Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Newly approved regulations for school lunches have forced schools to revamp their menu options, but a local expert talks about changing how children see healthy food.
In August of this year, Congress approved calorie limits on school lunches. Under the new regulations, cafeterias are required to serve twice as many fruits and vegetables while limiting proteins and carbohydrates. The DC-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting better nutrition, sponsors the Healthy School Lunch Campaign. The PCRM Healthy School Lunch Team works with school districts across the country and organizes meetings and presentations for school boards, PTAs, and student groups and its message is that the food served in school should promote the health of all children. PCRM has worked closely with D.C. public schools, along with schools in Montgomery …
Montgomery and Prince George’s county schools serve more fruits and vegetables, but students may not be eating them.
- SCHOOLS
- Erin Egan
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Every day at lunch, children across Prince George’s and Montgomery counties may be facing what conventional wisdom says is one of their worst nightmares. No, it’s not monsters hiding under their beds or behind their closet doors. It’s not zombies chasing after them, either. It’s fruits and vegetables. After Congress passed a nationwide law limiting the amount of calories schools are allowed to serve at lunch, schools in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties are adhering to the rules and serving up more healthy options for students. “Before this year, each student had to select three out of five items,” said Marla Caplon, Director of the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at Montgomery County public schools. “This year, the student …
The school's community is supporting the healthier changes at the school and its been rewarded for its achievements.
- SCHOOLS
- Ha Nguyen
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Fifth grader BriDe' Key at Riverdale Elementary School said she started eating healthier with the revamped school menus. “I like the meals,” said Key, 10. “Most of the stuff they serve is good.” Like many other public schools in Prince George’s County, Riverdale Elementary School is promoting healthy eating by providing students with healthier options for breakfast and lunch. The new federal school lunch regulations, which passed in 2010 a maximum calorie limit for elementary lunches at 650 calories. Under the old rules, cafeterias served a minimum of 825 calories per lunch. The Congress-approved calorie limits on school lunches went into effect in August. The initiative, to make school lunches healthier and more nutritious, requires the …
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Advice for eating the goodies you like over the holidays — the healthy way.
Thanksgiving represents a major kick off to the holiday festival of foods that flows non-stop right up to the New Year. Just how do we resist the parade of goodies barraging us at pastry-packed parties and at those holiday dinners with all of our favorite family recipes heaped a top a china dish. The answer is simple — don't. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE Paulette Thompson, RD, nutrition educator and former long-time dietician for Giant Foods headquartered in Prince George's County, said the holidays are probably not the best time to think about losing weight and being restrictive. Calling herself a "foodie" dietician who likes food and likes cooking, Thompson claims a better goal is to end the holidays at the same weight you started out with. …
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Celebrating good food and encouraging good food policy.
Oct. 24 is the first annual Food Day. Modeled after Earth Day, it is initiated by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and focuses on the following objectives: Nutrition and health policy experts are participating, as are national organizations like The Earth Day Network, Farmers Market Coalition, Humane Society of the United States, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Slow Food USA, along with many city- and state-level organizations. There is a growing list of food day events around the country, including some of the following in the DC area: In Bladensburg, the Port Towns Community Health Partnership (PTCHP) through the Port Towns Youth Council of End Time Harvest Ministries, Inc. will host a student-led debate on …
