Editorial Final

“Small portions, high calories” are the words that come to mind when Amanda Beckman, a three sport athlete at Eastview High School, was asked to explain her view on the school lunches. She chooses to bring her lunch because it is more convenient, reliable, fresh, and healthy.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine established the Golden Carrot Awards in 2004 to recognize food service professionals doing an exceptional job of improving the healthfulness of school lunches. Oceanside Unified School District in Oceanside, California was the Golden Carrot winner in 2010 because they offer a large variety of nutritious food and made programs to promote healthy eating throughout their school. They established “Lean and Green” Mondays which include low-fat and plant-based entrees for students. Some favorites on this day include a garden veggie patty, and veggie lo mien. They also developed the “Lighthouse Foods” program which introduces fresh fruits, vegetables (most importantly dark green and orange vegetables), whole grain foods, and a daily vegetarian option. This public school offers a daily salad bar, soy milk, and a menu free of trans fats.

So what can we learn from the Oceanside School system? Eastview needs to provide more healthy options and fresher foods. They need to spend time evaluating the student’s wants for their lunches and make programs around those desires. They can look towards the Golden Carrot winner and make a program like the “Lighthouse Foods.” With these fresh and unique options at school, more students would be willing to buy their lunch which in turn profits the school more.

Eastview does have “Sub Shop Days” which more students, including myself, participate in. While school lunches are unreliable, the sub shop provides healthy options with a make your own options. For bread, you can have whole wheat or white subs, or white, wheat, or garden veggie wraps. Then you choice meat and the popular choice is buffalo chicken. And then you’re topping of somewhat fresh vegetables and sauces. This is where the “healthiness” is questioned. The cucumbers look dried out and the lettuce is whiter than the ideal dark green leaves. While Eastview Lightning is headed towards a healthier lunch options, they still need to make some large steps before they can be compared Oceanside Unified Schools in California.

Fresh fruit that actually look fresh could be the first step for the Lightning. A salad bar would also be a great addition to the cafeteria. Beckman explained that she would purchase her lunch at school on a daily basis if it was healthier and reliable to feed her growing body with the nutrients necessary to keep up her athletic physique.

Who knows maybe Eastview could receive the Golden Carrot Award someday, but we are far from it at this point. The incentive would be providing healthier options, and also $3,000 sounds nice too.