-07-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

One aspect of our Fresh n' Local meal program is the emphasis on replicating family-style meals for childcare centers. We strongly believe that there are numerous benefits that come from sitting down at a table and eating a hot meal together. Science Daily recently published an article that outlines the benefits of families eating dinner together.

ScienceDaily (July 12, 2011) — As children become teenagers, it may be more challenging to regularly include them in family meals, but doing so is key to heading off such problems as eating disorders, obesity, and inadequate nutrition in adolescence, said Barbara Fiese, a University of Illinois professor of human development and family studies and director of the U of I's Family Resiliency Center.

"The common belief is that teens don't want to be around their parents very much, and that teens are just too busy for regular meals with the family," she said. "Parents may not be able to get their families together around the table seven days a week, but if they can schedule three family meals a week, they will safeguard their teens' health in significant ways."

She advises family members to pull out their schedules and find out which nights they can commit to, then follow through and make family meals on those nights a priority.

In the June issue of Pediatrics, Fiese and postdoctoral research associate Amber Hammons reviewed 17 recent studies on eating patterns and nutrition involving more than 182,000 children and adolescents.

The results showed that teens who eat at least five meals a week with their families are 35 percent less likely to engage in disordered eating than teens who don't. The researchers defined disordered eating as binging and purging, taking diet pills, self-induced vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics, fasting, eating very little, skipping meals, and/or smoking cigarettes to lose weight.

"For children and adolescents with disordered eating, mealtime provides a setting in which parents can recognize early signs and take steps to prevent detrimental patterns from turning into full-blowing eating disorders," she said.

Children who ate at least three family meals a week were also 12 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate with their families less often. And they were 24 percent more likely to eat healthy foods and have healthy eating habits than those who didn't share three meals with their families.

The researcher said that families who share meals together are likely to be more connected, which may encourage teens to talk within their families about unhealthy behaviors they've slipped into and other problems they're experiencing.

"If you look at national surveys, the frequency of shared mealtimes does begin to drop off in the teen years, but a lot of that is due to competing demands on teenagers' time due to after-school activities, jobs, and social life, and not for lack of interest," she said.

The study showed that teens are interested in participating in family mealtimes and believe that they eat healthier when they share meals with their families, she said.

According to the expert, research on adolescent development indicates that teens want to stay connected with their parents. "Family meals give them a place where they can go regularly to check in with their parents and express themselves freely," she said.

"If family meals are not a forced activity, if parents don't totally control the conversation, and if teens can contribute to family interaction and feel like they're benefiting from it, older kids are likely to welcome participating," she added.

If you've gotten out of the family meal habit and don't relish the prospect of receiving one-word answers from your teenagers (Q: What happened at school today? A: nothing), Fiese and her colleagues have compiled some conversation starters for both English- and Spanish-speaking families.

Here's one: If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it and why?

Salem-Keizer School District closes down Summer Meal Sites

2011-07-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

Many people aren't aware of the Summer Food Service Program, which allows organizations to provide free meals to children in areas where at lease 50 percent of children qualify for free or reduced school lunches. Recently, Organic Fresh Fingers has begun to serve non-profit organizations the food for these Summer Meal Sites. Our goal is to open more of these sites throughout Salem & Keizer. There is a huge need for more of these sites, as only 12% of children who qualify are participating.

The Statesman Journal recently published an article about the Salem Keizer School District Food Services, which is run by Sodexo, a multi-national institutional food service company, being "forced" to close down half of its summer meal sites. And of the remaining 13 sites, only five serve meals all summer. The reason cited for shutting down these sites is because of budget restrictions.

Organic Fresh Fingers has created an innovative way to not only service summer meal sites in a cost-effective way, but also provide higher quality meals, including handmade entrees and organic produce. We refuse to accept the fact that children should go hungry during the summer. It absolutely is financially feasible, and Organic Fresh Fingers is doing it!

Below is an excerpt from the Statesman Journal article. To read the entire article, click here.

The National School Lunch Program, through free and reduced-price meals, ensures that children of low-income families don't have to learn on an empty stomach.

And the Summer Food Service Program picks up where the school year leaves off, feeding kids free meals in areas where at least 50 percent of children participate in the school lunch program.

But last year, only 12 percent of Marion County's children who participated in the school lunch program during the school year received summer meals.

That ranks the county 31st out of the 32 counties in the state that have summer meals programs, according to a Partners for Hunger-Free Oregon analysis...

The participation rate for the Salem-Keizer School District — where 22,684 students out of 39,459 ate free or reduced-price lunches in May — was slightly lower than that of the county, at 11 percent.

This year, the district has cut its summer meal sites by almost half, citing budget cuts, construction at some locations and low participation in others as reasons for reducing the number of meal sites to 13.

Just five of those are serving meals all summer, and three of them have yet to begin.

...Lynne Reinoso, manager of the Summer Food Service Program for the state Department of Education, said the number of the district's sites is concerning.

"It's definitely a problem," she said. "It would be nice if they could increase it."

Teresa White, branch director of the Swegle Boys & Girls Club, said she has seen an increase in the number of meals served at her location this summer.

Instead of the 65 meals per day the branch served last summer, it is now serving about 85 kids per day, she said. Still, she doesn't believe her location is reaching every child in need in the neighborhood.

"I think there's more to be fed, especially since they closed a lot of those sites," White said. "I think it's more of a transportation issue of getting those kids to this site."

Salem Loan Program Creates Growth Opportunities for Local Businesses

2011-07-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Organic Fresh Fingers and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks Awarded Funds

(Monday, June 27, 2011) – Salem, OR – The City of Salem recently launched an innovative loan program designed to foster small business growth and create local jobs – the Fairview Urban Renewal Area (URA) Small Business Pilot Loan Program. Organic Fresh Fingers, a Salem-based food processing company that provides local organic meals to schools and corporate child care facilities, and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, a national leader in the emerging artisan cider industry, are the first companies to be awarded funds from Salem's newest loan program.

“The City is happy to welcome Organic Fresh Fingers and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks to the Fairview Urban Renewal Area,” said Salem Mayor Anna Peterson. “We look forward to these companies, and future recipients of this loan, growing and creating further job opportunities in Salem.”

Salem’s Fairview URA is located east of the Salem Municipal Airport and south of Madrona. The Small Business Pilot Loan Program originated as an innovative approach to aid qualified local businesses in their expansion efforts, benefit the residents of Salem, and satisfy the financial objective of the URA plan. The interest rate, term, and optional deferred payment are intended to assist businesses with their expansion transition and give them incentive to immediately grow new jobs for eligibility for up to 70% loan forgiveness. As part of the University of Oregon Sustainable Cities Initiative, Community Planning Workshop graduate students conducted research and identified specialty food and beverage manufacturing, among other industries, as a growing opportunity in Salem.

Organic Fresh Fingers and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, are working with Wildwood Inc., a Salem-based sustainable development company with thirty years experience planning and developing sustainable projects in Oregon, to expand their operations through the conversion of an existing warehouse into an energy efficient commercial kitchen and Ciderhouse. All three companies are committed to sustainable practices, creating local jobs, and adding value to Northwest-grown products.

With the loan from the Urban Renewal Agency of Salem, Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc. will build out a 6,000 square foot food manufacturing facility located at 4070 Fairview Drive in Salem. The construction will include converting the building to “food grade” specifications and the purchase of equipment to increase production and distribution of the Organic Fresh Fingers meal program. The company will also install a solar photovoltaic system, allowing them to utilize a renewable source of energy for production.

“When I started making meals for children from our small (1,460 sq. ft.) kitchen, I couldn't have hoped for faster growth than what Organic Fresh Fingers has experienced,” said Evann Remington, President and CEO of Organic Fresh Fingers. “We are currently operating out of a 2,000 sq. ft. space, and are bursting at the seams. We are excited and grateful for the Urban Renewal Loan Program. With the loan, we will be able to triple our production space, allowing us to fulfill increasing requests for our products. With the increase in production capacity, we are looking forward to hiring several new employees, further stimulating the City's economy.”

No More Chocolate Milk in LA Schools!

2011-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

According to the LA Times, the LAUSD has decided to stop providing flavored milk in schools. We are very excited to see this change in such a large public school district. We don't provide any flavored milk to the schools we serve, and the myths about kids not drinking milk or eating lunch are just not true. There's no reason to continue serving our children milk that has as much sugar as a soda in it on a daily basis.

According to the paper:

"The L.A. Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday voted to stop providing chocolate or strawberry-flavored milk in school cafeterias as of July 1.

The move makes L.A. the largest school system in the nation to pull flavored milks out of schools and is part of a larger push to make the food served at school more nutritious. L.A. Unified earlier banned sodas sales at schools.

The district's new superintendent, John Deasy, said plain milk is a healthier option. Parents and some activists have long wanted the district to stop serving flavored milk, which has more sugar than plain milk.

About 60% of the cartons of milk that kids consume each day are flavored, and some people are worried that without it kids won't eat school lunch at all. The district gets federal funding through reimbursements for meals served.

Eliminating flavored milk "is a big deal," said Megan Bomba, a project coordinator at Occidental College's Urban and Environmental Policy Institute and a school food reform advocate.

"If they succeed, no other district will have an excuse," she said Tuesday morning."

To read the full story, visit the Los Angeles Times website.

Fed Up With Lunch!

2011-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

We're big fans of Mrs. Q's blog "Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project." Mrs. Q is a public school teacher. In 2010, she decided to eat school lunch every day, just like her students do.

You can read all about her experience, her reviews of school lunch, and her thoughts on how to improve it on her blog. We encourage you to take a look if you're interested in school lunch, how you can help to improve it, and what some better options are when packing a lunch for you or your kids.

Is There Too Much Regulation Around School Lunch?

2011-06-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

We appreciated this article from the Huffington Post about new school lunch regulation, and why it's a good thing.

Our children face a devastating obesity crisis -- and yet some Washington lawmakers are calling even the most commonsense moves to ensure them a healthier diet a "classic nanny-state overreach."

Really? Let's look at what these simple, straightforward federal efforts actually do.

For instance, the first meaningful overhaul of school nutrition guidelines in 15 years would cut sodium in subsidized lunches by more than half, encourage more whole grains and serve low-fat milk. They also would limit kids to a single cup of starchy vegetables (read: French fries) per week. Is that terrible?

But that's not the only part of the Michelle Obama-backed healthy food movement that offends these regulation foes.

The very same politicians who have made a career of calling for a free and open marketplace of ideas want to limit the amount of information kids (and parents) can get about their food. Calorie counts on menus have been a proven boon for families who want to cut out hidden fat, sugar and salt from their diet -- but Republican lawmakers say that providing even this basic information on menus and at food stores is "back-door regulation."

This argument isn't just fodder for political shouting matches in Washington, though. These efforts have real consequences for the millions of children facing obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Today, one in six American kids is obese, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. And the problem is getting worse.

In the past three decades, the obesity rate among teenagers (aged 12-19) has more than tripled (from 4.9% to 18.1%). The rise is even visible among the very young. During that same time period, obesity rates have doubled among kids aged 2 to 5 (from 5% to 10.4%).

The long-term health consequences of this crisis are real, too. Researchers estimate that one out of every three boys and two out of every five girls born in the United States in the year 2000 will be diagnosed with diabetes. More than 100,000 children suffer from asthma every year because of their weight. And if current adolescent obesity rates continue, by 2035 there will be more than 100,000 additional cases of coronary heart disease attributable to obesity.

The crisis is real -- and we need to get serious about dealing with it.

-Angela Glover Blackwell, HuffingtonPost.com.

Organic Fresh Fingers is Hiring a Delivery Driver

2011-06-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc. is HIRING a Delivery Driver!

We are hiring a delivery driver ASAP. You will need to be available to begin work on June 20. This is a part-time position during the summer, with a possibility to turn into full-time when school starts again in the fall. Driver needs to be available Mondays & Thursdays.

Please contact us if you are interested. Email resume to alexis@organicfreshfingers.com and/or call 503-371-1108.

USDA Introduces MyPlate

2011-06-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

The UDSA recently replaced the Food Pyramid with MyPlate. And it looks like they got it right this time.

We were pleased to see how well this illustration reflects what our Fresh n' Local lunches look like. Half of your meal should be fruits & vegetables, and the protein should be the smallest serving on your plate.

You can visit ChooseMyPlate.gov to learn more about the new dietary guidelines, or download a .pdf of the guidelines.

According to the USDA, MyPlate is designed to highlight the following points:

	Balancing Calories
	●	Enjoy your food, but eat less.
	●	Avoid oversized portions.

	Foods to Increase
	●	Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
	●	Make at least half your grains whole grains.
	●	Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

	Foods to Reduce
	●	Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
	●	Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

The Battle Over Chocolate Milk

2011-05-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that you're aware of the great chocolate milk debate that's taking place in school districts across the country. It's also being debated at a national level, as lawmakers decide whether chocolate milk should be removed from the National School Lunch Program. We appreciated how clearly Donald F. Kettl, a columnist for GOVERNING, explains the debate in the article below. Organic Fresh Fingers is pleased to say that none of our schools or childcare facilities serve chocolate milk!

One of my fondest memories from kindergarten was the treat of a couple of graham crackers and chocolate milk served in a waxy paperboard container. In those days, primary school was mostly about helping kids learn how to spend half a day away from mom. Milk was an important bait, luring us into the world of education.

A lot’s changed since then. Kindergarten is now a serious educational venture. Kids make big steps in reading instead of having See Spot Run read to them, and they learn how to write instead of coloring elephants with giant crayons. Chocolate milk too, has changed. It’s now at the center of an enormous policy battle regarding school lunches.

Some school districts have banned flavored milk completely. In Florida, the battle has become white-hot. The State Board of Education campaigned to pull chocolate milk out of lunchrooms, as part of its ongoing effort to eliminate sugared sodas and high-calorie desserts. When the board turned to flavored milk, opposition from the dairy industry flared. Big business was at stake -- in 2010, the state’s four largest school districts spent $13 million on flavored milk, and students downed 49 million half-pints of the chocolate version.

State Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam countered the board’s efforts by trying to pull decisions about cafeteria food into his office. But Board of Education member Roberto Martinez fired back, “We have to put the kids first, not the agriculture industry first -- period. End of story.”

So how does taking much-loved chocolate milk out of school cafeterias put kids first? Two words: fat and calories. The standard half-pint serving of low-fat milk has 102 calories, of which 21 come from fat. Chocolate milk has more than twice the calories (226) and almost four times as many calories from fat (78). With childhood obesity reaching epidemic levels, public health groups have pressed school districts to switch to lower-calorie options.

Following on the heels of the wildly popular “Got Milk?” ads, the dairy industry promoted a “Raise your hands for chocolate milk” campaign. In Boulder, Colo., chef Ann Cooper, a self-styled “renegade lunch lady,” says the campaign has more to do with selling milk than promoting nutrition.

In April, Fairfax County, Va., schools reversed their chocolate milk ban after an avalanche of protests from disappointed students -- and concerned nutritionists, who argued that chocolate milk is an important way to get vitamin D and calcium into the diets of nutritionally challenged children. Interestingly, Fairfax’s new chocolate milk is low-fat and contains sucrose instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Some critics of the old chocolate milk say the switch is healthier because sucrose is less heavily processed. Others say that sugar is sugar and it doesn’t make much difference how it comes into the diet. The Corn Refiners Association shares that opinion -- and a concern that it not lose the big chocolate milk market.

The feds have found themselves squarely in the middle of this intense battle. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, along with the Department of Health and Human Services, reinvented the food pyramid to help Americans make healthier choices, and especially to help reduce the fat and calories in the diets of youngsters. Meanwhile, the National Milk Processor Board, which created the “Got Milk?” campaign, works under the USDA’s umbrella as part of its mission to promote dairy products. The department’s National School Lunch Program provides subsidized meals and snacks for less-affluent children. It calls for schools to serve milk, and chocolate is OK.

Is it the USDA’s policy to promote good nutrition, low-fat milk, chocolate milk or milk production in general, regardless of flavor? One way or another, the answer is yes, to all four. Then there’s first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign for child nutrition, and Rep. Michele Bachmann’s charge that the first lady is trying to roll out a “nanny state.” Bachmann castigated the nutrition campaign in telling talk radio host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham that “For them, government is the answer to every problem.”

One blogger at the San Francisco Chronicle simply told other readers, “You couldn’t get me to drink school milk as a child. If it was chocolate, I’m sure it would have been different! It’s like an adult at Starbucks ... even kids need a little vice!”

But this little vice, if that’s what it is, has become a very big battle. Fairfax’s Penny McConnell, who directs the district’s food and nutrition services, says that before the district reversed its decision she received 10 to 20 e-mails a day contending that students liked the drink and it supplied essential nutrients to help growing kids grow strong bones. “It was a lot of pressure.”

Since 1946, milk has been a cornerstone of the federal school lunch program. Little did its sponsors back in the Truman administration realize that their plan to bring better nutrition to the nation’s children would erupt into such a deep moral, scientific, economic and political battle, involving everyone from renegade lunch ladies to first ladies. It makes me long for a few sips of soothing snacks and a nap on the blanket I used to store in my kindergarten cubby.

To Read the Original Article, please visit GOVERNING.com.

Higher Prices for School Lunch?

2011-05-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

With the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, you may have noticed quite a few news articles about the price of lunch increasing. That is because the bill mandates that the price of student lunches gradually be brought up to the National School Lunch Program's reimbursement rate for free lunches - which is currently $2.72.

Effective July 1, 2011, Section 205 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program to gradually increase paid meal prices to equal the USDA reimbursement for a free student meal or provide non-federal funding to cover the difference. The USDA requires a minimum increase of 5 cents for the 2011-2012 school year.

This will be a big change. Most schools are still charging $1.50 - $2.00 per lunch. Parents will have to get used to the idea of school lunch costing more. Over the next five years, schools will be continually raising lunch prices until they reach the reimbursement rate.

The idea behind raising the reimbursement rate is to allow for higher quality, healthier foods to be served in schools. The bill also mandates that school lunch programs be non-profit. Hopefully, as schools increase the revenue brought in from lunch, they will also increase the quality of lunches.

Organic Fresh Fingers is ahead of the curve. Although our lunches cost more per meal than most schools currently charge, we use that extra money to provide fresh, local, natural and organic food to children. One of our biggest barriers is convincing school officials that parents will pay more for lunch if the quality of the lunch improves. As schools around the country raise their rates, we hope that more schools will consider Organic Fresh Fingers as an option.

Oregon Farm to School Act Could Bring More Local Food to Schools

2011-05-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

As farms continue to pump out locally produced and processed goods and school children continue to wolf down cafeteria lunches, it’s a curious conundrum that more food doesn’t pass directly from local producers into the school systems. In Lane County, the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition and other local organizations have been addressing this issue for the past several years. With a mission to strengthen the local economy, benefit public health and support local food producers, WFFC has been promoting farm to school connections, becoming a leader in the region and the National Farm to School Network‘s State Lead Agency for Oregon. Now, with a current bill pending review by Oregon’s House of Representatives, the potential exists to strengthen that connection even more.

House Bill 2800, known as the Oregon Farm to School Act, is sponsored by Rep. Brian Clem (D-Sa lem) and Tina Kotek (D-Portland). Clem has been pushing Farm to School connections since 2007, and his proposals have resulted in the creation of two positions: one in the Department of Agriculture and one in the Department of Education, both devoted to working with schools to incorporate more locally grown food into their nutrition programs.

The current bill would use grant money to reimburse school districts up to 15 cents per meal for food produced or processed in Oregon. Current funding for Oregon school lunches comes from the National School Lunch Program, with Oregon being one of the few states that doesn’t help pay for meals. Reimbursements must also be spent on Oregon food, thus continuing the cycle. Grants will also be made available to assist in school garden programs, with the potential for incorporating school produce into the lunch program as well.

The original draft of HB 2800 demanded $22 million in state funding, but has since been dramatically reduced. HB 2800 is now vying for $2 million from state Economic Development Funds. In part, the reduction means that grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to qualifying schools throughout Oregon. Originally, the measure was introduced to assist all school districts in the state, but with the budget shortfall these funds will only be available to a select few. Eligibility will likely depend on several factors: schools may be required to have a certain percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch, and districts that receive grant money may also need to show that they will be able to integrate the local foods offered with an educational component for students.

Megan Kemple of Willamette Farm and Food Coalition believes that the three districts currently working with WFFC are well poised to take advantage of these funds. WFFC has already created an active Farm to School Program within the Bethel, Eugene 4J, and Springfield school districts, and has established connections with many growers and food producers in the region, providing the framework to make further improvements to the school lunch program. In addition, a high percentage of students in these districts qualify for free or reduced lunch. The educational component of the program should also count as big points for these districts. WFFC has created a comprehensive educational program that includes lessons about where our food comes from, farm field trips, harvest meals where students prepare freshly harvested farm foods, school garden sessions, nutrition lessons, and tasting tables offering fresh produce from recently visited farms. The school garden sessions are done in collaboration with the School Garden Project of Lane County, and “garden-based nutrition education” is implemented with the help of Oregon State University’s Nutrition Education Program.

...

Randy Henderson of Thistledown Farm says his farm could feed every child in Eugene if the schools had the funds to pay for it. With 500 acres in production, it’s not a matter of supply; the problem is that produce is often cheaper to buy from Mexico than it is from local farms. Another issue is the lack of local processors since AgriPac left town, which happened in part because the row crops (corns, beans, beets, carrots, etc) of the Willamette Valley have all gone to grass seed production. Much local produce is grown during the summer months when children aren’t in school. Thistledown, however, has been able to sell products such as frozen strawberries to schools during the winter and spring months. For Henderson, nutrition is still one of the biggest factors in supporting Farm to School programs. If schools were able to buy more produce, his farm would be able to keep up with demand.

For Roger Detering of Detering Orchards, supplying schools with produce is “part of doing good business, and provides a good outlet for smaller apples that the kids enjoy.” He also says that if schools were able to purchase more local foods, he would be able to supply them with more produce. Both farmers support the program, but worry that timing is unfortunate for such a bill to pass.

The Farm to School bill has received vast local support. It passed unanimously through its last phase in the legislative process, and is favored by local farmers, food producers, schools, and organizations like WFFC and the School Garden Project. It is also predicted to be an economic boon as well. Agricultural economist Bruce Sorte with Oregon State University estimates the $2 million would create 24 jobs in the first year as the demand for local food products goes up. Kemple points out that is not so much a matter of opposition to the bill as it is simply finding the funds in Oregon’s dwindling budget to support the program.

According to a progress report from the Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Policy Workgroup, the bill has passed unanimously out of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and will go to the Ways and Means Committee before it reaches the House floor. It will be assigned to a sub-committee (most likely Natural Resources) before moving into the full Ways and Means and then out onto the House floor. Because of other budget decision-making, HB 2800 will probably not be addressed for a couple more weeks. Kemple is hopeful that the bill will pass, but concerned that the state’s budget is so limited. -eugenedailynews.com

To read more, please visit Eugenedailynews.com.

"Lunch Line" Documentary Trailer

2011-05-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Six high-school kids from one of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods set out to fix the federal school lunch program and end up at the White House in “Lunch Line,” a documentary film examining the program’s past, present and possible future.

Begun in 1946, the National School Lunch Program today feeds more than 31 million children daily. It is a huge, complex and slow to change bureaucracy, with nutritional choices increasingly under attack. “Lunch Line” depicts leaders from all sides of the school-food debate, including government officials, school food service experts, activists and students, discussing the program and ways of nourishing America’s children.
-diningchicago.com

DVD's are now available at http://lunchlinefilm.com/.

Lobbyists, myths and outdated thinking hold back lunch programs

2011-04-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

We really appreciated this Op-Ed from USA Today. One challenge Organic Fresh Fingers faces when we talk to schools about healthier lunch is the myth that it is impossible to provide healthier foods without losing money. School administrators are constantly telling us that kids won't eat healthier foods and that parents won't pay more for school lunch. Both of these statements are totally untrue. Children will eat food that is good tasting and good for them. And parents will pay more if the food is worth the price.

USA Today Editorial:

A typical lunch last year in the Adams 14 school district outside Denver featured chicken nuggets or a breaded chicken sandwich on a white-bread bun, french fries or Tater Tots, and a salad of iceberg lettuce and carrot shavings that came out of a bag. Parents and students across the country will recognize the menu from their own school cafeterias.

This week, though, Adams 14 is serving "turkey American subs" on whole wheat, roasted cauliflower, herb roasted potatoes, a fresh tossed salad and fresh fruit. Chocolate milk and fried potatoes have been banished. Most remarkably, the district, in a low-income industrial suburb, is feeding its 7,630 students for about the same money it spent last year.

While Adams and scores of other districts across the nation are proving that innovative thinking and strategies can improve school menus, the powers that be in Washington are waging food fights.

Last year, Congress took a big step toward combating child obesity and improving children's health when it passed new mandates for the federal school lunch and breakfast program. (Under the $11.5 billion program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses local districts for free and reduced-price meals at 100,000 schools. Students who don't qualify for subsidized meals pay rates set locally.)

Now, USDA is writing the program's new rules, and interests on all sides are pushing their agendas, some attempting to undo what Congress intended. For example, the National Potato Council wants — surprise! — more potatoes in school meals, while the proposed rules call for far less. The School Nutrition Association, which represents school food directors, argues that the districts can't meet some of the new standards without more money and more time. This ignores the fact that there is no more money, and delay is the enemy when it comes to childhood nutrition.

All the players would do better keeping Congress' mandates in place and looking to the schools that are already doing it right. ...

In Burlington, Vt., food director Doug Davis runs his program "like a business." The district charges paying high school students $2.50 for lunch, close to the federal reimbursement rate for free lunches. Many districts give discounted meals to students who can afford to pay more, undermining the program's goals. ...

It's true that school districts, especially in poor communities, face daunting challenges in providing nutritious food. But often, myths and outdated thinking hold them back more than lack of money or time.

Cynthia Veney, the food director at Adams 14, says everybody told her if she got rid of chicken nuggets, the students would revolt. It didn't happen.

To read more, please visit USAToday.com

New USDA School Lunch Changes

2011-04-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

As most of you are aware, the recently passed Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 included a mandate for healthier regulations on food being served under the National School Lunch Program. The USDA just came out with their proposed changes, and will be seeking public comment once they release the official policy. Below are some of the proposed changes:

Highlighted USDA School Lunch Changes From the Federal Register

Fruit requirements will go from ½ cup to 1 cup at breakfast.
Fruit and vegetable requirements will go from 1 to 1 ½ cups together to ¾ to 1 cup fruits and ½ to 1 cup vegetables at lunch.
Grain requirements will double and whole grains will be emphasized.
New requirements will include specific vegetables like dark leafy greens, orange vegetables, and legumes as well as a limit on starchy vegetables.
Full fat and low fat milk will no longer be offered.
Whole grains will be implemented in a staged manner as to adjust to the taste buds of students.
Meat alternatives will also be offered as main dishes including tofu.
Calorie levels for lunch will be limited to 550 to 650 for grades K through 5, 600 to 700 for grades 6 through 8, and 750 to 850 for grades 9 through 12.
- planetgreen.com

The good news is that Organic Fresh Fingers' Fresh n' Local meal program already meets most if not all of these new requirements. And with the extra six cent per meal increase that was included in the bill, our meal program will be more affordable for public school districts, head starts, and other publicly funded programs.

Response to Mandated Lunches at Chicago School

2011-04-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

The article from the Chicago Tribune on schools banning lunches from home had made quite a splash on the national school lunch scene, and rightly so. Below is a response from the The Washington Times.

By Marybeth Hicks -The Washington Times

"The school lunch debate took center stage this week with a Chicago Tribune story about a public chool on the city's West Side that prohibits children from bringing lunches from home.

Little Village Academy banned sack lunches six years ago in a supposed effort to improve the nutritional quality of the food its students consume.

According to the report, Chicago Public Schools permits its principals to use their discretion to decide whether their student population needs stringent rules about food choices. Several of the schools apparently have banned sack lunches, while others permit them but confiscate certain foods that administrators deem unhealthy (think Doritos, soda, candy).

Problem: The Little Village students hate much of the school's cafeteria food. Lunches routinely are thrown away uneaten, leaving children hungry until they get home at the end of the day.

Bigger problem: It's not the role of a public school principal to decree what her students may and may not eat. In fact, even the less-stringent policies convey a growing and disturbing trend among educators and others toward meddling in parents' decisions.

I'm not arguing the merits of a healthier school lunch. As the mother of four children, I've already packed thousands of lunches for the very purpose of ensuring the nutritional value of my children's midday meals, and I have about 900 to go, give or take. (Note to self: We're out of turkey.)

But the children profiled in the Chicago Tribune story say they would rather bring a sandwich and a banana from home than eat the glop that passes for "healthy" enchiladas on their lunch trays. However, Little Village parents who want to pack lunches that are even healthier than those prepared in the school cafeteria are unable to do so. (The school makes exceptions for children with allergies or special dietary needs.)

More troubling is the underlying belief that prompts such policies — that some parents simply are incapable of making wise decisions on behalf of their children, even about what to feed them for lunch.

It's a dicey issue. I've been writing for years about the general lack of parenting skills in our nation, including inconsistent discipline, "buddy parenting" and more serious shortcomings, such as letting the culture raise their children without a moral compass or a value system to direct their behavior.

Our national parenting crisis is resulting in a generation that is generally undereducated, hypersexualized, inadequately supervised, media-saturated and poorly fed. Heck, children don't even get enough sleep at night thanks to TVs in their bedrooms.

So let's assume the folks at Little Village Academy and other schools simply are responding to the lack of solid parenting they see exhibited as junk food in sack lunches with a well-intentioned and convenient solution. (Plus, it's lucrative for the company that provides school lunches and the union cafeteria workers they employ. But I digress.)

Ah, but the road to tyranny is paved with good intentions.

The folks who advocate such mandated programs always pitch what sounds like an irrefutable argument: The school (read: government) must step in for our children's health and wellness.

Today, it's required school lunches and body-fat analyses in countless school districts. Tomorrow, who knows what parental rights will be usurped in the name of healthy children?

In a free society, the most we can do is teach and encourage parents to make healthy and wise choices on behalf of their children. Information, "peer pressure" and a healthy school community will do far more to influence parents' behavior than forced solutions from the powers that be.

Anyway, disempowering parents simply won't work. As the students at Little Village Academy know too well, when it comes to feeding our nation's children, the "Nanny Cafe" doesn't come close to homemade.

Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home

2011-04-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

Please take a look at the article below. Organic Fresh Fingers of course supports steps toward healthier eating, but we can't imagine that disallowing food from home is the solution. Especially when the so-called "healthy" school lunch - isn't.

To encourage healthful eating, Chicago school doesn't allow kids to bring lunches or certain snacks from home — and some parents, and many students, aren't fans of the policy

By Monica Eng and Joel Hood, Chicago Tribune

Fernando Dominguez cut the figure of a young revolutionary leader during a recent lunch period at his elementary school.

"Who thinks the lunch is not good enough?" the seventh-grader shouted to his lunch mates in Spanish and English.

Dozens of hands flew in the air and fellow students shouted along: "We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch!"

Fernando waved his hand over the crowd and asked a visiting reporter: "Do you see the situation?"

At his public school, Little Village Academy on Chicago's West Side, students are not allowed to pack lunches from home. Unless they have a medical excuse, they must eat the food served in the cafeteria.

Principal Elsa Carmona said her intention is to protect students from their own unhealthful food choices.

"Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," Carmona said. "It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke. But with allergies and any medical issue, of course, we would make an exception."

Carmona said she created the policy six years ago after watching students bring "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" on field trips for their lunch. Although she would not name any other schools that employ such practices, she said it was fairly common.

A Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman said she could not say how many schools prohibit packed lunches and that decision is left to the judgment of the principals.

"While there is no formal policy, principals use common sense judgment based on their individual school environments," Monique Bond wrote in an email. "In this case, this principal is encouraging the healthier choices and attempting to make an impact that extends beyond the classroom."

Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken, and the caterer receives a set fee from the district per lunch.

At Little Village, most students must take the meals served in the cafeteria or go hungry or both. During a recent visit to the school, dozens of students took the lunch but threw most of it in the garbage uneaten. Though CPS has improved the nutritional quality of its meals this year, it also has seen a drop-off in meal participation among students, many of whom say the food tastes bad.

"Some of the kids don't like the food they give at our school for lunch or breakfast," said Little Village parent Erica Martinez. "So it would be a good idea if they could bring their lunch so they could at least eat something."

"(My grandson) is really picky about what he eats," said Anna Torrez, who was picking up the boy from school. "I think they should be able to bring their lunch. Other schools let them. But at this school, they don't."

But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."

At Claremont Academy Elementary School on the South Side, officials allow packed lunches but confiscate any snacks loaded with sugar or salt. (They often are returned after school.) Principal Rebecca Stinson said that though students may not like it, she has yet to hear a parent complain.

"The kids may have money or earn money and (buy junk food) without their parents' knowledge," Stinson said, adding that most parents expect that the school will look out for their children.

Such discussions over school lunches and healthy eating echo a larger national debate about the role government should play in individual food choices.

"This is such a fundamental infringement on parental responsibility," said J. Justin Wilson, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Center for Consumer Freedom, which is partially funded by the food industry.

"Would the school balk if the parent wanted to prepare a healthier meal?" Wilson said. "This is the perfect illustration of how the government's one-size-fits-all mandate on nutrition fails time and time again. Some parents may want to pack a gluten-free meal for a child, and others may have no problem with a child enjoying soda."

For many CPS parents, the idea of forbidding home-packed lunches would be unthinkable. If their children do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals, such a policy would require them to pay $2.25 a day for food they don't necessarily like.

"We don't spend anywhere close to that on my son's daily intake of a sandwich (lovingly cut into the shape of a Star Wars ship), Goldfish crackers and milk," education policy professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach wrote in an email. Her son attends Nettelhorst Elementary School in Lakeview. "Not only would mandatory school lunches worsen the dietary quality of most kids' lunches at Nettelhorst, but it would also cost more out of pocket to most parents! There is no chance the parents would stand for that."

Many Little Village students claim that, given the opportunity, they would make sound choices.

"They're afraid that we'll all bring in greasy food instead of healthy food and it won't be as good as what they give us at school," said student Yesenia Gutierrez. "It's really lame. If we could bring in our own lunches, everyone knows what they'd bring. For example, the vegetarians could bring in their own veggie food."

"I would bring a sandwich or a Subway and maybe a juice," said seventh-grader Ashley Valdez.

Second-grader Gerardo Ramos said, "I would bring a banana, orange and some grapes."

"I would bring a juice and like a sandwich," said fourth-grader Eric Sanchez.

"Sometimes I would bring the healthy stuff," second-grader Julian Ruiz said, "but sometimes I would bring Lunchables."

Feds Seek Comments on Proposed School Meals Rule

2011-04-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON—The deadline for comments on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed new comprehensive rules for Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs is April 13, 2011.

The new rules would align school meals with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) and require schools to serve healthier school meals, including more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat free/low-fat milk, and less sodium and saturated fat.

One of the biggest changes for school breakfast would be to double the amount of fruit to 1 cup per day. The greatest change for school lunch would be an increase in fruits and vegetables to nearly four servings a week.

USDA also is seeking comments on ways to incorporate the 2010 Dietary Guidelines into the proposed updated nutrition standards for school meals, which were based on 2005 DGAs. The 2010 DGAs include a new red-orange vegetable subgroup, while the proposed meal patterns include an orange vegetable subgroup and group the red vegetables under the category of other vegetables (consistent with the 2005 DGAs). The proposed meal patterns do reflect the emphasis on consuming a variety of vegetables, which is a key recommendation of the 2005 and 2010 DGAs.

The 2010 DGAs also advise consuming protein from a variety of sources, and recommend weekly

amounts from three protein foods subgroups—seafood; meat, poultry and eggs; and nuts, seeds and soy products. The proposed meal patterns contain weekly and daily amounts of meats/meat alternates, but do not specify amounts for subgroups introduced by the 2010 DGAs.

Commenting on the proposed rules, United Fresh said it supports these elements of the proposed rule, but opposes one significant provision in the proposal that limits starchy vegetables, including white potatoes, corn and peas. That proposal is not aligned with the Dietary Guidelines, and inappropriately restricts a healthy vegetable.

- Press Release from www.foodproductdesign.com

Is it Okay to Eliminate Lunch from the School Day?

2011-04-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

We all know that school district's across the country are making budget cuts. But as they cut programs and shorten the school year, we have to ask ourselves whether some things are worth saving. Below is an excerpt from an article about a district in Ohio that is considering eliminating school lunch, among other things. What are your thoughts? Do you think school lunch is a necessary part of the school day, or is it something we can drop entirely?

LANCASTER -- One of the proposed cuts the Amanda-Clearcreek Board of Education has floated in the past couple of weeks in a spending reduction plan does not have much community support -- shortening the school day and eliminating school lunches.

Laura Julian, who has three children attending Amanda schools, said she didn't think much of the idea.

"My kids are definitely going to to get a lunch, if they have to bring it to school," Julian said. "When one of the my kids told me about the proposal, I thought she had it wrong. But let's hope the school levy passes this time and it doesn't become an issue."

The district has been working on the spending reduction plan for weeks and will have another work session Friday night before voting on the final spending reduction plan.

During the meeting Monday, Board President Patricia Williard explained that, if the district's five-year, 1.5 percent earned income tax levy failed in May and the board followed through with its proposed plan to cut staff members and shorten the school day, lunch no longer would be provided to the students.

Monday night, the decision on spending reductions was delayed primarily because of the lunch debate.

The reduction plan is designed to address state cuts introduced last week in Gov. John Kasich's budget plan. Under the state plan, the overall education budget would see an 11.5 percent decrease in the first year and a 4.9 percent decrease the second year that includes the loss of federal stimulus dollars.

During a special board meeting, the board slightly revised its spending reduction plan to reflect an 11.5 percent decrease.

Among the board's recommended spending reductions ... the school day would be shortened to five-and-a-half hours for all grades, resulting in the elimination of three custodial positions, and lunch...

However, the elimination of the school lunch seems to have parents and relatives of children uniformed in their opposition.

Carolyn Sheets, a grandmother of two attending Amanda schools, said she didn't support the elimination of lunches.

"The kids really need their lunch," Sheets said. "I volunteer at the school and the kids start talking about lunch about a half hour before they go. It's pretty important to some of them."

John Anderson, who has a great-nephew attending Amanda schools, said the idea was "ridiculous."

"We got everyone telling us how important nutrition is and getting your meals," Anderson said. "I don't think it makes any sense."

To read more, click here.

One Journalist's Experience with School Lunch - The Same Tired Excuses

2011-04-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

Below is the second half of Julia O'Malley's story on school lunch in the Anchorage School District. This sad state of school lunch is almost identical to what is being offered in school districts across the country. As you'll read below, food-service officials offer the same tired excuses for why healthy food just doesn't work for school lunch. But we at Organic Fresh Fingers know that there is a way to make healthy, natural, local and organic lunch both affordable and attractive to students. We've shown time and time again a 20% increase in school lunch participation after making the change to our Fresh n' Local lunch program. Kids want to eat healthier - they're just not being given the choice!

The old-school lunch lady with her steaming fresh-baked trays has gone extinct. School lunch arrives at Anchorage schools wrapped in plastic. In school kitchens across the city, there isn't very much to mix, bake or boil. This is the era of reheating.

School lunch prep is centralized. It happens in a big Anchorage School District kitchen facility off Huffman Road. Many items come to the building -- Tater Tots, corn dogs, burger patties -- already processed. The facility processes them again, parceling them out into individual packages.

I visited the lunch facility recently and met Deb Stromstad, one of the district's student nutrition coordinators. She took me on a tour through the big kitchen, by the conveyor belt where workers were packing tots into containers and the huge oven where trays of rolls are baked. I peered into great big bowl of blue Jell-O.

Stromstad has been in the school nutrition business 15 years. I told her about eating lunch with high school students, and how some of them seemed to be eating French fries and pizza every day. It wasn't very healthy, I said.

"It's terrible," she said. "But that's what they go for."

The district meets government requirements and does its best to put healthy choices in front of students every day, she said.

"I can't force them to eat it," she said.

LUNCH FOR 24,000

Anchorage's school-lunch program is paid for partly by federal government reimbursement and partly by revenue from lunch sales. It serves roughly the population of a small city: 20,000 to 24,000 students daily. The district's average cost of each lunch: $4.63. Students who aren't low income pay between $3.15 and $4. The district's food operation has to "float its own boat," Stromstad explained. It runs on a tight margin and if it goes in the red, the people in charge have to ask the School District for money. Nobody wants to do that. So, it's essential to sell what students will buy.

I asked Stromstad what the most popular menu items are for high school students. Pizza, burritos, taco salads, burgers, Subway sandwiches, she said. Some items are healthier than others, but everything looks like something you can buy at a fast food restaurant. That wasn't necessarily the goal, but it is what sells.

Healthy menu items don't fly, she said. Baked potato bars. Salad bars. Soups. All fell flat. Once, years ago, the district tried kiwi fruit. It is both expensive and delicious. Lots of students threw it away. They didn't know what it was, she said. Waste is a big concern, too, she said. For that reason the district offers food, rather than serving it to every student. That's also why it sells food people know students will eat.

The issue isn't what the district serves, Stromstad, said, it's the culture we live in that pushes unhealthy food. The district's food program can't be expected to change the world. Student Nutrition is just in the business of serving breakfast and lunch.

"We're expected to try, so we try," she said.

We walked through a huge freezer filled with processed, frozen foods. The district has an allotted amount to spend with the U.S. Department of Agriculture every year on USDA lunch items. Brent Rock, who runs the student nutrition program, told me later that many of the items come from surplus food the government buys from farmers as part of government support for agriculture.

But school lunch is about to change. The federal government is considering guidelines that would add dark green and orange vegetables to the requirements. They would be served to students rather than offered. It would also move potatoes, French-fried or otherwise, out of the vegetable category. And it would finally place a limit on salt, with a goal to reduce the amount in foods by half over time. That will dictate some recipe changes for what is coming through USDA.

It will also cost more money locally, 27 to 34 percent more than the district is currently paying per meal. Where would that come from? The answer hasn't been worked out completely. The people who run Student Nutrition haven't figured out how they are going to get the students to actually eat healthier foods. Stromstad said they will try to sell students on sweet potato fries and they might puree some beans to add to breakfast bars.

A PROCESSED PROBLEM

Karol Fink, a dietitian with the state Department of Health, doesn't buy that students don't want healthier food. Their tastes are shaped by what is put in front of them, she said. Studies show kids can learn to eat healthy food just like they learn to like the taste of salty, sweet and fatty foods, she said. Schools are part of that learning process, especially for the nearly 40 percent of district students on the free or reduced lunch plan. For those students, schools provide both breakfast and lunch every day, often more than what's being provided at home.

It's not that students need to be eating only carrot sticks, Fink explained. The problem, she thinks, is when the schools rely so heavily on salty, higher-fat processed food that looks like fast food. Even making more meals that seem like what students might eat at home would be a start, she said.

"It would be nice if they could approximate actual food," she said.

There have been studies suggesting schools can get results just by placing less healthy foods in less visible spots, or by making dessert cash-only. Just asking, "Do you want a salad with that?" raised salad consumption 30 percent in one study. There is also the issue of education. Because of economics, of family practices or culture, some students have just not been exposed to healthy foods. Trying food from an early age is key, Fink said. She thinks the school district should have a dietician in the nutrition department.

Right now, students learn about nutrition in elementary and middle school, but often it's in the abstract. An elementary school teacher might do a unit on the food pyramid using plastic broccoli, for example, but some of the students may have never tasted it.

Schools in some places have some success with garden or farm field-trip programs where students learn where food comes from. Some districts even include "farmer trading cards" that tell students who grew their food. These have all proven to encourage healthy eating.

Students have to make the connection between what they are learning about nutrition and what they are actually eating at lunch. Sharon Vaissiere, head of the district's health curriculum, agreed the district could do a better job with that, especially with collaboration from Student Nutrition.

"There is a big disconnect between the nutrition we're teaching in the classroom and what happens when they go into the cafeteria," she said.

By high school, when students are at the height of body image consciousness and would be ripe for nutrition education, it isn't required.

One Journalist's Experience with School Lunch

2011-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Julia O'Malley, a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, just wrote a two-part story of the state of school lunch in the Anchorage School District. The Anchorage School District is a great example of a standard school district's take on lunch across the country.

In the first part of her story, Julia went to a high school, ate the school lunch being served that day, and took notes of what the students were eating - whether they are school lunch, brought something from home, bought fast food off-campus, or ate from the school's vending machines or snack stand. She then worked with a dietitian to analyze the nutritional information for each lunch option. Here's what she learned:

"I had lunch at Dimond High School... I weighed my options with an adult eye for nutrition. Hot dog (salty). Soft taco (mystery meat factor high). French fries (par-fried, reheated). Pizza (greasy). Burrito.

OK, burrito. Beans. Cheese. Tortilla.

HOW BAD COULD IT BE?

Later, I took pictures I'd taken of student lunches to Karol Fink, a dietitian with the state, to see what the food looked like nutrition-wise.

Before I met with Fink, I looked up some of the fast food kids were eating. I assumed it would be the worst, so it could function as a baseline. The 10-piece chicken nuggets, medium fries and Coke from McDonald's I saw a very slender girl eating? That packed more than half a day's calories (1,050), three-quarters of daily fat intake (48 grams, or equal to about half a stick of butter), more than half the recommended daily allowance of salt (1,270 milligrams or about half a teaspoon) and 58 grams of sugar, or about 14.5 sugar cubes. The double slice of pizza and Crush? In the neighborhood of 600 to 800 calories, 25 to 30 grams of fat, about 1,600 milligrams of sodium (more than McDonald's!) and 39 grams of sugar.

Fink and I started with food that wasn't part of the school lunch program. From the school store, we looked at the smoothie. It was high in Vitamin C, but the sugar content was extra high: 49 grams. That's more than a regular soda (which the district no longer allows to be sold in schools ). The Cup-o-Noodles wasn't fantastic in the fat department (14 grams), but the bigger problem was the salt: 1,434 milligrams. That, too, was more than the entire McDonald's meal.

The lunches that came from home tended to be relatively decent. Here's one Fink liked: peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread. Around 300 or 400 calories, about 14 grams of fat and 10 grams of protein. Add in a 200-calorie low-fat yogurt cup, 90-calorie granola bar, a small 150-calorie bag of potato chips, 100-calorie juice box, and a pear, you get about 900 to 1,000 calories. That's a lot of calories, but less than 30 percent comes from fat, overall it isn't high in salt and it has calcium, protein and fiber. And, it wasn't all highly processed food. Fink would probably trade out the chips for pretzels or pita chips to make it healthier.

Then we got to the district's school lunch options. What we found surprised us both. For one thing, the nutrition information provided by the district had missing pieces and wrong numbers. We did our best with what we could find and used estimates to fill in the holes.

The popular pizza, available daily to high school students, has been billed as a healthier option than previous pizza the district served. (Students at Dimond complained that the taste suffered because of that.) But when we compared it with fast food pizza, we found it had about the same number of calories per slice (340) and a similar amount of fat (13 grams on the pepperoni). Salt was somewhat lower, thought not terrific, at 590 milligrams per slice.

THE STANDARDS

On the school lunch menu, the pizza is often paired with other optional items: a piece of fresh fruit, milk and par-fried potato products, either fries or tots. (According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fried potatoes count as a vegetable.) In high school, everything is a la carte, so students can choose to have pizza every day.

The fries are salty but not terrible (159 calories, 6 grams fat and 439 milligrams of salt), but the tots are another story. They have 226 calories, 13 grams fat, and 450 milligrams of salt. Taken together with pizza, that's a lot of fat and close to the amount of salt in the McDonald's meal. Chocolate milk isn't too bad, adding a little protein and calcium and another 12 grams of sugar.

My burrito? Three-hundred and 10 calories, 10 grams of fat and 640 milligrams of sodium. The best choice would have been a veggie Subway sandwich (230 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 400 milligrams sodium). Surprisingly, the other Subway options, though lower in fat, have a ton of salt. A 6-inch ham sub packs nearly as much (1,200 milligrams) as the entire McDonald's meal.

District meals have to meet a lot of requirements set out by the government, but they don't have to meet nutrition standards every day. Instead they have to meet a weekly standard. Here's what they're going for: 30 percent of calories or less from fat, 10 percent from saturated fat and no more than 30 grams sugar every day. There is no federal sodium standard. The state standard for sodium, also measured on a weekly basis, is 1,650 milligrams on average, per day. That's a lot for lunch, considering the recommended amount for an entire day is no more than 2300 milligrams.

"When you're taking foods and breaking them down that way, you can make a lot of things meet the requirement," Fink said.

In high school, where students have the most choice, they can forgo the healthiest part of the lunch altogether and they can choose to eat the same thing every day. That means their meals don't meet any standards.

If some of the students keep eating the way they eat now, they can expect increased risk of heart disease and obesity. Sodium at the levels the students have become used to increases the risk of stroke and heart disease.

Fink's overall reaction to what students are having for lunch?

"Yikes."

Yikes is right. That's why Organic Fresh Fingers was founded - to provide a healthy, fresh, and local alternative to the unhealthy school lunches that are currently being served every day across the country.

Up Next: the second part of Julia's story, where she discusses why school lunch can't be healthier with the district's nutrition services.

To see photos of lunches from Dimond High School with individual calorie counts, click here.

To read Julia's full article, visit: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/156411#ixzz1I8FkR3qm

An Extra $158 Million for Fresh Fruits & Veggies

2011-03-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

Under the USDA's new guidelines for the National Lunch Program, schools are expected to increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables they serve. Recently, the USDA announced that it would be putting its money where its mouth is: The USDA will put $158 million into the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program this year that will go to schools across the country.

The FFVP program works to provide free fresh fruits and vegetables to school children throughout the day. In order to receive the funds from the state, schools must make certain each child receives between $50 - $75 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. The USDA estimates that the FFVP program will be able to include an additional 600,000 - 950,000 children this year.

Oregon will receive $2,528,331 for the FFVP. The state will administer the program, distributing funds to schools that continue working to improve the health and nutrition of the foods they serve.

Organic Fresh Fingers' lunches always include a fresh, organic fruit and vegetable. We think it's wonderful that the government is stepping up to bridge the budget shortfall and help schools make a change for the better. To find out more about the program, see the USDA's press release.

Marion County's "I Love ME" Program

2011-03-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

Today, on the steps of the state Capitol, Marion County officially launched it's "I Love ME" campaign to fight obesity and diabetes in the county. Senators Peter Courtney and Jackie Winters, together with other key community members, have joined forces to raise awareness and turn Marion County into a healthier place.

For all of our state's reputation for local, healthy foods and outdoor activities, obesity and diabetes are severe problems in Oregon, just as they are across the nation.

"In a 2009 report to lawmakers, the Office of Oregon Health Policy and Research said:

-One in four eighth-graders was overweight.

-Nearly one in three 11th-graders had weight problems.

-Six in 10 adults were overweight or obese.

-One in three adults has high cholesterol, a key risk factor for heart disease.

The diabetes death rate has increased 76.5 percent since 1990. Yet Oregonians are doing little to help themselves. Large percentages don't regularly exercise or eat vegetables and fruits." - www.statesmanjournal.com, Join 'I Love Me' initiative and fight obesity

Those numbers are discouraging, but with motivated, influential members of the community working together, we can make a change. In schools across the state, we see first hand the effects of unhealthy, high calorie and fat foods served daily to children. Many schools, for budgetary reasons, have cut their physical education program. If we want to provide our children with a better future and a healtier lifestyle, this simply cannot continue.

Perhaps this will be the year we can all agree that it is time to stand together and demand something better.

More Kids Qualify for Free or Reduced School Lunch

2011-03-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

In school districts across the country, more and more children are qualifying for free or reduced school lunch. This is most likely due to the recent recession in the country, with more people unemployed or making reduced wages. It's excellent that the government has a program that protects children during their most crucial development years. The fact that more children are qualifying for the lunch program creates a more urgent need to reform the quality of school lunch.

It's been our experience that kids who qualify for free or reduced lunch are the majority of kids participating in the school lunch program. Those who can afford to bring lunches from home. This creates a micro-social class system in every school. The "poor" kids eat lunch at school and they have no option but to eat the processed, calorie and sodium-laden food that is served every day, while the "well-off" kids bring healthy, fresh lunches from home. This system not only hurts the school district financially, but also hurts those children who need our help and attention the most.

Organic Fresh Fingers is committed to making sure every child, no matter their socio-economic status, has access to a fresh, nutritious and delicious school lunch. In fact, we've found in our schools that when our Fresh n' Local lunch program is served, participation of children who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch rises almost immediately by at least 20%. This helps the school have a more sustainable and profitable lunch program, as well as creating an atmosphere where all children enjoy the lunch meal together.

Are public school lunches making the grade?

2011-03-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Are public school lunches making the grade?
By Michelle Andujar
from Salem Weekly, Section Eat

Greasy cheeseburgers dripping with condiments, overflowing tacos, deep fried chicken nuggets with a side of fries. Make that cheese fries, or better yet, a bag of Doritos. If most children were choosing what they'd eat on a regular basis, the menu would be made up of gooey goodness. Let's face it; if it were up to most adults, based on the national obesity rates alone, they'd chow down on the same menu.

Today, school lunches aren’t quite as bad as one might imagine. The company making all the food for the Salem/Keizer school district for the past 31 years is the multinational Sodexo, based in France. They've repeatedly won the five-year contract because of their ability to offer the most competitive price, which includes the meal cost and the staff necessary to prepare it, deliver it and serve it.

In recent years, public schools have been pushed toward a healthier option. A menu at Salem/Keizer School District elementary schools includes vegetarian options, whole wheat grains in bread, non-hormone-injected dairy products, and even some fresh vegetables.

Some of Sodexo’s products are local, such as the beans and the milk (which is also hormone-free). Sodexo’s general manager and the District’s Food Services Director, Dave Harvey, says they would like to offer more local products but produce doesn’t grow all-year-round around here so they mostly buy it from California. He says organic food is also too costly to include in the schools’ menu. As it becomes more available and prices go down, he says it’s more likely to be included.

Is the effort enough? Not for some parents.

Julie Eaton, a parent of two Wright Elementary vegetarian students, is not satisfied with the options and she packs her kids' lunches most days.

"Once in a while I let them eat school lunch but I never feel right about it," she says, explaining that most of the fruits and vegetables look canned as opposed to fresh, and that sometimes they run out of the vegetarian option by the time her kids get to the cafeteria. When this happens, she says, the school grills them a cheese sandwich.

One solution to a healthier lunch period may be found growing in the fields of local farms.

The National Farm to School Network supports locally grown and healthy meals in school cafeterias, and providing agriculture, health and nutrition education for kids.

As Megan Kemple from the National Farm to School Network says, "It's important for students to understand where food comes from and have a connection to local farms."

On a state level, Representative Brian Clem (D-District 21) has taken the initiative on bringing local food to local schools. He says that because he married a farmer's daughter, he started wondering even before campaigning for office how much the government could spend on Oregon foods rather than importing it.

"When I was running for office in 2006, I gave a speech about what I would do and one of those things was to encourage a closer connection between farms and schools and prisons [institutions]," he says.

The struggle to reach the finish line has been going on since then. Clem has brought the issue back to the table this year by sponsoring House Bill 2800.

"It would stimulate the economy and prevent childhood obesity as well as provide environmental savings from [the reduced] transportation," he says.

They are currently working on the bill through committee and he expects to know in May or June whether there is money to fund the bill. They've amended the bill to reduce the cost from $20 million to $2 million by rolling out the program slowly.

"Local food is often fresher and it tastes fresher so kids are more likely to eat it. It hasn't been trucked from far away. Farm to school programs often set up posters and tasting tables in cafeterias so kids are more likely to try it," Kemple says.

One Salem company, Organic Fresh Fingers, is all about that. They deliver school lunches made with local ingredients, and founder Evann Remington helps schools set up composting sites as well as edible gardens that can be incorporated into the menu. Her dream is one day seeing schools grow most of their food, cook it onsite where all the students can smell it and feel connected to the cook and with the food, and have long lunch periods where the kids are taught table manners and nutrition.

That picture is far from the reality of public school lunches in Salem. At North Salem High, a staff of about ten serve thousands of kids who are divided into two 30-minute lunches.

A sample Sodexo menu at a local elementary consisted of teriyaki beef and broccoli over seasoned rice, beef and bean enchilada, cheeseburger on a multigrain bun, spinach salad with a roll, and turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread. There's also an all-you-can-eat fruit and vegetable bar at every school.

Organic Fresh Fingers' sample lunch menu includes mac & cheese, bean and rice burritos, vegetarian chili, pizza bagels, quiche, and vegetable soup with a whole wheat roll.

Parents like Eaton like the fact that the company "hides extra nutrients" in the food, such as sweet potatoes or lentils in their spaghetti sauce.

"Our motto is always fresh and local, fresh and natural, or fresh and organic. We never use any artificial colors or flavors, only the purest, highest quality ingredients," says Remington, adding that her program is also lower in sodium and is leaner (currently, all Organic Fresh Fingers meals are vegetarian).

"Fifty percent of the meal, all of the produce, is organic. It's healthier as far as pesticide residue goes," she says, explaining that organic food is more expensive but it's important to buy organic especially when it comes to the raw part of the meal.

Organic Fresh Fingers' high school lunch costs $3.75 while Sodexo's costs $2.20. Breakfast is $2.25 while Sodexo's is $1.05. For the younger kids, Organic Fresh Fingers' lunch is a little lower than Sodexo's, costing $1.25 while theirs is $1.75.

Remington says her company offers other types of savings, including the environment. Sodexo cooks some of the meals that would go to all the schools in its central kitchen, divides them, and delivers them daily. Instead, Organic Fresh Fingers delivers the food frozen once a week to each school. Then it's ready to reheat and serve with fresh fruits and vegetables. Remington says this also saves in labor costs because only one part-time staff member is needed at each school. Remington says some of the schools have a volunteer parent. "They want healthier food and they find a way to make it work," she says.

This is the second year of the District’s current contract with Sodexo, and schools’ Superintendent Sandy Husk says, “Any company can bid for the work.” She also says that the school could potentially choose two different providers, but “In most cases it’s most competitive if we write it for one provider.” She adds that Sodexo has been “very committed to purchasing local” and that if parents have any concerns or an official request, they could bring it up to her or to Sodexo.

Organic Fresh Fingers is ready to bid for the contract next time it becomes available. They are already serving 20,000 lunches a month, compared to Sodexo's 20,000 daily lunches, but Remington says the company is expanding and would be ready to handle that volume by the end of the year.

She says that if her company is chosen in the future for Salem, it would employ lots of people in Salem, and it would also help the local economy by supporting local farmers. "We are dedicated to providing living wage, high quality jobs," she says.

Being based in Salem, she would love to have the market in her hands.

"I'm personally committed to Salem, and I'm trying really hard but there are some barriers. Unlike Portland, we don't really have parents aware of what's happening with school lunches and committed to making them healthier," says Remington, who would like to "put Salem on the map as a community that cares about healthy school lunch."

She says she has had a very positive response from parents whenever she has set up a booth at many local events.

"Salem parents are just as smart and just as interested [as Portland parents]. It's just that this kind of tipping point hasn't been reached," she says, pointing to an example of a charter school in Molalla:

"I finally had to shut the program down," she says, explaining that many parents were angry at the lack of meat in their kids' lunches.

"Sometimes a community has a certain kind of value system. They raise animals; many of them are hunters. They couldn't get over the fact city dwellers were trying to make hippies out of their kids!"

Hippie or not, Remington would like to offer meat, but it would have to be fresh, local and natural.

"I'm already working with a couple of natural growers and butchers. If I can get the volume up enough, I think we could absolutely incorporate [meat] at least in some of the meals," she says. "I think we're really close now."

Remington doesn't know if her food has had an impact on the schools' obesity rates so far, but she has heard testimony from teachers about how they believe the lighter vegetarian meals have had a positive effect on behavior in the classroom.

"The children are not all hyped-up or falling sleep," says Remington.

Remington has been focusing on private and charter schools and perfecting the model for her business. She did try to reach the Salem market by going through Sodexo.

"They're not interested. We're their competition," says Remington.

Harvey says he looked into Organic Fresh Fingers products but he didn't find them cost effective.

One way the two companies have come together is through the national government's competition "Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge." Remington put together a team including a nutritionist from Sodexo, herself, local students, community members and chef David Rosales and they submitted a recipe. The public will vote in March and the judging period ends in May.

While Remington keeps trying to feed local school kids, she is also offering the larger Salem community an opportunity to try her food by placing an online order at organicfreshfingers.com and picking it up at 1010 Broadway NE.

Meal 1: an average Salem-Keizer School District elementary lunch

Calories: 638

Cholesterol: 47mg

Sodium: 1362mg

Fiber: 6.95mg

Protein: 28.66g

Total Fat: 20.41g

Saturated Fat: 5.78g

Meal 2: a sample menu from Organic Fresh Fingers

Calories: 339

Protein 16.88g

Cholesterol 45mg

Calcium 416mg

Sodium 664mg

Total Fat 15.49g

Dietary Fiber 1.65g

Saturated Fat9.32g

We asked Maria Gutierrez, an assistant manager at GNC, to evaluate both meals. She did so blindly using only the nutritional facts given by both organizations.

Gutierrez concluded that "Meal 2" was the healthier meal for elementary school age kids. "Still not the best, but much better than Meal 1" she says.

Sodium played a key role in the decision.

"Meal 1 is almost more than what an adult should eat at one sitting. The sodium in Meal 1 is a little over half the daily amount an adult should take in."

She says that elementary school aged kids only need 1200-1500mg of sodium per day and only about 1200-1600 total calories depending on the gender and exact age of the child.

Let's Move - One Year Later

2011-03-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Check out this video from the First Lady. We think her work with the Let's Move Campaign is good for everyone in the country, no matter your age, socio-economic status or political orientation.

A Student's Letter to the Editor

2011-03-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

We loved this student's letter to the editor of her local newspaper. She talks frankly about school lunch and why she makes the choices she makes. We think she makes all the right points, and it's a great example of what is wrong with most schools' attitude toward offering healthy lunch.

"Why are healthy foods so much more expensive than junk food in my school and community?

Buying lunch at school can get really expensive. Schools tell us to exercise and eat healthy food, but they make it so hard. A fruit cup cost $3 but a piece of pizza only cost $2. So, when I go to buy my lunch, I can usually only afford one. I’m going to buy the pizza because it is more filling than a fruit cup and I won’t be hungry for the rest of the day. A salad or a sandwich can cost anywhere from $4 to $5 but, again, pizza only costs $2. If I buy my lunch, my mom usually gives me $4, so the healthy stuff is out of my price range.

Schools should change their prices if the average student can’t afford healthy food.

Another place where healthy food is too expensive is grocery stores. Fruits and vegetables are much more expensive than chips or soda.

Research done at the University of Washington shows junk food is less expensive than healthy food and the prices of these foods are less likely to go up.

Families with lower incomes can’t afford to buy expensive foods every time they buy groceries. Their children learn bad eating habits that will stick with them through adulthood.

Expensive food prices are the reason that the highest rates of obesity are seen among lower income groups. Prices of healthy foods need to change."

Carly McShane - Pantagraph.com

Michelle Obama's Wal-Mart Endorsement

2011-03-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

The first lady's gotten a lot of flack recently about her Let's Move campaign in general and specifically about her decision in January to partner with Wal-Mart to offer healthier and more affordable pre-packaged foods.

Wal-Mart is a giant corporation, and of course there is some risk that this partnership will undermine other issues, like fair market values and fair labor practices. This might be a controversial position to take, but we at Organic Fresh Fingers support the First Lady's actions. We agree that until major companies like Wal-Mart start committing to change, healthy options won't reach the general public.

Change like that won't come if companies don't profit from making their food healthier and more affordable. A huge market player like Wal-Mart could be just want this movement needs. If Wal-Mart demands that their suppliers make their products healthier while still keeping costs down, chances are that will have a ripple effect on grocery store chains across the country. For example, when Wal-Mart demanded that containers for large products like laundry detergent be shaped more efficiently for shipping and shelf-storage, pretty soon all grocery stores started carrying those same sized products. Like it or not, the choices Wal-Mart makes affect us all.

That's why we think it's so great that Wal-Mart is making this change. We can't continue to fight with industry leaders - we need to find a way to work with them. An article on The Indypendent's website points this out in terms we can all understand:

“Hating the food industry is not an option,” says Shiriki Kumanyika, a public health advocate and scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of the African American Collaborative Obesity Network. “The question is, how do you work with the food industry so that they can make a profit, but still sell us food that is more likely to promote health and less likely to promote obesity?”

The “huge victory” Obama championed in the Wal-Mart announcement is creating viable choices for informed consumers. She and others have argued that communities can only win if there is cost parity between healthy food and the high-calorie snacks that contribute to obesity. “If you have a dollar menu item and a healthier salad that costs three times as much, it’s not a choice for people living on a limited income,” says Antronette K. Yancey, co-director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity.

Yancey also emphasizes that it’s not just families who have to make these choices—budget-strapped schools and city-run summer camps also must make cost-effective food purchases for children. Getting the food industry to self-regulate sugar and sodium has long-term benefits; getting a company as large as Wal-Mart on board might just trigger other manufacturers to follow suit, which leads to a marketplace with more healthier options, at a fair price to consumers. Even though consumers are ultimately responsible for the decisions they make, giving them the ability to make those decisions without economic repercussions makes good ones more likely. - "Is Michelle Obama's Wal-Mart Endorsement a Healthy Idea?" - The Indypendent.

So even though we don't agree with all of Wal-Mart's decisions, we can still get on board and support Mrs. Obama in her partnership with Wal-Mart. We need more companies who are at least willing to begin making changes toward healthier, affordable options.

Excuses, excuses...

2011-03-01T09:39:00.001-08:00

If you've been following the news about school lunch at all, you probably know by now that USDA has changed school lunch nutrition requirements. We at Organic Fresh Fingers are excited about these changes, as they are a step in the right direction to serving children healthier food. Organic Fresh Fingers is already following most of these new requirements as part of our guiding principles.

But, as expected, a lot of school lunch coordinators across the country are sounding off about how difficult these changes will be to implement and whether are not children will like the food. Here's just one example of the types of comments and excuses being made:

"The USDA wants to reduce sodium content of lunches to a scant quarter teaspoon per day, or around 640 milligrams, depending on the child's grade level. The average school lunch currently has about 1,400 milligrams of sodium in it, according to USDA.
In other words, just the ham in a sandwich would be above the proposed limit.

"I can give them a bread sandwich!" said Dickl, joking. "A bread sandwich, milk and some vegetables, with that level of sodium."

Most lunch lines in the region have already done away with salt shakers and packets, administrators say, but there's still hidden salt in most foods.

"How do you do all that and have the kids eat?" asked Karen Helton, food service coordinator for Blount County Schools. "How do you make a teaspoon of salt go all week?"

Eventually manufacturers will come out with more low-sodium foods, USDA says. Whether they'll taste good is another issue, administrators counter.

"In high school, their palates are already developed," said Margaret Burrell, school nutrition program director for Anderson County Schools.

"If you cut the sodium too much, and you stop frying anything, then you get into the fact that they'll just stop eating with you, period." - Knoxnews.com

Organic Fresh Fingers knows from experience that it is possible to make healthy and delicious foods that kids enjoy eating. You won't find any complaints from us about how it is hard to serve healthy food. We know that it's not difficult - it just takes a commitment to quality and health that most school food providers don't have.

Jamie Oliver Needs Our Help

2011-02-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

For those of you following the school lunch revolution, you might have heard that the Food Revolution television show and Jamie Oliver were recently kicked out of the Los Angeles Unified School District. We certainly applaud Jamie's efforts and passion to shine a spotlight on the state of school lunches in this country, but we have to admit that he's sadly uninformed about the USDA National School Lunch Program, and the requirements that have to be met for reimbursement.

One example of this is when Jamie tried to remove chocolate milk from the cafeteria. The lunch ladies insisted that they had to have the chocolate milk to get reimbursed. If Jamie had only known that instead of offering plain milk and chocolate milk he could have offered whole milk and 1% milk, the reimbursement problem would have been solved, and he would have avoided serving the chocolate milk.

That's why we think Jamie Oliver and his Food Revolution show need the help of Organic Fresh Fingers. In the past four years, we've hurdled every reimbursement requirement of the USDA National School Lunch Program while still serving healthy, local, fresh and organic lunches to kids. Our schools don't serve chocolate milk because we know what the requirements are. We learned pretty quick that in order to get into the school lunch arena, you've got to know the rules of the game.

So Jamie, give us a call. We'd be happy to offer our knowledge and real-life experience in the fight to give children healthier food in schools!

The Problem with "Healthier" School Lunches

2011-02-22T16:39:00.001-08:00

We all know that school lunch needs to change. With the recent legislation of the new Child Nutrition Act in December, schools are required to change their school lunch offerings to a traditional food based approach. Currently, most are using the "enhanced nutrient based approach," which essentially means that vitamins, minerals and nutrients can be added to the food after processing. The traditional food based approach doesn't allow for adding nutrients back in - it has to come from directly from the natural food.

This new approach creates quite a problem as schools struggle to adjust to the new requirements they are expected to meet at the beginning of the next school year. Many providers of school lunch are simply unable, currently, to meet these requirements. This has led to schools trying to serve "healthier" school lunches which taste and look worse than the processed junk food that is currently being served.

For example, take a look at the description of a Chicago school district's new lunch offerings:

"Complaints arise with the reformulated items, including new pizza products with grainier cardboardy crusts. The same goes for overly tangy and tomatoey red beans with whole wheat pasta; chalky whole wheat macaroni salad; a mixture of beans, cheese and tomato called "enchiladas"; nearly flavorless rice and beans; brown-tinged, formaldehyde scented iceberg salad in a cup; a stiff flour tortilla wrapped around fish sticks named a "fish taco"; canned pears that taste like wet toilet paper and, worst of all, waterlogged and unsalted boiled vegetables.

We all know that kids often reject food just to be difficult, but I'm an adult with a high appreciation for whole grains (even whole wheat pasta), vegetables, beans and salad. If I were served the CPS versions of these foods in a restaurant, I would send them back immediately. At the very least, I would sprinkle the vegetables with a few crystals of salt, but students are not allowed salt and cooks are never allowed to use it on meals made in CPS kitchens. If these were my first tastes of broccoli, zucchini and carrots, I might never want to try them again.

Most students love the fresh fruit --even though one table reported that their apple skins taste like hand sanitizer--which makes it even sadder that each day thousands of students are forced to throw away their whole unbitten fruit if they don't finish it during the 14 minutes of average eating time." - Chicago Tribune, Healthier school lunches make kids, and one adult, cringe.

If only we could get the message out about what Organic Fresh Fingers can offer to these struggling school districts! Not all healthy food has to taste bad. In fact, we currently have 25 entrees in our current rotation that kids love. It's our philosophy that during the most important formative years of a child's life, they should have access to quality, delicious and nutritious food - even at school. It's our mission to make that happen - one school at a time!

Healthier School Lunch: Priceless!

2011-01-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

No matter the cost of providing healthier school lunch, the cost of not doing so far exceeds that in consequences to our children and our society as a whole. Check out onetray.org to learn more!

Also, take a look at the post below to learn more about the childhood obesity epidemic in our country.

Childhood Obesity - A Nationwide Concern

2011-01-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

We found this article from the CDC especially informative and helpful, with links to programs and information below. Through our FRESH n' LOCAL hot lunch program, we work with schools to fight childhood obesity. Unhealthy school lunches are a main contributor to the childhood obesity epidemic in our country.

"Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.^1,2

Obesity is the result of caloric imbalance (too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed) and is mediated by genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.^3,4 Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term health impacts:

Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.⁵
Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.^3,6
Obese youth are more likely than youth of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.⁶

Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases.³

Make a Difference at Your School: Key Strategies to Prevent Obesity outlines 10 evidence-based strategies for schools to implement in addressing childhood obesity.

General information about obesity among young people and specific facts about determining the body mass index of children and adolescents:

CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

Child and Teen BMI Calculator

General information on healthy eating and physical activity in childhood and adolescence:

Nutrition and the Health of Young People

Physical Activity and the Health of Young People

Article taken from the CDC's webpage.

Washington DC Lunch Revolution

2011-01-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

Organic Fresh Fingers applauds the efforts of schools everywhere that are trying to find ways to make school lunch healthier. Our FRESH n' LOCAL hot lunch program also uses all natural, local and organic ingredients to provide easy and healthy lunches to schools along with food education presentations.

"A group of prominent Washington, D.C.-area restaurant chefs has volunteered to introduce a novel concept in school-food service to one Capitol Hill elementary school: collaborating with parents to take over kitchen operations on a nonprofit basis, replacing the prepackaged, reheated factory meals that Tyler Elementary kids currently eat with food cooked from scratch, served on real plates with real cutlery.

Led by Cathal Armstrong, chef and owner of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Va., the group would undo the historically knotty issue of school food finances by putting parents to work in the cafeteria as volunteers, and using the savings in labor to buy better food, much of it from local growers.

... Armstrong['s] involvement with Tyler Elementary stems from a meeting last year with White House assistant chef and food advisory Sam Kass. Last October, Kass provided chefs with a list of local schools to visit and urged them to find a way to get involved in improving school food. Armstrong was assigned to Tyler Elementary at 1001 G Street SE, an economically diverse school with 300 students, 81 percent black and 12 percent white. Sixty percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals in the federally subsidized meal program.

Armstrong said he was alarmed by the food he saw being served at the school by the school system's contracted food service provider, Chartwells. "It was just awful stuff," he said. In January, he met with other chefs at Brasserie Beck, where he reportedly said, "What we are feeding our children is an outrage. We should be marching with picket signs and pitchforks in revolution." Armstrong subsequently formed a non-profit corporation -- Chefs as Parents -- to fund and operate a school venture.

Among the group's goals: "Get rid of all processed foods filled with preservatives, additives, food coloring, and other chemicals. Find local farmers, ranchers and dairies from which to buy directly. Find foods that are at their peak of ripeness," as well as "organic or sustainably produced to the maximum extent possible." And "send positive messages about eating to children and lure them into the kitchen."

... School meals have always been hamstrung by poor financing. The federal government currently provides $2.68 to the schools to offer a fully subsidized school lunch, but most of that goes to pay for labor and overhead, leaving only about $1 for meal ingredients. As a result, many schools don't actually cook at all, but rely on reheating cheap, industrially processed convenience foods -- those famous chicken nuggets and tater tots -- for their cafeteria menus.

Health education is part of the proposal, too. The meal program will work with "nutrition professionals to address the larger issues at hand caused by type-2 diabetes and childhood obesity, as well as linking food and meals with behavioral and other issues." - Article from www.grist.com

USDA Announces Healthier School Lunch Guidelines

2011-01-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

The USDA announced new school lunch guidelines for the first time in 15 years on Thursday.

"In that time, childhood obesity rates in this country have risen yet more.

Here's an example of a current school lunch:

Breaded beef patty on a roll
Fruit popsicle
Low-fat milk

And here's what a meal might look like under the new rules:

Baked fish nuggets
Whole wheat roll
Mashed potatoes
Broccoli
Peaches
Skim milk

"The more we can reinforce the right set of choices and encourage the right set of choices, the greater the chances are that we will get a handle on obesity," [said] U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

The underlying requirements are based on an Institute of Medicine study: reduce saturated fat, sugar and sodium. Increase whole grains. Serve both fruits and vegetables daily. And, for the first time, set maximum calorie counts in addition to minimum ones.

"This doesn't mean that we are going to eliminate treats, not at all. But it is a circumstance, situation where treats have a special meaning, a special occasion, a special circumstance that we celebrate with a treat," Vilsack added.

Children consume more than half of their calories at school.

"Schools are supposed to set an example of many, many values of society and one of them ought to be eating well," said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at NYU and the author of "What to Eat". "The schools that I've been in that have the best school lunch programs work with the kids very closely on how the foods taste, get the kids involved in cooking, talk about where the food comes from and make the school lunch program part of the whole educational program. " - abcnews.com

Organic Fresh Fingers applauds the UDSA's proposal, which calls for:

-- A decrease in potatoes (those french fries), corn and other starchy vegetables to one cup a week.

-- A gradual reduction in sodium levels over the next decade.

-- Serving only unflavored milk with a 1 percent fat content or fat-free flavored or unflavored milk.

-- Creating calorie minimums and maximums for the first time.

-- Introducing children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. A serving of fruit would be offered daily at breakfast and lunch and two vegetables would be available for lunch. Green and leafy vegetables, orange vegetables, beans, starchy vegetables and others must be served over the course of the week so students get one of each.

-- Requiring for the first time that half of the grains served be whole grains.

-- Serving only foods with nutrition labels that show zero grams of trans fat per serving.

Obesity Bill a boon to School Lunch Program

2011-01-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

Another success for healthier school lunches at the national level. The US House of Representative recently voted in favor of legislation that's being termed an "obesity bill." The bill would dedicate $4.5 billion over the next 10 years to fighting childhood obesity and hunger.

"The fully-funded, bipartisan legislation was passed with a 264-157 vote, and received a signature from President Obama. The legislation will expand free school meals for the needy and give the government the power to decide what foods are to be sold in schools...

"'We simply could not miss the opportunity to support the well-being of our nation's children,' said [Bill] Pascrell, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a former educator. "Expanding programs such as those that provide school lunch and breakfast is the right thing to do for our children and its a solid investment in our future.

"'Healthy children are more able to succeed in school and grow into become healthy, successful adults who are able to contribute to their families and communities.'

"The bill's provisions include a six cent per meal increase in federal reimbursement rate for school lunches to improve the nutritional quality of school meals.

"An additional cost per meal will help schools meet new meal standards to provide children with healthier school meals. Also it will call for a reduction in the availability of high-calorie junk foods and sugary beverages in vending machines on school campuses through science-based nutrition standards for all foods sold during the school day per the Department of Agriculture." - Debra Winters, "Obesity bill will expand school meals, provide for better choices."

Do You Know What Your Child is Eating at School?

2011-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

The following is a portion of an article that addresses the very real concern of what kids are eating in schools today. With Organic Fresh Fingers, you'll never have to worry about whether your children are eating healthy snacks and lunches in school.

School Food: Too Much Sugar, Unsafe Lunches? by Victoria Leigh Miller, Yahoo News

"Do you know what your kids ate today? Did they start off with a bowl of sugary cereal then head off to school for a mystery lunch from the cafeteria? Maybe a classmate brought in cupcakes to celebrate a birthday and perhaps a candy prize was doled out after the spelling bee.

"Let's face it, once your kids leave the house for school, do you really know what they are eating?

"... The cafeteria lunch. Sure, you can diligently pack your kids a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a healthy drink -- but the cafeteria meals will come calling -- especially on pizza day.

"While President Barack Obama recently signed The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act into law -- deeming the U.S. Department of Agriculture free reign over the nutritional guidelines of foods sold in schools -- does this mean school lunches will actually be healthier?

Let's hope so. Last month USA Today issued a report questioning the safety of the meat in school lunches and came to the dire conclusion that the meat used at your local Burger King may be safer than the meat used at your kids' school.

"Great. So now we're back to packing our children's lunches again. Fine and dandy -- if you can keep it cold for the four hours until lunch time.

"Because while you may have survived your own brown bag years (or Partridge Family metal lunch box years), your child's home packed lunch -- housed in the school cloakroom all morning -- is probably not being safely chilled. Once that turkey sandwich hits 40 degrees it's only good for about two hours, which means it may be expired before the lunch bell rings.

"So what's the solution to your child's school day food woes- without going overboard?

"Control what you can before at home. That means a healthy, low-sugar breakfast and low-fat snacks.

"Combine the best of school lunches with healthy foods brought from home. That piece of cafeteria pizza is really OK once in a while (c'mon mom, everyone is doing it!) but try to add some healthy side items from home, like fruit or cut-up veggies.

"Pack safely. Use ice packs to keep cold foods cold; use thermoses to keep hot foods hot.

"Talk to your kids about what they ate today. If they've already chowed on an impromptu school-birthday cupcake, that may mean you need to put the kibosh on dessert tonight. And yes, they still have to eat their veggies."

Nutritious school lunches for all is goal of new law

2010-12-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

Look for more, and fresher, fruits and veggies in your school lunch, thanks to a bill President Barack Obama signed into law Monday.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is meant to help solve to huge nutritional issues for American Kids:

1) Childhood Obesity, which affects as many as a third of all kids.
2) Childhood Hunger, which affects 25% of American kids.

There is a lot of overlap between kids who are overweight and kids who are hungy: both groups don't get good enough food. The law will provide money to schools to help create school gardens, set nutrition standards for foods served and ensure that water is available at every meal.

"At a very basic level, this act is about doint what's right for our children," the president said at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in the [Washington D.C.] District.

- Taken from The Washington Post

How Can We Get Schools to Foster Healthy Eating Habits?

2010-11-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

By Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer, NaturallySavvy.com

Convincing kids to eat healthy foods is tough, but getting parents to come over to the healthy school lunch camp can be even tougher.

A few of the moms at my kids school have been waging an uphill battle with some of the parents at my kids' school. Some parents have been downright belligerent about our suggestions, mocking the healthier suggestions we've made--even simple things like natural freezies or healthier cookie alternatives. It's particularly sad given the whole point is to encourage the school to help foster good eating habits among children so they can focus better in the classroom and learn more throughout their day.

Schools should be taking an active role in educating children about healthy eating, including leading by example. First and foremost, we know that healthy eating is related to performance in school, and let's face it: a school is for learning, and kids need to learn how to eat better.

Study after study has shown that healthy eating and regular exercise are the keys to combating the childhood obesity epidemic we're facing in North America. An estimated 17% of kids aged two to 19 are obese according to the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and various studies have indicated overweight or obese children are more likely to become obese adults.

Ways Schools Can Make Fundraisers Healthier
At some events, my kids' school has charged more for the healthier option, and that can understandably be a real deal-breaker for parents on a budget. We think that schools should be taking the high ground and purchasing healthier products even if it eats into the total money raised. It's worth it in the long run.

Here are a few ways schools can raise money while offering healthier foods to kids:

Barbecues: Look for nitrate-free hotdogs, and all-natural hotdogs and hamburger patties. Source buns from a local bakery rather than using highly processed buns.
Pizza Lunch: Choose healthier options, such as whole-wheat crust and look for pizzerias that use nitrate-free pepperoni. For dessert, suggest healthier junk food options such as all-natural or organic cookies and ask for them to be made with less sugar.
Bake Sales: Ask parents to use healthy ingredients in goods for bake sales, such as oats, dark chocolate (instead of milk chocolate), and raisins. Reduced-sugar recipes are also great, and schools could suggest organic cake mixes for healthier cupcakes when parents are baking at the last minute.

Educating Parents
We also think schools should be taking a proactive approach when it comes tolunches and snacks. It's tough to get parents to invest in healthier foods when money is tight, but there are non-confrontational ways to approach parents.

A simple seminar on healthy lunches could be a great addition to parent nights or orientation. Schools could bring in a nutritionist to talk to the parents, but they should try to avoid asking a parent with a student at the school to speak, since it could create friction with another parent who is resistant to change.

Speak to your kids' teachers about broaching the subject in the classroom. I noticed the kindergarten teachers at my kids' school are very proactive in encouraging parents to send healthy snack options for their kids since they notice how what the kids are eating are directly affecting their behavior. They also talk to the kids about healthy food options and include it in their curriculum (my daughter recently came home with an arts and crafts project she did in school and showed me all the healthy food options she chose to include in it). It would fantastic if the teachers from the older grades would do the same. Kids respect their teachers and if the mandate is coming from the teachers themselves, kids may be more prone to listening and encouraging their parents to send it healthier lunches and snacks.

Another option is to get kids involved in encouraging healthy food purchases and eating by creating a school recipe book for healthy snacks and lunches. A digital copy could be emailed to parents and/or students (depending on the age of the student), which would ensure it doesn't get lost and also keep expenses low, not to mention save a lot of paper.

Schools have an opportunity to teach kids about the value of a healthy diet. It's a lesson that will stay with the students for a lifetime--and chances are that lifetime will be longer and healthier if they're putting good things into their bodies.

Taken from www.TreeHugger.com

Preparing the Environment- Provided by Susan Mayclin Stephenson of Michael Olaf Montessori

2010-11-22T10:55:00.001-08:00

Preparing the Environment

Susan Mayclin Stephenson

Michael Olaf Montessori

Many children in the USA have too many toys!
So what do we get for them for the holidays?

Children want, children need, their parents time and attention. Recently there have been many 1-minute bedtime story type books on the market; what is that message to families? And toys that are advertised for children to use all by themselves alone in their room, fantasy toys where children can create a perfect world where there are many people who share their daily lives! Or electronic items where they learn to turn to a machine instead of other humans for happiness. Or plastic toys that give the message that children are not worth the real thing or the best quality. Where is this heading?

Each year the Michael Olaf Montessori Company has reduced the number of items they carry for children, focusing on better and better quality items that families can use together, or that teach about the real world of plants, animals and humans, and the beautiful world of the arts.

The following text is adapted from the Michael Olaf publications, Please feel free to share anything on this page with friends, teachers, family, anyone who wants the very best for the next generation.

Preparing the Environment

Constant preparation and adaptation of the environment to the ever-changing needs and tendencies of growing children is essential in the Montessori method of raising and educating children. The first consideration is physical safety, and then the proper support for free movement, exploration, making choices, concentrating, creating, completing cycles-all of which contribute to the optimum development of the child.

Natural materials instead of plastic, and attention to simplicity, muted colors, beauty, all contribute to the mental and physical health and self-respect of the child.

Reflecting the Child's Culture and Introducing the World

It is important that the environment reflect the child's heritage but also introduce the world. Look for items that are made by local artisans, or make them with your children, explore ethnic neighborhoods.

Make your home a unique reflection of your own unique part of the world. Include music, books, foods, crafts, stories from your parents and grandparents lives, but also include the same elements of cultures from around the world so your child learns that everyone is connected and he is a member of an international community.

Birth to Three

When parents are getting ready for the first child, they will be overwhelmed by ads on what they "need" for that child. It seems that these ads are aimed at selling things far more than providing what is really good for the child. Many items are not only over stimulating for the young child (too many objects, uncomfortably bright colors) but they hamper the natural development of important abilities such as language (pacifiers) and movement (cribs, swings, and high chairs) and even sometimes can be dangerous (walkers and off-gasses from plastic).

A simple, natural, and gentle environment, that encourages feelings of safety, and encourages the child to communicate with others and to move-that is the superior environment for the child from birth to three..

Safety

A child will develop more fully-mentally, emotionally, and physically-when she is free to move and explore an ever-enlarging environment. But in order to give the child this wonderful freedom, we must explore the home or day care environment with a fine-tooth comb. When a child is free to leave his floor bed and to move about his room, and later the other rooms-careful attention must be paid to covering plugs, taping wires to the wall or floor, removing poisonous plants and chemicals, and removing any objects that could harm the child. As the child begins to crawl quickly and to walk, the adults must continue to childproof the house.

General Environment Principles

Here are some things to keep in mind when organizing a child's environment.

(1) Participation in Family Life: Even from the very first days invite the child into the life of the family. In each room-the bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, front hall, and so forth.

(2) Independence: The child's message to us at any age is "Help me to do it myself." Supporting this need shows respect for and faith in the child. Think carefully about family activities in all areas of the home, and arrange each space to support independence. A coat tree, or low clothing rod or hook wherever the child dresses or undresses (front hall, bathroom, bedroom, etc.); a stool or bench for removing shoes and boots; inviting shelves for books, dishes, toys.

(3) Belongings: This brings up a very important point. It is too much for anyone to care for or enjoy belongings when there are too many out at one time. In preparing the home environment for a child, have a place to keep clothing, toys, and books that are not being used.

(4) Putting Away & The Sense of Order: "Discipline" comes from the same word as "disciple" and our children become disciplined only by imitating us; just as we teach manners such as saying "thank you" by modeling this for our children instead of reminding, we can teach them to put away their books and toys only by gracefully and cheerfully doing it over and over in their presence. People are always amazed at how neat and beautiful a child's environment can be withthe right guidance.

The Environment & The Absorbent Mind

During the first years the child will absorb, like a sponge, whatever is in the environment, ugliness or beauty, coarse behavior or gentleness, good or bad language. As parents we are the first models of what it means to be human. If our children are in a childcare setting or an infant community we must exact the same high standards.

Quality and beauty of the environment and of books and materials are very important in attracting, satisfying, and keeping the attention of the child. If the child is exposed to beautiful mobiles, posters, rattles and toys, made of wood and other natural products, as an adult she will help create a world with the same high standards.

Toys, rattles, puzzles, tables, and chairs-made of wood-develop an appreciation for nature and quality and protect the child from unsafe chemicals that are found in many synthetic materials.

Pictures on the wall, hung at the eye-level of the child, can be beautiful, framed art prints, or simple posters. All of us have been influenced by our first environment, and nothing helps create beauty in the world as much as giving beauty to the very young.

Toy Storage
Rather than tossing toys into large toy boxes, it is more satisfying to the child to keep them neatly on shelves, hung on hooks, kept ready to work with on wooden trays or small baskets. This also makes putting away much more logical and enjoyable. The Chinese art of placement, Feng Shui, teaches that clutter, even hidden under a bed or piled on the top of bookcases, can cause stress.

The Outside Environment
Sometimes we forget that daily life was first carried out in the outdoors, people coming into their homes for shelter from the elements. This is still the instinct of the child. In the first days of life, just a breath of fresh air and a look at the tree branches moving in the wind each day is sufficient; soon a daily walk in the baby carrier or stroller; and before you know it, walks led by the child, where each new thing-cracks in the sidewalk, parades of ants, puddles, brick walls, weeds and thistles-many details which we as adults previously overlooked, will enchant the child and make a short walk into a long drawn out discovery. Sometimes a "walk to the park" can take an hour, and one may not even get past the front sidewalk.

It is very good for us adults to slow down, forget our plan, and follow the child as he discovers, smells, sees, hears, and touches the outside world.

Welcome the child to your outside work-washing the car, working in the garden, whatever you can do outside instead of inside-there is always some little part of the real work that a child can do.

Try to create an outside area where the child can not only do outside activities such as playing in a sandbox, but activities he would be doing inside, such as washing his hands or the dishes, looking at books, doing a puzzle.

Age 3-6

Children at this age often prefer to work on the floor instead of at a table-on rugs or pieces of carpet that can be rolled up or put out of the way when not in use. This marks the workspace just as would a table.

Toys, books, and materials can be attractively arranged on trays and in baskets, on natural wood or white shelves according to subject-language, math, geography, history, science, music, and art. Each object has a special, permanent place so that children know where to find it and where to put it away for the next person when finished. Tables and chairs that support proper posture are important at every age.

Age 6-12

This child is interested in right and wrong, in the far distance past, cultures, countries, great people, exploring with the mind. He wants to explore with his mind and now has the imagination to do so. Give him books and projects, coop games, real work in the real world. He is building the groundwork for a valuable, interesting and enjoyable future.

He needs space for silence and uninterrupted time to think great thoughts.
Whereas at age 3-6 the world was brought into the house of children, now the child begins to go out into the world, for field trips such as shopping at the grocery store for a cooking project, getting office supplies, interviewing subjects for history projects, or visiting museums, and so forth.

The Environment for All Children.

There are two important things to keep in mind in organizing a child's environment in the home.

(1) Have a place in each room for the few, carefully chosen child's belongings: By the front door a stool to sit on and a place to hang coats and keep shoes. In the living room a place for the child's books and toys-neatly, attractively organized. Think out the activities and the materials for all living spaces and arrange the environment to include the child's activities.

(2) Don't put out too many toys and books at one time. Those being used by the child at the moment are sufficient. It is a good idea to rotate-taking out those books and toys that have not been chosen lately and removing them to storage for a time. Children grow and change and they need help to keep their environment uncluttered and peaceful.

The Environment & the Mind

Everyone at every age is affected by their environment. Habits of organizing the environment reduce stress and aid the development of an organized, efficient, and creative mind.

A child who joins in the arrangement of an environment, and learns to select a few lovely things, will be aided in many ways with this help in creating good work habits, concentration, and a clear, uncluttered, and peaceful mind.

The Healthy School Lunch Bill

2010-11-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is up for a vote in Congress during the Lame Duck Session. Although we normally don't copy an entire article to the blog, we felt that this issue has such an impact on healthy school lunches that it warrants a longer read.

Please take the time to read the article below.

Kids to Congress: Pass the healthy school lunch bill

By Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, The Hill

Congress returned to Washington this week to a crowded calendar and much uncertainty about the future. Undoubtedly, some members on both sides of the aisle would prefer to defer legislation until the new Congress convenes in January. That may be an appropriate strategy for controversial and partisan bills, but it would be a needless disaster for the bipartisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which needs only the House’s final approval to become law. Congress must not adjourn before approving this vital legislation. The 31 million kids who depend on school meals cannot wait.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act reauthorizes and modernizes the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. It passed the Senate unanimously in September and may be considered on the House’s calendar this month.

There’s universal recognition that school meals aren’t healthy enough. Nutrition standards are so lax that junk food frequently dominates cafeterias, school stores and vending machines. And federal reimbursement rates are so low that school meal programs are forced to rely on cheap, unhealthy products loaded with saturated fat, salt and sugar.

The bill approved by the Senate makes meaningful strides toward improving the school lunch and breakfast programs. It will get junk food out of our schools once and for all, provide resources to train cafeteria workers to create healthy and tasty menus, and expand the after-school supper program.

The benefits of healthy school meals are widely understood. Common sense tells us that kids can’t learn on an empty stomach, and research confirms that young children without access to reliable and healthy meals fall behind their peers academically by the third grade.

Also, the quality of school meals can have a powerful impact on the childhood obesity epidemic, arguably the greatest long-term public health threat facing our nation. Today, children consume more than half their weekday daily caloric intake at school. If they’re getting unhealthy foods, loaded with empty calories, it sets them on a path to obesity that’s very hard to break. Studies show that four out of five obese teens will become obese adults, with a heightened risk for heart disease, diabetes and a host of other serious chronic illnesses. We all pay a price for these preventable diseases, in higher health costs, reduced worker productivity, and, according to one recent study led by a group of retired generals and admirals, decreased military readiness.

The reauthorization hit a speed bump this fall amid concerns that it emphasized nutrition at the expense of preventing hunger. There shouldn’t be any conflict between these priorities, because the research shows a clear connection between hunger and childhood obesity. When families can’t consistently afford the healthy foods that support an active life, they rely instead on the cheapest calories available: fast food, junk food, and other filling options that pack on extra pounds but don’t provide the range of nutrients children need to thrive. These lowest-income families are the most reliant on school meal programs. In fact, for the millions of students whose families are facing severe economic hardship, school meals are often the steadiest and most reliable source of food—and sometimes the only source.

Our nation’s lagging economy makes the need for urgent action all the more apparent. Since the downturn began, about 1.5 million more students now receive free and reduced-price lunches. The Senate bill would automatically qualify an additional 120,000 children who are enrolled in Medicaid for free and reduced-priced meals without putting their parents through the hassle of filling out additional paperwork. That means more meals for children who might otherwise go hungry.

During the past month, many have worked to allay concerns about the bill’s impact on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other food-security initiatives. Those most concerned about hunger now solidly support this bipartisan bill, recognizing that when we prevent obesity, we fight hunger—and vice versa. The diverse coalition supporting the bill also includes education groups like the national PTA, health advocates like the American Heart Association, and the nation’s leading food and beverage manufacturers.

The House of Representatives should follow the lead of a unanimous U.S. Senate and pass the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. Let’s feed the 31 million American children who depend on and deserve healthy school breakfasts and lunches so they can learn and thrive.

Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey is president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Schools Struggle to Provide Healthy School Lunches

2010-11-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

The federal government is working to improve school lunches around the country through initiatives such as the National School Lunch Program. But many schools still struggle to provide healthier lunch options.

Schools run into all kinds of obstacles when it comes to improving school lunch - no on-site kitchen, limited resources, cost, etc. An article in Organic Authority explores some of the issues regarding providing healthier school lunch.

"In 2009, a study appearing in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association revealed 94% of school lunches failed to meet U.S. Agriculture Department's standards; many schools served food with excessive salt and total fat. And worst of all, the number one meal served in schools is chicken fingers and French fries. You've heard of brain food? That's brain dead food!

'I'm not sure why we can't sort this out,' Gerry Pugliese writes. 'American kids are already falling behind the rest of the world in education rankings, so at the very least - in a nation as rich as the United States - we can serve these little ones good food.'" - Organic Authority, "More money needed for healthy school food," by Gerry Pugliese.

Organic Fresh Fingers works with individual schools to help solve these problems faced by schools and set up a healthy, organic, locally-sourced hot school lunch program. All of our meals qualify for the National School Lunch Program, and we work to advise schools on how to qualify and register for the program without cutting corners when it comes to the quality of food served.

Salem's very own DREAM TEAM has entered a NATIONAL contest to create healthy school lunch recipes for kids

2010-11-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 9, 2010

CONTACT INFO:

Evann Remington

President/CEO

Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc.

P: 503-371-1108

C: 415-533-0122

evann@organicfreshfingers.com

What do you get when you put David Roasales, Chef/Owner La Capitale, Kori McVeety, RD, LD Sodexo Food Service Manager, Evann Remington, President/CEO Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc., Debbie, Jones and Basie Seibert, local foodie mom and her Salem/Keizer school children in a room together? The WINNING TEAM for the National Healthy KIDS Competition?

The Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition is an initiative of Let's Move! with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Challenge will bring together food service staff, chefs, students, and community members to develop creative, nutritious, tasty and kid-approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch menus.

Winning teams will receive cash prized for the Salem-Keizer School districts as well as a trip to the White House kitchen to prepare their dishes for the First Lady and share recipes with school districts around the country. The team will work to develop three recipes to submit by December 31, 2010.

About the Team:

David Rosales is a graduate of California Culinary Academy in downtown San Francisco. He has spent 15 years in the bay area's top restaurants including stints at Lalime's and Chez Panisse. Additionally, he has traveled extensively through Spain, France, Italy and Mexico. David opened Fonda in Berkeley and Mexico DF in San Francisco, both as executive chef. In 2003, David was named one of five "Rising Star Chefs" by the Chronicle. Recently, David has returned to his hometown of Salem, Oregon, to open La Capitale Brasserie, which serves casual bistro food, sourcing products from local farms and ranchers in the Willamette Valley, and Andaluz, a Spanish tapas bar next door to La Capitale.

Evann Remington founded her most recent business Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc. in early 2007 with a mission to provide fresh, local, natural and organic high quality food for children. Evann's company now serves schools and school districts throughout Oregon. She regularly speaks around the State of Oregon about the positive impacts of community based food systems and provides consulting to educators who wish to improve their school's lunch program.

Korinne McVeety, RD, LD holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics from Idaho State University. Since then, Kori has been working as a dietitian for over 8 years in schools and hospitals to educate people about nutrition. She currently works as the Food Service Manager and Registered Dietitian for Sodexo in the Salem-Keizer School District.

Deborah Seibert started Whole Home Health, LLC in 2008, and provides home care and nutrition consulting and services to a diverse clientele throughout Northwest Oregon. Prior to forming her own company, Deborah owned and operated her own catering company in Colorado Springs, CO., and has worked with several high profile hotels and restaurants in the Portland area, including The Heathman and Pazzo Ristorante. Deborah is also the mother of the team's two children taste testers!

Jonas Seibert is in fifth grade and is a ferocious reader. Jonas enjoys playing music, playing baseball, swimming, playing golf and creating many new spaceships with Legos. Jonas has several aspirations in life that include being an inventor, a writer, and sometimes a pilot.

Basie Seibert is in fourth grade and thinks that every day is fantastic. Basie enjoys reading, playing the cello, singing in the Willamette Girlchoir, playing golf, swimming and learning how to bake with her mother. Basie has several aspirations in life that include being a wing-walker, an artist, and a teacher.

Salem schools to grow their own veggies

2010-11-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Three Salem schools will have the opportunity to grow their own vegetable gardens thanks to a grant from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

As part of the Oregon legislature's "farm-to-school" program, students at Parrish Middle School, Leslie Middle School, and Grant Elementary are building and tending their very own raised garden beds. The produce they raise will go straight to their school's lunch line.

"The garden beds ... provide a unique learning opportunity. 'It's connections with the soil, it's connections with the cycles of life, growth, and putting things on your table,' [environmental teacher Fran Alexandar] said.

'A lot of students don't get an opportunity to work with soil,' she said. 'It's the first experience for some of these kids.'" - Statesman Journal, "Students grow food for their own school lunch lines," by Stefanie Knolwton.

Always a fan of locally-sourced food, Organic Fresh Fingers is happy to see these kids learning about fresh produce and where it comes from.

New Documentary Critical of School Lunches

2010-10-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

A new documentary called "Lunch" premiered at film festivals this year. The documentary criticizes the "fast food" style of food served at most schools.

"The documentary, made by Avid Richards, paints a frightening picture of childhood obesity and diseases related to food, before it offers some hope in the work being done to bring more produce and less processed food into cafeterias.

" 'Even the best private schools' fail to serve healthy lunches, Richards said in an interview. 'Everybody needs education on this issue.' " - Los Angeles Times Blog, "Documentary Decries the Food on School Lunch Trays," by Mary MacVean.

Organic Fresh Fingers agrees that the food served in most schools is pretty bad. That's why we work with schools to serve healthy, organic and locally-sourced meals that children love. All of our meals meet the requirement for the National School Lunch Program.

National School Lunch Week

2010-10-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

This week is National School Lunch Week. The purpose of National School Lunch Week is to promote the benefits of participating in the National School Lunch Program, and to help raise awareness of the importance of fresh and healthy school lunches.

"Each year campaign organizers choose a theme that encouarges children to enter the dialogue about nutrition in school in a way that is easy, fun, and interactive. This year's theme is "School Lunch - What's on Your Tray?" to demonstrate that what children and adults put on their "trays" every day provides insight into their personality.

To engage both parents and children, the campaign provides a variety of resources including a parent/student brochure outlining how the school nutrition program works and the benefits of eating a healthy school lunch, puzzles and school lunch related brainteasers for students, 5 school lunch menus complete with recipes and nutritional information provided by SNA's Nutrition Committee, an online personality quiz that will help students, parents, and teachers discover their school lunch profile, and 5 cartoon characters, aptly named Chilled, Creative, Balanced, Strong, and Radiant, each representing a different result from the "What's on Your Tray?" personality quiz." - Food Safety News, "National School Lunch Week: What's on Your Tray?" by Claire Mitchell.

All of the lunches that Organic Fresh Fingers provides to schools are not only healthy, organic and fresh, but they also qualify for the National School Lunch Program. We work closely with schools to make sure they can participate in the National School Lunch Program. Give us a call today to see how we can help your school lunch program!

Children growing their own food leads to healthier eating choices

2010-09-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

Organic Fresh Fingers has long made the argument that given the opportunity, children will eat and enjoy healthy school lunches.

Alice Waters and a new study at University of California, Berkeley agrees, but they take it one step further - children that actually participate in growing their own food make healthier eating choices also.

At Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California, students have been growing their own fruits and veggies in the school's garden, what they call an "Edible Schoolyard," for the past five years. From 2006 to 2009, scientists at UC-Berkeley conducted study on the effects growing their own food had on the students.

"Among the key findings of the research, which was commissioned by the Chez Panisse Foundation and is one of the first such studies to evaluate an integrated approach to food education:

• Increased nutritional knowledge among 4th and 7th graders who were fed a steady stream of gardening and cooking curriculum.

• Higher fruit and vegetable consumption among elementary-age students in schools ... including a preference for leafy greens like kale, spinach, and chard.

• Vegetable intake was almost one serving per day greater in the schools with a beefed-up food curriculum, and combined fruit and vegetable consumption increased by 1.5 servings. About 80 percent of this increase came from in-season produce. In comparison, researchers found a nearly quarter-serving drop in produce intake among other students.

• Small increases in produce consumption occurred among middle-schoolers with higher exposure to nutrition education as opposed to a drop in fruit and vegetable intake by about one serving a day among students in the other group. - The Atlantic, "Berkeley's New School Food Study: A Victory for Alice Waters," by Sarah Henry."

Chef Ann Coopers, who is over school lunch at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, says, "With this study, we can finally prove that what we feed kids and what we teach them about food really does make a difference."

We at Organic Fresh Fingers couldn't agree more.

School Lunch and its Challenges

2010-09-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Since starting our fresh, organic school lunch program at Organic Fresh Fingers, we've had to be aware of all the federal regulations on school lunches. As The Seattle Times found out when it did an in-depth report on Seattle school lunch programs, there are quite a few obstacles to overcome when trying to make school lunches fresher and healthier.

"Should schools increase their lunch budget — which could force cuts to other programs? How about jacking up the prices, so well-off families subsidize the low-income kids? You wouldn't want to suggest the less-affluent kids should get less, would you?

Now, before you vote, remember you have to play by a lot of rules. (And in case you think that's easy, please know that I've deciphered everything from Supreme Court rulings to state foster-care regulations, and this stuff was just as complicated.)

While districts set their own menus, they've got to meet minimums set by the USDA for protein, iron, calcium and Vitamins A and C. They've also got to keep the fat calories under 30 percent.

They've got to make food that kids want to put on their trays, or risk losing funding. (Remember, the feds only give meal subsidies for kids who actually take the meals. Commodity allotments are based on the number of lunch-eaters, too.)

And they've got to create meals that can easily be consumed, by little hands, in less than 20 minutes. Often with a spork." - The Seattle Times, "School lunch has so many issues to chew on, it's tough to change," by Maureen O'Hagan

Organic Fresh Fingers works with school to provide them nutritious, organic and affordable meals that meet all the federal requirements. And kids love the food. Please visit www.organicfreshfingers.com to learn more about how Organic Fresh Fingers is changing school lunch programs in the Salem and Portland metro areas.

A victory for Chickens In The Yard.

2010-09-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Living Culture Online: A victory for Chickens In The Yard.: "Fresh eggs, coming soon to a neighborhood near you! Salem is so close to having chickens, I can almost taste it! Last night Salem City C..."

Check out this great article by Nate Rafn regarding the recent, and almost final, hearing on the backyard chicken issue!

Project Lunch: Teens Work Together to Serve Healthier School Lunches

2010-09-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

In Northern California, a group of teens have joined together to launch Project Lunch, an initiative to promote and provide healthier school lunches. Just like Organic Fresh Fingers, they are working to give students healthy, organic, locally sourced and sustainable school lunches.

Click here to read the Huffington Post article about the iniative, and click here to visit the Project Lunch website.

Image obtained from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annie-spiegelman/post_829_b_712281.html

Pesticides Linked to ADHD

2010-08-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/21495932#video=21495932

Marion+County+OLCV+Politician+Cook-off+and+Sustainability+Fair

2010-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Come visit Organic Fresh Fingers and many other organizations at the Sustainability Fair at Pringle Creek Community in Salem. Marion+County+OLCV+Politician+Cook-off+and+Sustainability+Fair

Sustainable Food Mavericks: SVN 2010

2010-06-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

farmers, cooks, eaters - Simple ways to enjoy our food.

2010-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

farmers, cooks, eaters - Simple ways to enjoy our food.

Portland School Lunch Chef Invited to the White House

2010-06-01T09:05:00.001-07:00

by Katherine Cook

Posted on May 28, 2010 at 7:16 PM

Updated Sunday, May 30 at 7:51 AM

Lunchtime at Abernethy Elementary School in Southeast Portland, does not smell like tater tots. Or chicken nuggets for that matter, and students have Chef Nicole Hoffmann to thank for that.

Every day, Hoffmann, a graduate of Western Culinary Institute, prepares fresh, USDA-approved meals for 400 kids. On Friday, it was chicken Panang curry with brown rice, or pita bread and hummus. And for those with a less adventurous palette, there is always home-made PB&J on wheat bread.

"The curry dish I imagine won't interest all the kids because it's yellow," said Hoffmann. "But a lot of them will try it and they'll be like 'hmm, that's actually okay!'"

Helping kids in that way is why she chose to work at Abernethy over a four-star restaurant.

"I've had kids clamor for broccoli," she said.

Similar food revolutions have been cultivated in Abernethy's garden. There, kids spend hours growing, harvesting and learning about the vegetables Hoffmann prepares.

"The full-circle piece becomes really evident when we have kids excited about rutabagas and Brussels sprouts," said Hoffman. "The last time we served fresh Brussels sprouts, we ran out."

Friday's curry dish made a similar splash with those who tried it.

"This stuff is so good!" shouted one second-grader.

"A little spicy but real good!" Exclaimed another.

As for their thoughts on Chef Nicole? "She rocks, and she's going to the White House!"

Hoffman was invited to help Michelle Obama kick off her "Chefs Move to Schools" program, which partners professional chefs with schools to help them develop their lunch menus. Kind of like what Hoffmann does every day.

"I think it will be an amazing experience," said Hoffman. "I'm really excited that it feels like there's momentum towards making changes in school lunch programs, nationally."

Parents are also excited, especially Leslie Carlson who has three kids at Abernethy.

"I really didn't think we could break kids addiction of junk food," said Carlson, citing a recent trip to the grocery store as proof to the contrary.

"My 10-year-old son said, 'mom, I really want you to buy me something today," and I thought he would ask for something sugary or pop," recalled Carlson. "Then he said, 'I really want to have Brussels sprouts for dinner tonight.' I was so shocked, I just stood there in the produce section and said, 'OK!"

Many recipes Hoffmann creates are adopted by other schools in the Portland Public School District. While Hoffmann was honored to be invited to the White House, she said at the end of the day, there's no greater compliment then 400 happily nourished kids.

"When the trays come back empty, it's pretty satisfying," she said.

Ann Cooper talks school lunches | Video on TED.com

2010-05-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ann Cooper talks school lunches | Video on TED.com

New study links pesticide residue in children to ADHD - Another reason to serve Fresh N' Local at your school

2010-05-17T13:14:00.002-07:00

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer – Mon May 17, 8:08 am ET

CHICAGO – A new analysis of U.S. health data links children's attention-deficit disorder with exposure to common pesticides used onfruits and vegetables.

While the study couldn't prove that pesticides used in agriculture contribute to childhood learning problems, experts said the research is persuasive.

"I would take it quite seriously," said Virginia Rauh of Columbia University, who has studied prenatal exposure to pesticides and wasn't involved in the new study.

More research will be needed to confirm the tie, she said.

Children may be especially prone to the health risks of pesticides because they're still growing and they may consume more pesticide residue than adults relative to their body weight.

In the body, pesticides break down into compounds that can be measured in urine. Almost universally, the study found detectable levels: The compounds turned up in the urine of 94 percent of the children.

The kids with higher levels had increased chances of having ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a common problem that causes students to have trouble in school. The findings were published Monday in Pediatrics.

The children may have eaten food treated with pesticides, breathed it in the air or swallowed it in their drinking water. The study didn't determine how they were exposed. Experts said it's likely children who don't live near farms are exposed through what they eat.

"Exposure is practically ubiquitous. We're all exposed," said lead author Maryse Bouchard of the University of Montreal.

She said people can limit their exposure by eating organic produce. Frozen blueberries, strawberries and celery had more pesticide residue than other foods in one government report.

A 2008 Emory University study found that in children who switched to organically grown fruits and vegetables, urine levels of pesticide compounds dropped to undetectable or close to undetectable levels.

Because of known dangers of pesticides in humans, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits how much residue can stay on food. But the new study shows it's possible even tiny, allowable amounts of pesticide may affect brain chemistry, Rauh said.

The exact causes behind the children's reported ADHD though are unclear. Any number of factors could have caused the symptoms and the link with pesticides could be by chance.

The new findings are based on one-time urine samples in 1,139 children and interviews with their parents to determine which children had ADHD. The children, ages 8 to 15, took part in a government health survey in 2000-2004.

As reported by their parents, about 150 children in the study either showed the severe inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity characteristic of ADHD, or were taking drugs to treat it.

The study dealt with one common type of pesticide called organophosphates. Levels of six pesticide compounds were measured. For the most frequent compound detected, 20 percent of the children with above-average levels had ADHD. In children with no detectable amount in their urine, 10 percent had ADHD.

"This is a well conducted study," said Dr. Lynn Goldman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former EPA administrator.

Relying on one urine sample for each child, instead of multiple samples over time, wasn't ideal, Goldman said.

The study provides more evidence that the government should encourage farmers to switch to organic methods, said Margaret Reeves, senior scientist with the Pesticide Action Network, an advocacy group that's been working to end the use of many pesticides.

"It's unpardonable to allow this exposure to continue," Reeves said.

___

SUMMER CAMP LUNCH DELIVERY!

2010-05-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

FRESH*LOCAL*NATURAL*ORGANIC*CONVENIENT box lunches in compostable packaging delivered fresh daily to your summer camp!

OEN Company of the Year Award!

2010-04-19T15:31:00.001-07:00

Organic Fresh Fingers has been identified as a candidate for the 2010 OEN Company of the Year Awardhttp://www.oen.org/events_oen_awards.aspx.

Candelaria Elementry School FOOD FUN today!

2010-04-02T07:44:00.003-07:00

Today I will be at Candelaria Elementry School in Salem to talk to 60 3rd graders about food! Should be fun!

National School Lunch Program Statistics

2010-04-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/slsummar.htm

"The Bitter Cry of the Children" by John Spargo 1912

2010-03-03T16:36:00.001-08:00

Imagine our wisdom as a Nation - one of the top selling books in 1912 was regarding school lunch. "Approximately 2 million children of school age in the US (early 1900's) were the victims of poverty which denied them common necessities, particularly adequate nourishment. Such children are in very many cases incapable of successful mental effort, and much of our nation's expenditure for education in consequence an absolute waste". John Spargo

Annual Charter School Conference starts TODAY!

2010-02-25T07:15:00.001-08:00

We are very excited about the Charter School Conference at the Salem Conference Center today. Stop by and see the Organic Fresh Fingers booth, try some food and sign up your school for a FREE on-site lunch program consultation. Also come see the breakout session at 11:00 a.m. today "The State of School Lunch".

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com

2010-02-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food Video on TED.com

Please take the time to watch this amazing video regarding Jamie's wish to revolutionize the way we eat! Thank you.

2009 - The Year Food Came Out of the Closet. - by Bill Tara

2010-02-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

2009 - The Year Food Came Out of the Closet. - by Bill Tara

Trillium Charter School students produce a documentary on their Fresh N' Local Meal Program ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txOJj0otYeo

2010-02-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Seriously, check this out! The children did an awesome job with this. Oh yeah, and so did the interview with our Customer Service Manager, Sean Ireland! He never knows what he will be surprised with during a school delivery.

Annual Charter School Conference - SAVE THE DATE

2010-01-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

Come see Organic Fresh Fingers booth and breakout session discussion "Navigating National School Lunch" at this year's Charter School Conference in Salem, February 25-26, 2010.

CLIMBING NEW HEIGHTS
Salem Conference Center

www.nwceo.org

See you there!

Written by OLCV Communications Director Toby Van Fleet

2009-12-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

http://olcv.org/content/evann-remington

Ask Evann Remington about her favorite spot in Oregon and you’ll get a list of stories told in the way one shares the best childhood memories:
Fast-talking stream of consciousness loaded with detail—and all smiles. Evan is unequivocal about her love of the Rogue River, where she spent summer months as a kid camping with her immediate and extended families. Arrivals to the camp would have to call down the canyon to be collected by boat. They built a sauna. “We had a lot of time,” says Evann. “We were able to do some really creative things.”
Maybe that glorious time on the Rogue is what instilled her sense of environmental stewardship that now seems to inform her life decisions. Two and a half years ago, Evann, 29, launched her own business, Organic Fresh Fingers, in Salem, where she grew up.
Evann says that some of the rhetoric you hear from the business community might lead you to believe that you can’t create jobs, strengthen the economy and take care of the environment at the same time. “But,” she says, “We’ve been able to show that you absolutely can.”
And now Evann is signing up for more work. Volunteer work. As a steering committee member for Marion County’s newly re-formed OLCV chapter. Through her work with the OLCV Marion County chapter, which is on the precipice of some important local elections in 2010—including Salem Mayor—Evann hopes she can help to get other businesses on board with considering social and environmental impacts as part of their bottom line.
“I’m actually really having a lot of fun,” she says, adding that the steering committee is full of some pretty great—and fun—folks.
Work is good. Fun is better. And while the memories of the Rogue may be informing Evann’s environmental values, looking ahead is what’s motivating her. “I’ve got a three-year-old,” says Evann. “I’m really concerned about what the future’s going to look like for her.”

The calm after the storm.....

2009-10-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well, obviously it being two months since my last post, we have been busy. The Fresh N' Local meal program is going great. All new schools and daycares are up and running and the children are loving their new healthy lunch program. We have many new and exciting program changes that will be implemented for the new year. More choice, you asked for it....now we are working away on a system that will provide the same great Organic Fresh Fingers entrees and allow more flexibility in our customized menuing process. Thank you for an amazing start to a wonderful school year!

A buzz is in the air!

2009-08-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

With so many new schools beginning the Fresh N' Local meal program in September - the Organic Fresh Fingers team is running around down right gitty. Preparing to increase meal production by 10 times - the heat is on. It is nothing we can't handle though! I apologize to those schools who I had to turn down this fall. Please check back with us after the first of the year as we should be adding some new spaces for the Fresh N' Local meal program. In the meantime, we are all set to offer excellent customer service to our existing customers! Thank you for your business!

Fresh N' Local is catching on!

2009-07-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

With 25 schools and daycares in Salem and Portland now using the Fresh N' Local meal program, Organic Fresh Fingers is now helping 5,000 kids a day eat fresh, local, natural and organic food!

We are so proud to have such a positive impact on the health of Oregon's children - thank you!

Food Inc. premiers tonight at Salem Cinema

2009-07-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Go to Salem Cinema tonight at 6:00 p.m. for the first screening of Food, Inc. followed by a lively conversation with people involved in the local, sustainable food movement. See you there!

Salem Cinema: 1127 Broadway NE, Salem, Oregon 97301

Keeping Kids Healthy by Eating Local and Unprocessed Food, by Colin Beavan

2009-07-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Keeping kids healthy by eating local and unprocessed food
A big part of the No Impact project was to eat only local, seasonal, unpackaged food. That meant, basically, lots of fresh vegetables. Michelle and I both lost a lot of weight.
As though to prove how good eating a local-food diet is for kids, too, BusinessWeek writer Cathy Arnst has posted a story, which comes from the processed food end of things, called "How Mac 'n' Chees Is Like a Cigarette." She writes:
Two thirds of adults are considered overweight or obese, as is one out of every three children under age 18. Those numbers have been rising steadily since the 1980s, when the average weight took a dramatic spike upwards for all races, age groups and genders. For example, in 1960 women aged 20 to 29 weighed an average of 128 pounds. By 2000 the average weight had jumped to 157. Our national weight gain is not, as many people assume, because we are far less active; studies have found little difference in energy expended now than in the 1950s. It is because we are eating far, far more calories than ever before, in the form of soda, junk food, sweets, fat and salt laden meals, and huge portions. We have become addicted to food, and that addiction starts in very early childhood. Kessler [author of the new book The End of Overeating] lays out how sugar, fat and salt stimulates the reward centers of the brain in much the same way as cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs. By eating food that is extremely palatable, we keep wanting more, whether or not we are hungry. Since highly palatable junk food is socially acceptable, and often cheaper than the healthy stuff, we keep going back for more. The food industry knows this better than anyone. Kessler quotes an industry consultant who says that food manufacturers try to hit the “three points of the compass”: Sugar, fat and salt make a food compelling, said the consultant. They make it indulgent. They make it high in hedonic value, which gives us pleasure. “Do you design food specifically to be highly hedonic,” I asked. “Oh, absolutely,” he replied without a moment’s hesitation. “We try to bring as much of that into the equation as possible.
Here's the good news about local eating. None of the farmers I talk to at the farmers' market try to jam their food with salt, fat or sugar to get my little Isabella addicted.
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Posted by Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man at 03:00 AM in Local food only Permalink

Welcome Holy Family Catholic School!

2009-06-30T12:12:00.001-07:00

The newest addition to the Fresh N' Local meal program! Holy Family Catholic begins serving fresh, local, natural & organic lunches in the fall. We are so excited to serve such a wonderful school!

Welecome New Customers: Morning Glory Daycare and The Emerson Charter School

2009-06-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to begin serving our newest customers! The Fresh N' Local spring menu is out and delicious.

Stephenson Family Fitness Night!

2009-05-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Join Organic Fresh Fingers and many others at this free event!

May 14th
(rain back up date May 26th)
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Stephenson Elementary School
2627 SW Stephenson St - Portland, OR 97219

Meet former Trail Blazer and 17 year NBA superstar JEROME KERSEY, try healthy delicious snacks and many awesome fitness stations!

Come see Organic Fresh Fingers at the YMCA Healthy Kids Day!

2009-04-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

YMCA Healthy Kids Day
Saturday, April 18, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
YMCA - Downtown Salem, Oregon

Bring the kids and join over 300 other families for this fun filled event. Play games, meet kid friendly businesses and try samples of our Fresh N' Local foods!

Welcome Molalla River Academy Charter School!

2009-04-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to serve our newest customer, Molalla River Academy Charter School! The school will begin serving the FRESH N' LOCAL meal program in the 2009-2010 school year. The school also plans to have a garden and work hard to implement strategies to eliminate waste around meal times and Organic Fresh Fingers will be there to support them in their efforts. Check out this amazing school! http://www.molallariveracademy.com/home

Program offers kids healthful food choices - Statesman Journal

2009-04-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Program offers kids healthful food choices
Jeanine Stice
April 16, 2009
Last week the news hit, "1 in 5 preschoolers is obese, study says."
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');
This should come as no surprise to pediatricians. They've seen the overweight preschoolers in their exam rooms. They didn't need another study to tell them many are off the chart when it comes to their body mass index.
The great thing about a child's body mass index is they have time and growth in their favor. Many times by simply maintaining their weight, a child's height will increase and they are no longer classified as overweight.
Slowing their weight gain is key. Families who've successfully supported their child's efforts at weight maintenance frequently benefit from the coordinated and combined efforts of pediatricians, public health nurses and WIC dietitians, as well as having the school environments in sync with the recommendations.
Through these efforts families learn to live healthier lives. They play more and watch television less. They quit offering Kool-Aid or sports drinks and begin offering water. They learn which foods are more nutrient rich than others and what to order when eating at a fast-food restaurant. They cut back on the amount of fat used to prepare family meals and offer at least two types of vegetables at the meal.
If the child is fortunate, their school food environment further supports these changes. It's estimated children consume 35 percent of their daily food intake at school, more if they are also relying on the school to feed them breakfast. What's on school menus matter.
Here in the Mid-Valley, preschoolers participating in Mid Willamette Valley Community Action Agency Head Start program enjoy menus in line with fighting pediatric obesity.
Food Service Supervisor Connie Davidson has worked hard creating meals that are low in added sugar and saturated fat that rely in part on USDA funds.
Lunch menus include vegetarian chili with cheese, cornbread, peaches with yogurt and nonfat milk, or beef stir fry, yakisoba noodles, Mandarin oranges, nonfat milk. Breakfast menus offer oatmeal, apple slices, and nonfat milk, or muffin, Oregon berry mix and nonfat milk. Chocolate milk is not an option, and cheeseburgers, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets aren't offered often.
A poster at one site shows the impact these menus can have on a child's palate. Kids listed their favorite foods on the poster. Believe it or not, they included foods such as broccoli, chicken, yogurt, banana, peaches, apples and rice. In addition the menus are well received by parents and staff.
Another example of school menus in line with the battle against pediatric obesity are those created by Evan Remington, president of Salem-based Organic Fresh Fingers for Trillium Charter School in Portland. Her menus include options like, Hummus Wrap, Organic Fruit & Organic Vegetable, and Exciting Eggplant Parmesan, Organic Fruit & Organic Vegetable. According to the school's parent newsletter, contracting with Organic Fresh Fingers as part of the pilot Farm to School program has reduced food waste by 50 percent. Kids really are eating eggplant and hummus when it's not up against pizza and chicken nuggets on the menu.
Unfortunately not all school environments provide these types of menus. Some offer traditional "junk" food such as cheeseburgers, cheese nachos, pizza and chicken nuggets as frequently as 25 times in 22 days.
Parents of preschoolers want to know what they need to do to raise healthy kids. Many are trying to do the right thing and seek out the support they need to improve their child's health. School menus should support their efforts.
The latest stats on preschool obesity make this all the more urgent.
Jeanine Stice writes about healthy living in the Mid-Valley. She is a registered dietitian employed by Nutrition Etcetera, is a member of the Oregon Dietetic Association and holds an Adult Weight Management certification. She can be reached at nutritionetc@comcast.net.

School Nutrition Association Press Release

2009-04-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Report: More Children Eating Healthy School Meals During Economic DownturnMore than 79% of School Districts Report an Increase in the Number of Free School Lunches Served
ALEXANDRIA, Va., (December 11, 2008) – High unemployment rates and families’ proactive efforts to save money have resulted in significantly more students eating lunch at school. According to Saved by the Lunch Bell: As Economy Sinks, School Nutrition Program Participation Rises, a report released today by the School Nutrition Association, nationwide an average of 425,000 more students are participating in free and reduced school lunch programs. More than three quarters of districts surveyed reported an increase in free school lunches provided, meaning the effects are being felt in districts across the country. Because the school-based child nutrition programs are entitlement programs, federal reimbursements will be provided to schools for each meal served; however, the amount of reimbursement provided continues to fall short of the actual costs associated with producing each school meal.
The survey of over 130 school nutrition directors from 38 states found that 79% of districts saw an increase in the number of free lunches served while nearly 65% saw an increase in the number of reduced price lunches served over last year. Participation by students paying the full price for school lunch decreased in 48% of districts, reflecting a potential shift in the economic status of many American families. Almost 60% of survey respondents reported an overall increase in National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participation, with over 69% reporting an increase in participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) in spite of a slight decline in school enrollment this school year compared to last school year.
While the report is another indicator of grim economic news, SNA president Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS, emphasized that, “this year, when hunger is more common, more students are able to eat a balanced, nutritious meal at school.” Meals served under the NSLP must meet nutrition guidelines based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, therefore no more than 30% of calories can come from fat and less than 10% from saturated fat. School lunches provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium and calories over the course of one week of menus. Students who eat school lunches consume fewer calories from fat than students who bring lunch from home, according to research conducted by Dr. Alice Jo Rainville of Eastern Michigan University. Additionally, school lunches contain three times as many dairy products, twice as much fruit and seven times the vegetable amounts compared to lunches from home.
As school nutrition professionals feed the increasing number of students participating, 88% of school nutrition directors reported this past August that the NSLP reimbursement of $2.57 per free lunch served was not sufficient for their program to cover the costs of producing a meal. Based on an estimated average cost to prepare a school lunch (including labor, food and other inputs) of about $2.92, and revenue of anywhere from $2.52 to $2.77 to offset that cost (from federal reimbursements, commodity entitlement and the average price paid for a school lunch) school nutrition programs are experiencing a potential loss of at least $4.5 million per school day based on 30 million school lunches provided. School nutrition directors continue to call on Congress to enact legislation, through an economic stimulus package or child nutrition reauthorization, that would provide an adequate meal reimbursement to ensure nutritious school meals continue to be provided to children.
Any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the National School Lunch Program. Children from families with incomes at or below 130% of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130% and 185% of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 40 cents. During the current school year, 130% of the poverty level is $27,560 for a family of four; 185% is $39,220). Children from families with incomes over 185% of poverty pay a full price, though their meals are still subsidized to some extent. Local school boards generally set their own prices for full-price (paid) meals, with the national average at $2.08 after many districts raised their meal prices earlier this year. Paid school lunch still represents a bargain when compared to the national average cost to prepare a lunch from home, estimated to be $3.41. School nutrition programs are required to operate their meal services as non-profit programs.
The School Nutrition Association is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 55,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. The Association and its members are dedicated to feeding children safe and nutritious meals. Founded in 1946, SNA is the only association devoted exclusively to protecting and enhancing children’s health and well being through school meals and sound nutrition education.

Eat Your Vegetables: Preschoolers Love Vegetables With Catchy Names Like 'X-Ray Vision Carrots' And 'Tomato Bursts'

2009-04-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2009) — Do you have a picky preschooler who's avoiding their vegetables? A new Cornell University study shows that giving vegetables catchy new names – like X-Ray Vision Carrots and Tomato Bursts – left preschoolers asking for more.
See also:
Health & Medicine
Nutrition
Staying Healthy
Mind & Brain
Nutrition Research
Child Psychology
Plants & Animals
Food
Botany
Reference
Square foot gardening
Carrot
Vegetable
South Beach diet
When 186 four-year olds were given carrots called "X-ray Vision Carrots" ate nearly twice as much as they did on the lunch days when they were simply labeled as "carrots." The Robert Wood Johnson-funded study also showed the influence of these names might persist. Children continued to eat about 50% more carrots even on the days when they were no longer labeled. The new findings were presented on Monday at the annual meeting of the School Nutrition Association in Washington DC.
"Cool names can make for cool foods," says lead author Brian Wansink. "Whether it be 'power peas' or 'dinosaur broccoli trees,' giving a food a fun name makes kids think it will be more fun to eat. And it seems to keep working – even the next day," said Wansink.
Similar results have been found with adults. A restaurant study showed that when the Seafood Filet was changed to "Succulent Italian Seafood Filet," sales increased by 28% and taste rating increased by 12%. "Same food, but different expectations, and a different experience," said Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Eat More Than We Think."
Although the study was conducted in pre-schools, the researchers believe the same naming tricks can work with children. "I've been using this with my kids," said researcher Collin Payne, "Whatever sparks their imagination seems to spark their appetite."
Adapted from materials provided by Cornell Food & Brand Lab, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Welcome Heartsong Child Care - our newest customer!

2009-03-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to be serving HeartSong Child Care in Tigard. I had a wonderful time meeting the children of this wonderful in-home daycare yesterday. Congratulations to Kathleena for her commitment to feeding her kids fresh, local, natural & organic food! FRESH N' LOCAL meal program: The better way to feed your kids!

Blanchet Catholic School!

2009-03-24T15:05:00.001-07:00

We are so happy to be serving Blanchet Catholic School the last week in June. We will be seeing how the kids at Blanchet like Fresh, Local, Natural & Organic food! We will keep you posted, if the kids love the food, they will be receiving it everyday starting next school year!

Economic Impact Analysis of Pilot Program Shows a Nearly 2 to 1 Multiplier for Every Dollar Invested in Local Food for the Lunchroom

2009-03-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

Economic Impact Analysis of Pilot Program Shows a Nearly 2-to-1 Multiplier for Every Dollar Invested in Local Food for the Lunchroom
PORTLAND, Ore., March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- As state lawmakers search for ways to immediately stimulate Oregon's malnourished economy, a new economic impact analysis proves that investing in locally produced foods for the school lunchroom fortifies the state's economy with dollars previously spent elsewhere.
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A preliminary analysis of the impact of investing school food dollars in the local food economy was released today by Ecotrust. The analysis was conducted as part of a rigorous review of the local buying practices currently underway in two public school districts in Oregon, Gervais and Portland, where school foodservice directors are using a philanthropic investment made by the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at the Northwest Health Foundation to test the impact of proposed "farm to school" policies currently being debated in the Oregon Legislature.
Much like the legislation currently under consideration, the Kaiser Permanente grant allocates funds on a per meal basis (seven cents per lunch served) to a combined total of 91 schools in Gervais and Portland for the express purpose of buying more Oregon grown, processed and manufactured food for the lunchroom. Early results indicate that over a 14 week time period (mid Sept. - Dec. 2008), the two districts received $66,193 in Kaiser Permanente grant funds. Those funds, in turn, catalyzed $225,869 in local purchasing.
The data reveal three key findings. First, as researchers predicted, a small amount of money can leverage much greater investment in local purchasing, as the Kaiser Permanente grant dollars encouraged a 72 percent increased investment in local foods. Second, an input-output analysis was used to estimate the economic benefits of these purchases to the Oregon economy and shows that for every food dollar spent locally by the two school districts, an additional 87 cents was spent in Oregon, generating a multiplier of 1.87 for farm to school spending. Finally, research confirms that the economic benefits of investments made in the Oregon agricultural community trigger successive spending in almost every sector of the Oregon economy. The analysis revealed that dollars spent in Oregon agriculture reverberated into 401 of 409 of the state's economic sectors. Researchers will continue to study the effects of local buying practices throughout the remainder of the school year, but believe data from the first three months of the pilot project provide early signs of success.
"This research confirms that farm to school programs are a viable investment that can make an immediate impact on nearly every sector of our state's economy," said Deborah Kane, vice president of the Food and Farms program for Ecotrust. "We knew the effort would likely benefit the Oregon agricultural community, and of course Oregon's children. We were encouraged to learn that the benefits extend far beyond the most obvious."
The study has identified other benefits as well. In Gervais, Kaiser Permanente grant dollars allowed schools to offer a greater variety of fresh fruits and vegetables than had been served in the prior year. Increased demand for local products expanded market opportunities for more than two dozen Oregon farmers, food processors and manufacturers. In Portland, community partnerships blossomed to support the changes taking place in the cafeteria, with area grocery stores championing school food improvements as part of the grant. And once schools introduced a new menu item, such as a locally produced salsa, the demand and popularity of the product grew and it did not go away after a single serving.
"The extra investment in our lunch program gave us tremendous purchasing power, so that across the board, products that we had been buying outside of Oregon - apples, beef, chili, cheese, corn - we were able to source locally," said Kristy Obbink, nutrition services director, Portland Public Schools District. "This demonstrates how we can take a few cents and sprinkle it over the entire school meal and drive way more money into the Oregon economy."
As the farm to school pilot program continues in two districts, interest and momentum for sourcing local in the lunchroom is growing statewide as indicated in a recent poll of Oregon foodservice directors conducted by Ecotrust. From Coos Bay to Milton-Freewater, from Woodburn to Medford, survey participants self-reported that if given an additional 15 cents per for every lunch served in their district, they would seek out Oregon grown, processed or manufactured products, with a particular interest in fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, dairy products, beef and bakery products. Of those districts that completed the survey, 88 percent were currently buying some local products for the lunch room, but reported that the number one barrier to purchasing more local products is limited funds.
HB 2800 Would Fund Farm to School Statewide and Generate Revenue to the State
On the heels of the positive results of the study, Ecotrust and partners, is working with State Representatives Tina Kotek (D - North/Northeast Portland) and Brian Clem (D - Salem) to introduce a bill this legislative session (HB 2800) to fund ongoing farm to school efforts statewide. HB 2800 builds upon the existing farm to school infrastructure, which was cast in place during the 2007 legislative session and 2008 special session, and requests $22.6 million during the 2009 fiscal biennium, an investment that organizers forecast will provide a two-fold return in economic impact statewide.
"Given the current economic climate and the Legislature's focus on stimulating Oregon's economy, funding farm to school programs in the state is a risk-free investment and proven to return more dollars to the local economy and help shore up agricultural and food-related jobs," said Clem.
For every meal served, HB 2800 proposes to provide state funding in the amounts of seven cents per breakfast and 15 cents per lunch so that school districts can invest in Oregon grown, processed and manufactured foods for use in school cafeterias. In order for school districts to access state funds made available by HB 2800 to support local purchases, districts must first demonstrate a one-to-one-match using federal funds through the USDA's National School Lunch and Breakfast program. By leveraging existing federal dollars, the economic impact on Oregon's agriculture and food manufacturing sectors will be compounded. The bill also provides grant funds to support agriculture- and food-based curriculum and garden-based education.
About Ecotrust
Ecotrust's mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates social equity, economic opportunity, and environmental well-being. Over nearly 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $60 million in grants into more than $300 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California. Ecotrust is a new kind of organization, one that integrates public and private purpose and for-profit and non-profit structures. Ecotrust's many innovations include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and children's health, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it honors and incorporates the wisdom of native and first nation knowledge in its work. More on the Web at www.ecotrust.org.
Ecotrust's Food and Farms program endeavors to make sustainability the underlying value of the mainstream food system; the norm, not the exception. In close collaboration with a diverse coalition of project partners, Ecotrust works on a wide-range of initiatives to promote "farm to school" programs that enable schools to feature locally sourced products in their cafeterias, incorporate nutrition-based curriculum in all academic disciplines, and provide students with experiential agriculture and food-based learning opportunities, from farm visits to gardening, cooking, composting, and recycling. Our approach is multifaceted and includes: combating obesity, hunger, and global climate change; supporting Pacific Northwest farmers and food processors, both big and small; and enhancing regional economic development and community food security. We work at the local, state, and regional levels. http://www.ecotrust.org/farmtoschool/
About the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund
The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) at Northwest Health Foundation was established in late 2004 to advance the health of the communities served by Kaiser Permanente Northwest. The Fund intends to achieve this goal by addressing those factors in the social, policy, and physical environment that impact community health. Often referred to as the social determinants of health, these factors have been shown to play a major role in the development of health disparities based on race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. http://www.nwhf.org/index.php?/apply/kaiser
SOURCE Ecotrust

Memo fron Northwest Food Processors Association President: SUPPORT LOCAL FOOD PROCESSORS and INCREASE JOBS IN OREGON

2009-03-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

MEMORANDUM
March 18, 2009
Re: Video Highlights Importance of Oregon Food Processors to State Economy – Only Manufacturing Sector to Create Jobs in 2008
In the midst of a global downturn financial analysts have called the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Oregon’s food processing industry was the one bright spot in WorkSource Oregon’s gloomy 2008 Job Report.
In 2008, food manufacturing added 1,800 jobs statewide, a 7.9 percent increase – at a time when the manufacturing sector as a whole showed an 8.3 percent decline. Oregon wood product manufacturing lost 4,700 jobs in 2008, semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing lost 2,400 jobs and transportation equipment manufacturing lost 4,100 jobs, according to WorkSource Oregon’s year-end report. The state as a whole shed more than 58,000 non-farm jobs in 2008, a 3.4 percent decrease.
Food processing was the only manufacturing sector in Oregon to show positive employment gain in 2008, the Oregon Employment Department reported.
What factors are responsible for the food processing industry’s strong showing? In part, it’s because during challenging economic times, consumers tend to focus spending on basic goods and services. But the state can also thank a forward-thinking Legislature, which, in 2006, provided funding for Northwest Food Processors Innovation Productivity Center (IPC), a collaborative effort to increase competitiveness and innovation for Oregon’s food processing industry.
A new video highlights the crucial importance of the food processing industry to Oregon’s economy, as well as IPC’s innovation efforts: “Everybody Must Eat: Sustaining Oregon’s Food Processing Industry.” To view the video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esMEwC7jzFg, or email NWFPA at nwfpa@nwfpa.org.
With $3.4 billion in annual revenues, 18,000 workers, a $542 million annual payroll and a heritage that spans more than 150 years, food processing is Oregon’s third-largest industry, trailing only high-tech and forest products in its statewide economic impact.
Organized in 1914, Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA) serves as an advocate for members’ interests and a resource for enhancing their competitive capabilities. NWFPA provides services to over 450 member companies. IPC is a non-profit funded by the Oregon Legislature to help shape the future of the food industry by: enhancing organizational productivity, enabling innovation, training industry leaders of today and tomorrow, and helping companies use all of the best available resources. IPC is part of the Oregon Innovation Plan and is a subsidiary organization of the NWFPA.

David Zepponi, PresidentNorthwest Food Processors Association
8338 NE Alderwood Road, Suite 160Portland, OR 97220
503/327-2200 Main • 503/327-2208 Direct503/572-6531 Cell

4th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference!

2009-03-18T17:09:00.001-07:00

How lucky are we, that the 4th Annual National Farm to Cafeteria conference is in Portland! Starting tomorrow - March 19-21 - The DoubleTree Hotel 1000 NE Multnomah Street, Portland, OR 97232- http://farmtocafeteriaconference.com/

Conference Schedule
Thursday, March 19
7:00 - 9:30 am
Registration
8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Short Courses and Field Trips
1:00 - 6:00 pm
Registration
3:00 - 5:00 pm
Opening Plenary: The Voices of Youth
5:00 - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Opening Reception
Friday, March 20
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Registration
8:30 - 10:00 am
Plenary: Leading Sustainable Social Change - Working Across Differences
10:00 - 10:30 am
Break
10:30 am - Noon
Regional Meetings/Organizational Meetings
Noon - 1:45 pm
Lunch and Speaker, Katie Wilson
Youth Mentorship Lunch
1:45 - 3:15 pm
Workshop Session 1
3:15 - 3:45 pm
Break
3:45 - 5:15 pm
Workshop Session 2
5:15 - 6:15 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm
Book Talk with Joel Berg
Dinner on your own
Saturday, March 21
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Registration
8:30 - 10:30 am
Plenary: Building the Foundations of Local Food
10:30 - 10:45 am
Break
10:45 am - Noon
Workshop Session 3: Open Session
Noon - 2:00 pm
Lunch on your own
2:00 - 3:30 pm
Workshop Session 4
3:30 - 4:00 pm
Break
4:00 - 5:30 pm
Workshop Session 5
6:30 - 9:30pm
Reception and Keynote with Joan Dye Gussow

Organic Fresh Fingers story on popular local news Blog

2009-03-12T09:05:00.001-07:00

Natural Oregon News Blog : http://www.naturaloregon.org/ Check it out to see the whole story and photos!

Taking “Mystery Meat” Out Of School Lunches
Mar 12th, 2009
by Dennis Newman.
From a busy kitchen in Northeast Salem, Evann Remington and her staff are trying to revolutionize what kids eat at school.
Goodbye, “mystery meat”. Say “hello” to organic, local, and sustainable.
It all started when Remington was looking for a daycare center for her young daughter. She wanted a place that served organic lunches and snacks. After not finding any, she started up Organic Fresh Fingers, a company that prepares meals from local, organic foods and delivers them to schools and daycare centers.

V.P. For Product Development Kurt Lucas preparing meals.
At first, Remington was head chef, delivery driver and chief bottle washer. Her customers were a mere handful of daycare facilities. Less than two years later she’s President and CEO of a business with 13 employees, serving up 20,000 organic meals a month, and expects to ring up sales of around $600,000.
Remington says the produce comes from a cooperative of organic farmers across Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. The cheese and milk comes from an organic dairy near Salem. For her, it’s not just a business but a mission to help build community supported agriculture.
Most of her 25 clients are private schools and daycares. Remington says demand from parents for better quality food is helping her business grow. These private facilities, she says, realize that by serving organic meals it sets them apart from the crowd.

Organic Fresh Fingers Frozen Meals
Getting her meals into public schools is a tougher sell. Portland Public Schools use a burrito filling from Organic Fresh Fingers about every three weeks. Kristy Obbink, Director of Nutrition Services for PPS says price is the main barrier to getting more organic food in school cafeterias. Obbink says Portland has about $1.15 to spend for every meal it serves. A meal from Organic Fresh Fingers can run as high as $2.68.
Not that any of this deters Remington. She hopes increased spending on school nutrition by the Obama Administration will help make organic lunches more affordable. There’s also a bill before the Oregon legislature for a new state subsidy to support school nutrition.
As for the students who eat the meals, Remington says it’s the right of all kids, “to have access to high quality, clean and nutritious food.”

New spring menu in the making!!

2009-03-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Organic Fresh Fingers is working on a new spring menu for our school lunch program! Our winter winter menu was a smash hit with the delicious ( and easy to prepare) one dish bakes. Our chef Kurt put together some amazing meals such as, eggplant parmesan, tamale pie and a vegetable lasagna. These dishes quickly became favorites with the kids and the teachers. These meals are packaged in 100% recyclable or reusable trays and have helped facilities cut down on unnecessary waste. We are looking at all the local, seasonal ingredients to create new meals that taste so good, the kids don't realize they are eating healthy. Along with working on creating a line of fresh soups, we are perfecting a kid friendly vegetarian enchilada! Feel free to post or email any ideas for meals using local, fresh ingredients. I will keep you posted on our progress. Thank you!

WELCOME our newest customer: THE MADELEINE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

2009-03-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Madeleine School is a kindergarten through eighth grade Catholic elementary school in the Irvington/Alameda neighborhood of Portland, Oregon.
For over 95 years, The Madeleine has offered an exceptional values-based education. Thousands of young people have passed through the school doors and emerged with both a solid educational foundation, and a deeper commitment to their faith, families and community.

http://www.themadeleine.edu/school/welcome.html

And NOW - The Madeleine School is working hard to incorporate more fresh, local, natural and organic, nutritious food into their hot lunch program with the help of Organic Fresh Fingers...WAY TO GO!

School Lunches to get a $1 Billion a Year Boost!

2009-03-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

Organic Fresh Fingers in Sustainable Industries Magazine!

2009-03-04T12:42:00.001-08:00

Check out the recent article on Organic Fresh Fingers in Sustainable Business Magazine!
http://www.sustainableindustries.com/foodandfarms/40675402.html

School Meals Key to Better Child Health

2009-03-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a great article on the importance of well-balanced school meals!
How to make sure these are provided in your child's school or daycare? Request Organic Fresh Fingers as your meal provider!

U.S. school meals may be key to better child health

Thursday, December 18, 2008

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many American children are not eating enough fruit and vegetables and their diet lacks key nutrients, according to a report released on Wednesday that focuses on school food programs as a way to help prevent long-term health problems.

School kids in the United States are getting too many calories from solid fats found in foods such as pizza and hamburgers, and sugars from candy and soda, said the report by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academies.

"Most Americans, not just children, are not eating as balanced a diet as we want," said Virginia Stallings, a professor at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and chair of the committee that conducted the review.

"There are so few times where we have an opportunity to touch every child's life," she said in an interview.

The Institute of Medicine conducted the review of the country's school breakfast and lunch programs at the request of the U.S. Agriculture Department, which oversees them. School meal programs provide 40 million meals daily and more than half of a student's food and nutrient intake during the school day.

Child nutrition programs, including school lunch and breakfast, are due for reauthorization by Congress in 2009.

Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, has said more emphasis should be put on getting more healthier and fresher foods into school meals.

Tom Vilsack, who was nominated for Secretary of Agriculture by President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday, said the USDA "must place nutrition at the center of all food assistance programs administered by the department."

The 192-page review found children aged 5-18 ate 50 percent or less of the vegetables recommended by the U.S. government's dietary guidelines, and fruit intake was 50 percent or less than the suggested amount for kids 9-18 years old.

Children also consume too much sodium as well as calories from solid fats and added sugars, the report said.

Officials at the USDA are updating the nutrition and meal requirements used for school breakfast and lunch programs, and looked for recommendations from the Institute of Medicine.

Efforts to overhaul school nutrition programs come as obesity among children has been steadily rising.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 13.9 percent of children aged 2 to 5, 18.8 percent of those aged 6 to 11, and more than 17 percent of those 12 to 19 are overweight.

School meals are often better than what kids get on their own or bring from home, but breakfast and lunch programs need to work on reducing fat and sodium, said Jim Weill of the Food Research and Action center, an anti-hunger group.

"School meals are absolutely essential not just to reduce hunger, but to kids' health," Weill said. "Obesity has helped focus attention that school meals should be better."

Reuters Health
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

New Sales and Marketing Team!

2009-02-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

Organic Fresh Fingers is so happy to have put in place a new Sales and Marketing Team. Welcome:

Patrick Ireland - VP of Marketing
Randy Lee - Research and Strategy
Caitlin Horsley - Marketing Associate (sales focus)
Bryce Clemmer - Marketing Associate (research focus)
Sam Hodder - Administrative Support

We are so excited to have such a competent and enthusiastic team!

Chicken in the Yard (C.I.T.Y.) City Council Meeting Tonight in Salem

2009-02-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

The group C.I.T.Y. (Chickens In The Yard) is rallying to amend code, with a formal presentation to City Council tonight February 23rd. We should all be there! The amendment has received letters of support from Marion-Polk Foodshare, Oregon Tilth, Willamette University Center for Sustainable Communities, and so on.

SEE YOU ALL TONIGHT- City Hall, 555 Liberty, Room 240!

NON-GMO Shopping Guide

2009-02-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

Of course, Organic Fresh Fingers meals in the store all made with NON-GMO ingredients. Here is a non-gmo shopping list with other options http://www.seedsofdeception.com/documentFiles/144.pdf

Any certified Organic food is also made with non-gmo ingredients.

New FRESH N' LOCAL Hot Lunch Program!

2009-02-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

Exciting news.....Organic Fresh Fingers, Inc. has now partnered with Diva Catering to offer our fresh, local, all natural and organic meals served HOT and FRESH DAILY to schools and daycares! Some of the most exciting schools are struggling to feed healthy, nutritious foods because they simply do not have a kitchen or a lunch room to serve them. As most of you know, Organic Fresh Fingers cooks the homemade food, but we still need the school to heat and serve the food. Well, not any more! For those of you who need a hot lunch delivered daily to your school, we can now serve you! Diva Catering, in Salem, is a veteran catering company (15 years experience) led by Joan Taylor eager to serve Organic Fresh Fingers meals hot to schools in Portland, Salem and everywhere in between. Call us today to find out how to serve fresh, local, nutritious hot lunch at your school!

Free Viewing of "Food Matters" and great film with friends

2009-02-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Hi friends-If you haven't yet seen this film, it's really worth seeing. I'd like to invite you to a free screening at the end of this month at the Straub Environmental Learning Center in Salem. See below for details. I was impressed with this film and I think you'll really enjoy it. Take time for yourself and your health and join us for an informative and social evening!
WHAT: Screening of "Food Matters: Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine"
WHEN: Friday, February 27 07:00 PM
WHERE: Straub Environmental Learning Center 1320 A Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301

HOSTED BY: Northwest Earth Institute’s “Menu for the Future”; course in Salem.
Tickets are FREE. RSVP required.

For more details and to RSVP, please visit:
http://foodmatters.bravenewtheaters.com/screening/show/12243

--~--~------~--~---------~-------~--~----~
About the film:
‘Food Matters’ is a hard hitting fast paced look at our current state of health. Despite the billions of dollars of funding and research into new so-called cures we continue to suffer from a raft of chronic ills and every day maladies. Approaching an over toxic and over indulgent population with a continuing onslaught of toxic therapies and nutrient sparse foods is deﬁnitely not helping the situation. ‘Food Matters’ seeks to uncover the business of disease and at the same time explore the safe, cheap and effective use of nutrition and supplementation for preventing and often curing the underlying causative aspects of our ills.

In a personal quest of discovery James & Laurentine have set out on an independent mission to uncover the wholesome truth. Having traveled around the globe to speak with the world leaders in nutrition and natural healing, adding in a dash of investigative journalists for spice, the dish is perfectly balanced for a rounded approach at how we should be looking to conventional medicine and nutritional therapy as humanity advances.

..::SCREENING NOTICE::..
The screening must be free of charge where possible however a maximum charge of $5 USD (or equivalent local currency) is permissible where the cost of venue hire has been incurred.

..::OPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY::..
It is permissible to raise money for your screening through any of the following means: - Purchasing copies of Food Matters the DVD at wholesale prices and selling them at the event - Holding a raﬄe or fundraiser for your group or organization or - Asking for donations after the screening.

Click on the Hosting Materials link below for more details.

To learn more, or find another screening to attend, please visit:http://foodmatters.bravenewtheaters.com/

The Phones are Ringing OFF the hook!

2009-02-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

The schools and daycare have spoken, everybody is frustrated with the lack of high quality nutritious foods that they are able to serve to their kids and keep an eye on the bottom line. We just received some wonderful input from one of our customers that have tracked enrollment since they started our service and are actually INCREASING enrollment at their private school during this economy. They swear it's because offering Organic Fresh Fingers meals are helping to differentiate their school from the competition. Everyone knows that classroom size and curriculum are VERY important when looking for a school, but parents are increasingly asking the question " What are you doing to promote the health and well being of my child so they are better able to receive their education". Good question.