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Nutrition Advocates Argue Against "Free Pass" for Colorado Schools

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Thursday, October 23, 2014   

DENVER - Friday may be National Food Day, but Coloradans are being invited to do more than just eat in celebration. Nutrition advocates are hoping Coloradans will join others across the U.S. in improving their diets and food policies.

One topic is whether school systems should have to follow 2012 federal nutrition improvement guidelines, after some districts, including Douglas County in Colorado, have said the new standards are impacting food sales and increasing waste.

Theresa Hafner, executive director of enterprise management with Denver Public Schools, says schools shouldn't get a "free pass."

"I don't want us to roll back the progress we've made," she says. "We're doing good things. It's interesting to read that kids are more and more obese. I don't think school lunch is making them that way, but I think we need to model the way forward."

The largest school system in the state, Denver Public Schools has 80,000 students with nearly 50,000 eating daily lunch. The school system helps supplement the need for fresh food with four farms on district property, and tries to buy food from Colorado vendors whenever possible.

Hafner says offering choices to students, like a salad bar, is also a great way to increase the appeal of school lunches.

Michael Booth, managing editor of the Colorado Health Foundation's Health Elevations, recently researched an article on the topic and found many Colorado school systems are finding ways to meet nutrition standards, and act as a "lever" in the effort to improve the health of the state.

"We shouldn't try to shame people into choosing or eating better food," says Booth. "There are bigger policy levers out there that policy makers can use to improve the food system for everyone."

While Hafner acknowledges it can be easier for larger districts to purchase food for the best price because of their buying power, she says the answer to problems small districts face with new nutrition guidelines shouldn't be found in giving up - but in looking at a team approach.

'I'm more than happy to use my trucks delivering us food from the Pueblo area," says Hafner. "If they're driving by a small school district, what if they could offload some of the produce I was able to buy under my purchasing power to a small school district in between me and them?"

Last year Colorado also increased the number of schools offering school breakfast to students. The Breakfast After the Bell program brought breakfast to an additional 40,000 new students.

The state expects to spend $170,000 in the first year of aligning with federal nutrition improvement guidelines, but the new meals bring in more than $14 million in USDA reimbursement.


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